CORY MAC ATTACKS WITH RECORD RUN
With the adjusted altitude dropping like a brick, and the aggressive nature of co-crew chiefs Todd Okuhara and Phil Shuler, McClenathan knew he was in for the ride of his life as he strapped in.
His intuitions were spot on.
Sometimes a driver knows when his crew chief is going to throw everything including the kitchen sink into the tune-up. Friday evening at the NHRA SuperNationals in Englishtown, NJ, was one of those moments for Top Fuel racer Cory McClenathan.
With the adjusted altitude dropping like a brick, and the aggressive nature of co-crew chiefs Todd Okuhara and Phil Shuler, McClenathan knew he was in for the ride of his life as he strapped in.
His intuitions were spot on.
“The FRAM guys were going up there thinking if this thing runs 3.78 we're not going to feel too good about it,” said McClenathan. “So, I knew (crew chiefs) Todd (Okuhara) and Phil (Shuler) were throwing everything at it. We've just been creeping up on it and the first thing Todd said when we got back was, 'this is something we tried three different times and it hadn't made it down the track.' So this time everything went perfect.
“It nosed over down there a little bit, probably at about 900 feet. But other than that it was a perfect run.”
McClenathan recorded the quickest and fastest run to 1000 feet in NHRA history at 3.752-seconds and 324.75 mph. Both are track records.
Just how quick was the run? It was quick enough to leave McClenathan wondering what had happened.
“My thought was, Man, it's over already? I came around the corner and the Safety Safari guys are going crazy, so I knew it had to be good.”
McClenathan stands on the cusp of a world record if he can procure the required one-percent back-up of 3.789-seconds.
“I really do think that we can back it up,” McClenathan explained. “We can go for it tomorrow. It's one of those thing where we would like to make everything happen all the time for everybody. Right now is a good time for us. If the conditions are right, we'll go for it.”
