Cory McClenathan, driving the FRAM Top Fuel dragster, grabbed the provisional pole position today for the season-opening 50th annual NHRA Winternationals, posting a 3.809-second lap at 320.05 mph.
If it stands through three more rounds of qualifying, it will be McClenathan’s 34th of his career, the fifth at this track and third at the Winternationals.
“I can guarantee you one thing, it won’t stick,” said McClenathan, who has never won the Winternationals. “Somebody is going to run definitely in the 3.70s. This cool weather [helps] and it doesn’t have to be that late. The track and the conditions are really there.
“Preparation and the commitment all of us on the FRAM team made in the off-season was to do two things: lose a lot of weight in the race car and come in here with a better power package than we had when we left here (last November at the 2009 NHRA Finals).
“I think that shows, because that wasn’t all of it, I guarantee. But to run over 282 mph to half-track, that’s pretty good. So, the FRAM car is flying.
“Not this time,” he answered when asked if he would be lurking in the shadows all year between Tony Schumacher and Larry Dixon. “This time we plan on making some noise early. We’re going to make our presence known.
“I’m tired of lurking and kind of waiting to see what is going to happen. There is no big cat getting ready to pounce. We’re just going to come out here, try to go toe to toe with these guys from day one, and I think (crew chiefs) Todd (Okuhara) and Phil (Shuler) are thinking the same thing.”
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