For the first time since 2012, standout Top Fuel driver Cory McClenathan will compete in a limited NHRA Mello Yello Series schedule in 2015.

Cory Mac, as he is known, will drive two dragsters for owners – Mike Dakin and Dexter Tuttle.

“I’m doing a nine-race stint with Mike Dakin, starting with Gainesville, Fla. (March 12-15)” McClenathan said. “It’s kind of an East Coast deal for the most part and then I will start out with Dexter Tuttle at Charlotte’s second race (Sept. 18-20). For Tuttle, I will do Charlotte, Dallas, Las Vegas and Pomona and possibly Dexter will throw in more. I’m hoping to hit 15 races between the two teams, but it depends on how everything comes to together.”

 
For the first time since 2012, standout Top Fuel driver Cory McClenathan will compete in a limited NHRA Mello Yello Series schedule in 2015.

Cory Mac, as he is known, will drive two dragsters for owners – Mike Dakin and Dexter Tuttle.

“I’m doing a nine-race stint with Mike Dakin, starting with Gainesville, Fla. (March 12-15)” McClenathan said. “It’s kind of an East Coast deal for the most part and then I will start out with Dexter Tuttle at Charlotte’s second race (Sept. 18-20). For Tuttle, I will do Charlotte, Dallas, Las Vegas and Pomona and possibly Dexter will throw in more. I’m hoping to hit 15 races between the two teams, but it depends on how everything comes to together.”

McClenathan last competed in more than a handful of Top Fuel races in 2012 when he drove in 15 events for Australian Santo Rapisarda’s team.

“I’m excited about this,” McClenathan said about his 2015 schedule. “I’m used to moving around. I have drove for a lot of different teams over the years. The Dakin family is really great people. They have brought on Jimmy Dupuy and Scott French to work on the car as well as Bob Peck, along with some new people because of the bigger race schedule. On the Dexter side, Dexter and I have always got along well, we look at things the same when it comes to the race and the race track, and he loves to do the tuning stuff.”

Cory Mac has won 34 career Top Fuel national events, the last coming in Seattle in 2010 when he was behind the wheel for Don Schumacher Racing. McClenathan has finished second in NHRA’s Top Fuel world standings four times in his career – 1992, ’95, ’97-98.

“Last year with Dakin I drove for him at Norwalk and we just fell short of qualifying and then we went to Indy and we didn’t have a good outing at all,” McClenathan said. “It was a part-time thing and we made some mistakes and I (last) ran with Dexter in 2011 at Topeka. This year isn’t about just going to have fun for me, I want to go out and do well. I want to qualify well. I want to try and go some rounds and obviously it would be great to put one of these cars in the winner’s circle and get one for me and one for them.”

At Topeka in 2011 with Tuttle, Cory Mac qualified No. 8 and lost in the first round to Antron Brown when his dragster broke.

McClenathan also acknowledged he will be racing more than just at the dragstrip this year as he’s also going to make his debut in the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series.

“I grew up with Dave Winner and Dave owns Fabtech out in Chino (Calif.) here,” McClenathan said. “We have been friends for a lot of years and his sons, Ryan and Cory started doing the off road stuff a few years back in the minis (class). Dave and I were talking one day and I told him I was really kind of interested about getting into one of these things (off road tucks). He told me they (were planning on) moving Cory and Ryan into the Pro Lite series (in 2016). They have kind of regional set up kind of a deal, and I’m going to drive one of the trucks in the regional races because we all need to get some time underneath our belts this year. Dave’s going to rent a track here in the next week and we are going to go out and do some testing and go right into the race, which I believe is Feb. 7. They have two trucks. Cory will be in one of the trucks and Ryan will do some racing as well and I will be in the other truck. Dave’s sons have done off road races, but I have never been in one. I’m hoping the testing goes well. This will be my first hit at it.”

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