Cory McClenathan’s Top Fuel dragster moves from 0 to 320 m.p.h. in the time it takes to read these words. Yet inactivity is the only thing that really scares McClenathan.
After Joe Gibbs withdrew from drag racing and sponsorship of McClenathan’s team at the end of the 2000 season, McClenathan found himself without the funding to run his car. He competed in only one race in 2001, spending most of the time in Orange County, Calif., with Courtney, his 11-year-old daughter. Courtney convinced her father to get back into racing again at all costs.
McClenathan returned this year and will compete this weekend at the Chicagoland Dodge Dealers NHRA Nationals at Route 66 Raceway in Joliet. Champions will be crowned Sunday in Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle.
After losing Winston as its longtime major sponsor, the NHRA picked up Powerade between seasons.
McClenathan joined Henkelman and Baca Motorsports. He ranks third behind Larry Dixon and Kenny Bernstein, who is retiring after this season, in the current Top Fuel point standings.
“I’m learning how to do this as a business, in terms of what you have to do to cater to a sponsor,” said McClenathan, whose 26 career victories over 12 years tie him for 12th in NHRA history. “That’s not something I ever had to worry about before. But now I realize driving the car is actually a small part of the job.”
Dixon, who has won five of the first nine races, has a seemingly insurmountable 143-point lead, even with 13 races remaining.
John Force, whose 100 victories are tops in NHRA history, owns the top three Funny Car teams in the point standings with the support of Castrol. But Force is the exception to the rule, especially during the economic downswing since Sept. 11.
“Force is the Chicago Bulls dynasty that never broke up,” Dixon said. “He’s kept that team together for close to 20 years.”
