Cory McClenathan has experienced easier weekends at the drags.

During the weekend of the NHRA Supernationals in Englishtown, N.J.,
McClenathan found himself grieving the loss of a fellow racer and
recovering from eye surgery in the days leading up to the event.

He reached the semi-finals only to lose on a holeshot to teammate Tony Schumacher. On this day racing seemed unimportant.

Expecting to face Doug Kalitta in the opening round, McClenathan was
first up in eliminations and made a solo pass after Kalitta's team made
the decision to withdraw its teams (Doug Kalitta, Hillary Will and Dave
Grubnic) after Doug's cousin Scott was fatally injured. The FRAM
dragster recorded a run of 4.586/322.50, which gave him lane choice
over Larry Dixon in the second round. After a rain delay, he defeated
Dixon with a 4.671/304.74 to Dixon's 4.701/282.19 and advanced to the
semifinals.

Reigning JEGS ProMod Challenge champion Josh Hernandez made a big move Sunday
with his second victory of the season. Hernandez beat Mike Castellana in the
final round of the 39th annual Lucas Oil NHRA SuperNationals to jump from sixth
to second place and is now just 51 points behind leader Tony
Pontieri.

This was Hernandez's 15th win in the eight-year history of the
JEGS ProMod Challenge series, by far the most of any racer. It was the first
time he claimed a trophy at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park.

"We owed
this to a couple of people," Hernandez said. "We were on a great streak coming
into this race a year ago and Tim Tindle whipped us and ended that deal so we
wanted to come back strong here. That was the plan and it all worked
out."

Point standings (top 10) for NHRA professional categories following
the 39th annual Lucas Oil NHRA SuperNationals at Old Bridge Township
Raceway Park, the 11th of 24 events in the  NHRA POWERade Drag Racing
Series -

Top Fuel

1.  Tony Schumacher, 1,009; 2.  Antron Brown, 765; 3.  Larry Dixon,
756; 4.  Rod Fuller, 668; 5.  Hillary Will, 652; 6.  Cory McClenathan,
633; 7.  Brandon Bernstein, 609; 8.  Doug Herbert, 499; 9.  Doug
Kalitta, 483; 10.  David Grubnic, 480.

Sunday's final results from the 39th annual Lucas Oil NHRA SuperNationals at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park.
The  race is the 11th of 24 in the  NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series:

Top Fuel -- Tony Schumacher, 4.589 seconds, 325.06 mph def. Brandon Bernstein, 4.562 seconds, 323.04 mph.

Final round-by-round results from the 39th annual Lucas Oil NHRA
SuperNationals at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park, the 11th of 24
events in the  NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series:

TOP FUEL:

ROUND ONE -- Cory McClenathan, 4.586, 322.50 def. Doug Kalitta,
broke; Bob Vandergriff, 5.295, 144.06 def. Hillary Will, broke; Rod
Fuller, 4.963, 245.23 def. Morgan Lucas, 5.245, 209.49; Doug Herbert,
4.748, 298.80 def. Doug Foley, foul; Antron Brown, 4.567, 322.73 def.
J.R. Todd, 4.639, 310.05; Brandon Bernstein, 4.692, 316.60 def. Todd
Paton, broke; Tony Schumacher, 5.044, 263.82 def. Steve Torrence,
5.125, 258.27; Larry Dixon, 4.638, 313.58 def. David Grubnic, broke;

The NHRA issued the following release regarding Scott Kalitta's fatal accident during the NHRA Supernationals in Englishtown, N.J.  

On behalf of everyone at NHRA, we are deeply saddened and want to pass along
our sincere condolences to the entire Kalitta family.

Scott shared the
same passion for drag racing as his legendary father, Connie.  He also shared
the same desire to win, becoming a two-time series world champion.   He left
the sport for a period of time, to devote more time to his family, only to be
driven to return to the drag strip to regain his championship form. 

Scott Kalitta was fatally
injured in a high-speed crash during the NHRA Lucas Oil Supernationals in Englishtown, N.J.
The former Top Fuel world champion was competing in the Funny Car division when
his Toyota Solara exploded
an engine, resulting in a parachute malfunction.

The remnants of the race car then
sped towards the sandtrap and cleared the catch net.

Steve
Torrence made a quick return to the Top Fuel ranks. He hadn't driven
since November of 2006 when he ran in Friday's first session. (Roger
Richards)

Steve Torrence was sitting at his home, eating dinner with his wife
when the phone rang. It was Dexter Tuttle asking if he’d like to drive
a Top Fuel dragster again.

“I had told her that I was just going to put it in God’s hands and
leave it alone,” Torrence said. “I just kind of put it on the back
burner and went on with life. Short of going to every race, I didn’t
know what else to do.”

Torrence said the prayer was the best thing he could have done.

Ohio Crankshaft racer Scott Ray got crossed up at the launch and spun
completely around two times, yet somehow Ray managed to keep the car
from hitting anything and he's ready to continue the race.