On an apparent “buddy system,” Cory McClenathan and the FRAM Top Fuel dragster have spent a busy off-season losing weight as they both prepared to contend for a championship in the 2010 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series. The new season opens this weekend in Pomona at the 50th annual NHRA Winternationals.

“We knew we needed to shed some weight both with the driver and the race car,” said McClenathan, who ended the 2009 season fourth in the standings with one victory in four final rounds. “We needed to be 35 pounds lighter and have more power with our package. The FRAM guys (including crew chiefs Todd Okuhara and Phil Shuler) went to work on that and I went to work on myself, and it’s been a win-win situation for everybody.”

McClenathan clocked personal-best numbers during Florida testing in January of 3.771 seconds and 321.50 mph, buoying his and the FRAM crew’s spirits as they embark on a new season of tough competition. His official career-bests racing to 1000 feet are 3.784 seconds and 319.60 mph, both set in Richmond in 2009.

“The competition has gotten so tight that we’re just focusing in on all the little things that have to do with these cars and in the off-season we put the car on a huge diet and it really paid off,” said McClenathan, who has two wins in Pomona at the NHRA Finals, but none at the Winternationals. “I think it’s definitely going to help us.

“At the same time, we tried some new parts in testing, and that seemed to work really well. We ran a couple of 3.77s, a couple of 3.79s, and ran over 320 mph a couple of times.

“We’re going into Pomona with probably the best package we’ve had in a long time, not to mention it’s nice to have all the same crew guys back from the year prior.

“We have a brand-new chassis, a great looking paint scheme, with the FRAM orange back as the primary color, and it turned out really well. It’s all hand-painted; no wraps for us. We liked the FRAM Tough Guard colors we ran last year, but FRAM wanted to switch it up, and we’re all for that.

“I just want to go out and prove that we have one of the better cars in the pack, and I think we do, and obviously I think it’s the most consistent. It would be nice to come out of the gate and win the Winternationals. That’s one race where I’ve been to the finals and never won. And that would be a great start for us.”

“Cory Mac” has a solid record at Pomona: four No. 1 qualifiers, two wins and two runner-ups between the Auto Club Raceway’s two events a year.

As for his rivals this season, “I think the toughest competition is sitting right here at Don Schumacher Racing: my teammates Tony Schumacher and Antron Brown,” said McClenathan. “And obviously Larry Dixon. He’s going to be right there from the beginning. I think everybody is going to be looking at these four cars as being the top four. There’s some other good cars out there, but I think on a consistent basis we have to look at our in-house cars the most.”

CORY MCCLENATHAN QUICK FACTS:
* No. 4 in 2009 year-end standings with a victory in Concord, N.C., the opening round of the playoffs
* Had one win in four final rounds in 2009, plus five semifinal and six quarterfinal finishes
* Qualified No. 1 once in 2009 (Bristol)
* Qualified No. 3 at 2009 Winternationals, lost second round to Doug Kalitta
* No. 5 in 2009 “regular season” Top Fuel point standings
* Has four No. 1 qualifiers at Pomona (two at Winternationals)
* Has two wins in Pomona, both at the NHRA Finals, in 1992 and 2002
* No. 3 in 2008 Top Fuel point standings, including one win in three final rounds, as well as eight semifinal, six quarterfinal, seven first-round finishes and two No. 1 qualifiers
* Has 31 career Top Fuel victories in 57 final rounds
* First driver to break the 320-mph barrier with 322.17-mph run in Dallas in 1997
* Has recorded 467 career round wins in Top Fuel
* Qualified No. 1 32 times, with a career-high seven times in 1993
* Recorded 400th round win in Top Fuel in Richmond 2007
* Has finished No. 2 in the standings four times (1992, 1995, 1997 and 1998)
* Finished No. 10 in rookie season in 1991; made first 4-second run
* Made NHRA history with first run in the 4.70s (4.799) at Reading in 1992
* Swept the three-race Western Swing in 1997 en route to four consecutive wins and career-high six victories in eight final rounds
* Won four of the first six races in 1998. Equaled career-best with six wins in eight finals
* Won the U.S. Nationals twice (1996, 1999)
* Missed four races in 1993 after crash in Rockingham and still finished sixth in the Top Fuel points
* Age 46 (January 30, 1963); born in Wichita, Kansas, now lives in Brownsburg, Ind.; daughter Courtney (10/25/90); engaged to Debi
* Joined Don Schumacher Racing in 2008; 2010 is fifth season with sponsorship from FRAM