NHRA

Sonoma: Cory McClenathan Saturday summary

McClenathan like Infineon Raceway - Qualifies No. 11. SONOMA, Calif. (August 2, 2003) -After a strong opening round, the track got the best of Cory McClenathan and the NY Yankees/Berryman Products team, as qualifying came to an end for the NHRA ...

Published: Aug 3, 2003, 12:43 PM

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McClenathan like Infineon Raceway - Qualifies No. 11.

SONOMA, Calif. (August 2, 2003) -After a strong opening round, the track got the best of Cory McClenathan and the NY Yankees/Berryman Products team, as qualifying came to an end for the NHRA FRAM Autolite Nationals.

In Friday's first session McClenathan, from Riverside, Calif., covered the Infineon Raceway quarter-mile in 4.702 seconds at 316.15 mph, which placed him No. 11 on the final qualifying ladder. The remaining three passes were a learning curve for crew chief John Stewart and his NY Yankees/Berryman Products crew as they readied McClenathan's dragster for tomorrow's eliminations.

"We sort of missed the boat on the second and third qualifying pass," said McClenathan. "The track is one of the best we run on, but it didn't seem as sticky as it should after our first run yesterday. The high-powered cars blew the tires off. In that last run we just returned to our initial set up and redeveloped our base that we'll use during eliminations tomorrow.

"The track's smooth and nice. The facility is top notch and they just keep making changes and make it even better. Bruton Smith has no problem spending the money. More power to him. He makes this event and this arena the type of place that other should want to imitate.

"Our hospitality area has been buzzing. Berryman Products have a host of clients here. We have a lot of west coast sponsors and friends here -- Don Steves Chevrolet, Fabtech and Negley Electric to name a few. The west coast race is a good one for me -- this one and Pomona."

Final eliminations for the Fram Autolite Nationals get underway at noon (Local time-PDT) on Sunday. McClenathan will face Rhonda Hartman-Smith in the opening round. She qualified 6th at 4.669 seconds with a speed of 312.50 mph.

"We've got Rhonda Hartman-Smith in the morning and that what we're going to do: beat her," concluded McClenathan.

-dgr-

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