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Dragster For a guy who makes his living racing in a straight line, Cory McClenathan is quite happy when he says the performance of the Carrier Boyz Racing Top Fuel dragster "is turning the corner."
The right corner, given the outstanding showing made by the FRAM Boost dragster two weeks ago at Indianapolis. In brief review: McClenathan qualified sixth (4.524 seconds), ran a weekend best of 4.519 seconds in an opening round win, had competitive times throughout the race and drove into the semifinals before losing by eight-thousandths of a second in the semifinals.
"I'm really happy the car turned the corner for us, finally," said McClenathan, a veteran Top Fuel driver who is ecstatic with car's performance going into the Toyo Tires Nationals, Sept. 15-17, at Maple Grove Raceway, near Reading. "We have a car we can win with; we know the Reading track will hold the horsepower; and Wes (Cerny, crew chief) and Tony (Shortall, assistant crew chief) can utilize the power on every hit of the throttle.
"Team morale is definitely up and we'd like nothing better than to use the last five races of the season to step up in POWERade points and see if we can climb higher in Budweiser Shootout points."
McClenathan has won 28 races - including one at Maple Grove (1997) - in 48 final rounds. He's currently 10th in points with 815 and is 19 shy of ninth spot and 49 out of eighth. He's eighth in the special Shootout standings, accumulating 2470 points, while David Grubnic is seventh with 2505. Points are awarded for qualifying positions at the 22 races prior to the Shootout. Cory Mac will earn points at Reading, Dallas and Richmond, Va., before the Shootout, which pays the winner $100,000, takes place at Las Vegas, Oct. 26-29.
This FRAM Boost chassis is the team's fifth of 2006, but definitely not by choice. McClenathan experienced one violent accident that destroyed one car and another was damaged in a weird accident that sent the car into the concrete barrier.
"It sounds easy, saying we're on our fifth chassis, but normally a team will use just two in one year," McClenathan said. "It has been a tough season, financially for Mark and Andy Carrier, and physically for me. We've had our hands full."
A victory at Reading would be the beginning of a pleasant farewell to the season
McClenathan Ready to Turn Promising Performances Into Winner's Circle Visit for FRAM Boost
McClenathan Enthused about Chances at Reading
Dragster For a guy who makes his living racing in a straight line, Cory McClenathan is quite happy when he says the performance of the Carrier Boyz Racing Top Fuel dragster "is turning the corner."
The right corner, given the outstanding showing made by the FRAM Boost dragster two weeks ago at Indianapolis. In brief review: McClenathan qualified sixth (4.524 seconds), ran a weekend best of 4.519 seconds in an opening round win, had competitive times throughout the race and drove into the semifinals before losing by eight-thousandths of a second in the semifinals.
"I'm really happy the car turned the corner for us, finally," said McClenathan, a veteran Top Fuel driver who is ecstatic with car's performance going into the Toyo Tires Nationals, Sept. 15-17, at Maple Grove Raceway, near Reading. "We have a car we can win with; we know the Reading track will hold the horsepower; and Wes (Cerny, crew chief) and Tony (Shortall, assistant crew chief) can utilize the power on every hit of the throttle.
"Team morale is definitely up and we'd like nothing better than to use the last five races of the season to step up in POWERade points and see if we can climb higher in Budweiser Shootout points."
McClenathan has won 28 races - including one at Maple Grove (1997) - in 48 final rounds. He's currently 10th in points with 815 and is 19 shy of ninth spot and 49 out of eighth. He's eighth in the special Shootout standings, accumulating 2470 points, while David Grubnic is seventh with 2505. Points are awarded for qualifying positions at the 22 races prior to the Shootout. Cory Mac will earn points at Reading, Dallas and Richmond, Va., before the Shootout, which pays the winner $100,000, takes place at Las Vegas, Oct. 26-29.
This FRAM Boost chassis is the team's fifth of 2006, but definitely not by choice. McClenathan experienced one violent accident that destroyed one car and another was damaged in a weird accident that sent the car into the concrete barrier.
"It sounds easy, saying we're on our fifth chassis, but normally a team will use just two in one year," McClenathan said. "It has been a tough season, financially for Mark and Andy Carrier, and physically for me. We've had our hands full."
A victory at Reading would be the beginning of a pleasant farewell to the season
