With lane choice over rookie Shawn Langdon in the quarterfinal round, McClenathan registered a respectable .094 reaction time (.000 is perfect) in the FRAM Tough Guard Top Fuel dragster, but Langdon's .060 was enough to score the victory over McClenathan by .0214 of a second at the finish stripe with a slower but winning 3.894/308.78 to McClenathan's 3.881/311.77, the second quickest elapsed time of the round.

"It was disappointing," said McClenathan. "We made our quickest pass of the year in the FRAM Tough Guard car in the first round and it looked like we had a good chance to do extremely well. (Crew chiefs) Phil Shuler and Todd Okuhara are proving that they can make the transition from tuning only Funny Cars to tuning Top Fuel cars with the same talent and ability.

"Langdon has been doing a very good job at the starting lights this year," added McClenathan. "This was his fourth holeshot win this season, and it's always tough to line up against him at the starting lights. He did his job."

"Drag racing is a complete package, from driver to tuner to each crew member," said Shuler. "It's not one person who makes the decisions. That's why it's called a team. We just have to get our game in order and the results will come."

As for the transition from Funny Car to Top Fuel, "I won't say it's easier, but there's aspects that are less of a headache. We don't have to mess with the body, for instance, and they're not quite as finicky."

"We made our quickest pass of the year in E1, so we're happy about that," said Okuhara. "In E2 when the track got hot it was tricky and we backed it down and we got beat. Langdon is really good on the tree."

Next up is the NHRA Nationals in Norwalk, Ohio, June 26-28.

Courtesy of Judy Stropus