Cory McClenathan piloted the Valvoline Engine Guarantee Top Fuel Dragster into the No. 9 qualifying
position for the NHRA Route 66 Nationals at Route 66 Raceway.
He made it into the field from No. 17 when he posted his quickest lap of 3.894 seconds at 305.15
mph in today's third session, which was followed by a brief rain shower. His other laps included a
4.721/156.83 and a 4.574/222.62 on Friday. In his last try he was No. 8 before Clay Millican pulled
out a fourth-place pass which dropped him to No. 9. He will face Rod Fuller in the opening round of
Sunday's eliminations.
"We were really trying to kind of lean on it in the last session," said McClenathan, "and we
thought it would run a little better than that. We were trying to move around some positions. In
the last two runs it went down the track, so I'm happy with that.
"I was concerned about getting into the field. We made that one good run and not more than a few
minutes after that it started sprinkling. It's kind of a repeat of last year, when we got in on the
last pass and it started raining as soon as we got to the other end.
"Once, we got in, we thought, Well, let's push it and see what it will do. I think we have a good
handle on the car now, and we're racing tomorrow.
"It's fun to race this Valvoline Engine Guarantee Car. I would sure like to do well here. It's Don
Schumacher territory (the team owner resides in Park Ridge, Ill.), and this would be the place to
win one. If we're going to do a special wrap and FRAM has been gracious enough to help us do that,
then we need to give Valvoline and FRAM a win. This Valvoline Engine Gurantee is a really cool
deal. If you're able to put 300,000 miles on a car with their synthetic oil in it and you have a
problem with it they will take care of it. In today's economy, that says a lot.
"It's a special deal and I just want to make it a special day for them tomorrow."
