Cory McClenathan drove the FRAM Top Fuel Dragster into the No.1 spot in qualifying for the NHRA Spring Nationals at Houston Raceway Park during only one session, as a rain delay and the subsequent moisture halted Friday’s second round.
McClenathan posted a 3.905-second pass at 313.00 mph to secure the pole position under humid conditions. Two more rounds are scheduled for Saturday to complete the 16-car field. If he holds on to No.1, it will be the 33rd of his career and the second in Houston.
“All of a sudden that rain shower that everybody has been waiting for comes and it’s sunny 20 minute later,” said McClenathan, who was preparing to make another strong run to maintain his No.1 spot in the evening session. “So, we thought, OK, we’ll get back on our game. We had it tuned up, we had more clutch in it, we were going to go for it tonight because we were in that position. Why not? It’s supposed to be cooler tomorrow, and drier, it won’t be as humid, so we figured if we’ve got the shot tonight, let’s work on our Friday night combination.
“I think that’s one thing we’ve been lacking a little bit and we haven’t been able to work on this year. Everybody made all the right calls, and I thought, OK, we were going to get a shot at this. And the weather gods decided not to give us that shot.
“What happens is the dew point sets in and it gets wet out there and it will get dangerous. We don’t want anybody hurt, we don’t need to wreck any cars. It takes too much time to rebuild them. I think everybody made the right call.
“But that 3.90 was impressive to me for the conditions earlier today.”
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