Pomona II: Cory McClenathan final summary

Cory Mac, Carrier Boyz Racing Team Finish Ninth in 2006 POWERade Points

Cory McClenathan and the  Carrier Boyz Racing Top Fuel team got their wish
Sunday -- they wound up ninth in  NHRA POWERade Series points, extending
McClenathan's personal mark to 15  consecutive top 10 finishes in years when he's
competed for the full  season.

It was official when Morgan Lucas lost in the quarterfinals, giving McClenathan 1036 points. The FRAM Boost dragster, meanwhile, lost a tight race to Larry Dixon in Sunday's opening round of the Automobile Club of Southern California Finals at Pomona Raceway.

"I really happy about getting ninth place," said McClenathan, of Lake Havasu City, Ariz. "But I am more excited about what Wes (Cerny, crew chief) and Tony (Shortall, assistant crew chief) learned when they tested new parts over the last few races. We will be able to apply everything to next year's tune-up.

"For FRAM, Honeywell, JEGS, Torco Racing  Fuels and all our sponsors, it's
going to be a pleasure to go to Monday's awards  ceremony after finishing
ninth.  It would have crushed me to not make the  top 10."

The only year McClenathan wasn't in the elite 10 was 2001 when he competed in just one race.

"Next year we are looking  forward to finishing better -- like in the top
five.  That's our focus," he  added.  "Mark and Andy (Carrier) and I had
meetings Sunday afternoon  discussing what we're going to do to get ready for 2007.
We have some  exciting things ahead.  There will be new paint schemes, a
hospitality  area.  We will be ready when the new season begins."

"We went through a lot of problems this year and still wound up ninth, just like we did last year," said Mark Carrier. "We used five cars and had two bad crashes, but that is behind us. We are looking forward to next year. All our crew is returning and we should have a pretty good handle on things. We plan to hit the ground running when the 2007 season begins.'

McClenathan's final 2006 quarter-mile race was close, Dixon winning with a 4.535-second, 323.04-mph effort to a 4.543 at 331.28 mph. It was the third time the orange FRAM Boost dragster broke the 330-mph barrier during the weekend.

The Winternationals launch the 2007 season February 8-11 at Pomona Raceway.

-credit: cbr