Kragen O’Reilly NHRA Winternationals
Pomona, Calif.
(February 5-10)

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Driver Profile

Cory McClenathan Rapisarda Racing

Pomona, Saturday:  With only one round of qualifying completed after rain washed out Thursday and Friday qualifying runs and part of today, Cory McClenathan emerged in No. 3 in the FRAM Top Fuel dragster at the NHRA Winternationals, the season-opener of the 2009 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series.

McClenathan posted a 3.851-second elapsed time at 313.66 mph and will face rookie Shawn Langdon in first round of eliminations on Sunday.

The FRAM team completed two test sessions in the last month in West Palm Beach and Phoenix in advance of this weekend's event, where the team concentrated on preparing the car for the season instead of blistering the tracks with high speeds.

"A lot of people say testing is overrated and so I would say my guys just did a great job," said McClenathan. "They really did. We learned a lot during testing and we went out there and Lanny Miglizzi, our 'track whisperer' for DSR, kept saying 'everybody's soft, everybody's soft, come up here and go for it.' And we did. I'm really proud of Todd and Phil (crew chiefs Okuhara and Shuler) and the FRAM guys. They did a great job.

"It went down there very smooth, no problem, no shake, no nothing. Brought it back nice and clean. I think it's a great start for the FRAM Top Fuel dragster this year."

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