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Reading: Cory McClenathan news 2010-10-18

CORY MAC'S LUNCH DATE BROWNSBURG, Ind. (Oct. 18, 2010) - What do two fierce competitors (and neighbors) who are battling it out for an NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series Top Fuel championship do between events as the season winds down to the ...

CORY MAC'S LUNCH DATE

BROWNSBURG, Ind. (Oct. 18, 2010) - What do two fierce competitors (and neighbors) who are battling it out for an NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series Top Fuel championship do between events as the season winds down to the final two races? Send scathing texts and/or emails to each other? Let the air out of each other's tires? Get into fist-fights at the local pub? Snub each other when shopping at the local auto parts store?

They go to lunch.

Cory McClenathan and Larry Dixon are deep in a fight for the 2010 NHRA Top Fuel crown with two events remaining in the season. Dixon has a leg up, leading "Cory Mac" by 89 points. Dixon is going for his third NHRA championship, McClenathan for his first. With two weekends off before they race at the penultimate season event in Las Vegas, the pair took time in Brownsburg, Ind., to break bread and talk family.

"Larry and I have been friends for 20 years," said McClenathan, who races the FRAM Top Fuel dragster for Don Schumacher Racing. "He owns a complex in Brownsburg where I rent a space to store my 1966 Nova. So, I went over there the other day to store the Nova and he and I decided to go have some lunch and talk about the last race in Reading." They met up in the final round in Reading, in which Dixon took the win in a dramatic pedalfest.

"Larry knows it's not over by a long shot and I'm certainly not going to give up any time soon," added McClenathan. "He knows he's got a battle ahead of him, still. We laughed about it, but we also talked about what we normally do, and that's family, what's going on with the kids and our partners (Dixon's wife Ali and McClenathan's fiancee Debi). It didn't completely revolve around our work.

"But, we did get some funny looks from people who recognized us," said McClenathan.

"It's always been straight up with me and Larry. There's no gray area. I was driving a Top Fuel car before he even started, and it's not always a battle between us. But, when we get to Las Vegas, I guarantee it will be a battle."

Next up for the 2010 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series is the 10th annual NHRA Las Vegas Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Oct. 29-31.

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