Cory McClenathan raced the FRAM Tough Guard Top Fuel dragster to his ninth quarterfinal finish of
the 2009 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series at the 55th annual U.S. Nationals at Raceway Park at
Indianapolis.
"Cory Mac" first defeated David Grubnic in the opening round, with a tire-smoking 4.421-second pass
at 222.58 mph, then was dismissed by Brandon Bernstein in the second round, posting a strong
3.899/303.71 to Bernstein's 3.887/313.73. McClenathan experienced a small explosion and ensuing
fire in the FRAM car at the end of that run.
"It's funny, because we never torch a head on this car," explained McClenathan, who slipped to
fifth in the point standings, behind Bernstein. "It must have pushed a gasket out and got a little
bit of oil underneath the tires.
"We were going to run a lot better than a 3.87. I thought we probably had low ET of the round. I
didn't even see Brandon until the very end.
"It looked like we torched the head, pushed the head gasket out and shoved some oil up in the
driver's compartment and then it started on fire. You know, it's one of those things. We're going
to change the body a little bit so it brings more air in the driver's compartment.
"It was definitely more like a Funny Car fire than it was a Dragster fire. It destroyed the suit,
helmet, everything. We're still learning with this new car.
"We'll go in the Countdown a little behind now because Brandon went around us. That's all right.
I'll put my FRAM Tough Guard guys up against anybody, anytime, and 10 points isn't going to matter
in the Countdown, so I'm looking forward to that."
The Countdown to 1 playoffs begin at the next race, the second annual NHRA Nationals in Charlotte,
Sept. 18-20, for the final six events.
