TIRE KINGDOM NHRA GATORNATIONALS PREVIEW

McCLENATHAN EYEING ELUSIVE NHRA FULL THROTTLE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP CROWN AS FRAM TEAM OFF TO HOT START

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Veteran Top Fuel driver Cory McClenathan, who has accomplished much during his highly-decorated NHRA racing career, still needs to check off two pesky items that stand out near the top of his drag racing bucket list.

Item one – A win at the tradition-rich Tire Kingdom NHRA Gatornationals, one of NHRA’s major events

Item two – An NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series Top Fuel world championship title

If early season performance indicates anything, the Anaheim, Calif. native may be well on his way to crossing both off the list in 2010.

He’s called his FRAM dragster a “bracket car” for its incredible consistency early on this season. Crew chiefs Todd Okuhara and Phil Shuler have mastered the tune-up and can dial up a 3.81 when needed almost at will. Factor in McClenathan’s years of driving experience, and the combination could produce a champion’s trophy by year’s end.

McClenathan opened the season as the No. 1 qualifier at the NHRA Winternationals, then posted a semifinal finish at the Southern California season-opener before claiming his 32nd career victory one week later in Phoenix.

He heads to historic Gainesville Raceway for the Tire Kingdom NHRA Gatornationals, March 11-14, as the Top Fuel points leader, a position he hopes to hang on to for the entire 10-month season. Larry Dixon (Top Fuel), Bob Tasca (Funny Car), Jason Line (Pro Stock) and Hector Arana (Pro Stock Motorcycle) are the defending winners of the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series event, which will be televised on ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD.

“Right now we’re the points leader and we’re going in there with the same attitude of, ‘Let’s qualify very well, let’s try to keep lane choice on race day, and try to put this FRAM car in the winner’s circle,’” McClenathan said. “The FRAM car is definitely the car to beat right now and I think people know that and they’re taking notice of it. Obviously our teammates’ cars, Tony’s (Schumacher) and Antron’s (Brown), are running well; Larry Dixon’s running good also; and Doug Kalitta, obviously.”

Amazingly, McClenathan’s effort last season is his only final round appearance at the Florida track. He posted a runner-up finish to Larry Dixon. He knows the importance of the Gatornationals in NHRA lore and he would love to add his name to the impressive list of winners.

“We’ve done fairly well there in the past,” McClenathan said. “Every time you go to a track you never won at you want to walk away with that Wally on those weekends. And if you have been driving as long as I have been, you want to win at every single race track on the tour, and that’s one that has eluded us. We had some very good weekends there, we qualified well there, went to a final, but we never seemed to be able to make it to the winner’s circle there.”

And after he qualified No. 1 at Pomona, McClenathan made it very clear what his objective was for the season. He said at the time he wanted to make his presence known early on and not lurk in the background. He said he wanted to go toe-to-toe with the competition from day one. At the same time, he is very respectful of the competition.

“We’re not taking anybody lightly from here on out,” he said. “We’re just going to run our own race, but at the same time it definitely feels good to be the points leader for a (while) before we do roll into Gainesville. We’re kind of going with the flow. Yes, it’s nice to be the points leader; we’re only there by a few points and it could change every single weekend, and we know that. I think nowadays when we look at the Countdown we would like to be points leader the whole season and have those few extra points when we do go into the Countdown. But at the same time it’s about winning races, going rounds, and trying to take home as many trophies as we can before the Countdown starts.”

And about that 320-mph bracket car? He’s having a great time driving it. He hopes to put it in the Wally Parks NHRA Museum one day as the 2010 Top Fuel world champion.

“I think in testing we did exactly what Todd and Phil wanted to do,” McClenathan said. “And, in the off-season we all looked at what the car really needed and that was to shed some weight and be real close to the minimum weight. And now we have a weight bar on the car and we’re able to control that, and a lighter car goes quicker and faster. That’s all there is to it.”

“We kind of parlayed two different things into one and that’s really worked out great for us,” he continued. “The more runs that Todd and Phil have in the dragster the more confident they become, the more competent I become behind the wheel, and I think that will just keep on getting better.”

In Funny Car, 14-time world champ John Force has advanced to two consecutive final rounds, winning at the Winternationals, and currently leads the point standings in that category. Jack Beckman earned the Phoenix win, while teammate Ron Capps has also been strong early on in his NAPA Dodge Charger. Others to watch include defending world champ Robert Hight, Ashley Force Hood and two-time series champ Tony Pedregon.

During Gatornationals qualifying, eight Pro Stock racers will simultaneously continue the rain-delayed eliminations from the NHRA Arizona Nationals. The highlight of those pairings include a quarterfinal meeting between defending world champ Mike Edwards, the winner of the season-opener, and three-time world champ Greg Anderson.

The race will showcase the season-debut of the Pro Stock Motorcycle category. Defending world champ and event champ Arana will try to continue his recent success on his Lucas Oil Buell. His competition will be stout and include past champs Eddie Krawiec, Andrew Hines and Matt Smith. Others to watch in the two-wheel category include Doug Horne, Karen Stoffer, Craig Treble, Steve Johnson and David Hope.

• SCHEDULE: Full Throttle Series qualifying sessions are scheduled for noon and 2:45 p.m. on March 12 and March 13. Final eliminations begin at 11 a.m. on Sunday, March 14.

• TICKETS: Tickets are available for the 41st annual Tire Kingdom NHRA Gatornationals. Call NHRA at (800) 884-NHRA or visit www.ticketmaster.com to purchase tickets.

• ON TV: ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will televise two hours of qualifying highlights at 2 a.m. (ET) on Sunday, March 14; that show also will re-air later the same day at 10 a.m. (ET). ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will televise NHRA Race Day, a 30-minute pre-race show, at noon (ET) on Sunday, March 14. ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will televise three hours of eliminations coverage beginning at 6 p.m. (ET) on Sunday, March 14.

• LUCAS OIL SERIES: The 41st annual Tire Kingdom NHRA Gatornationals also will feature competition in seven categories in the NHRA Lucas Oil Series, where the future stars of the NHRA Full Throttle Series earn their racing stripes. Lucas Oil Series qualifying begins at 7:30 a.m. on March 11. Lucas Oil Series eliminations begin at 7:30 a.m. on March 12.

• GET SCREENED AMERICA PRO MOD SERIES: NHRA’s newest touring series will make its debut at the Tire Kingdom NHRA Gatornationals. The series will feature some of the world’s fastest and most unique doorslammer cars, featuring an ecclectic mix of vintage and late model body styles, in quarter-mile competition.

• ON THE WEB: Get live timing, scoring, multimedia and the latest news updates from every NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series event on the Internet at www.nhra.com. Visit the official NHRA pages on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.

NHRA ARIZONA NATIONALS PRO STOCK ELIMINATIONS TO BE COMPLETED DURING TIRE KINGDOM GATORNATIONALS QUALIFYING

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – In an unprecedented move, NHRA officials rescheduled the completion of Pro Stock eliminations for the NHRA Arizona Nationals two weeks ago in Phoenix to the scheduled qualifying sessions at the Tire Kingdom NHRA Gatornationals this weekend at historic Gainesville Raceway.

Eight Pro Stock competitors will race for the NHRA Arizona Nationals Wally during quarterfinals, semifinals and final round competition that will be held during Gatornationals qualifying. The times posted for these rescheduled elimination runs also will count toward qualifying for the Tire Kingdom NHRA Gatornationals.

The four quarterfinal pairings will be featured during Friday’s second Pro Stock session. The two semifinal pairings will be featured during Saturday’s first Pro Stock session and the final round will be held during the final Pro Stock session on Saturday.

Below is a breakdown of the elimination pairings:

QUARTERFINALS (Friday, March 12 at approximately 2:45 p.m.)

Mike Edwards vs. Greg Anderson
Allen Johnson vs. Jason Line
Ron Krisher vs. Greg Stanfield
Rodger Brogdon vs. Bob Yonke

SEMIFINALS (Saturday, March 13 at approximately noon)

Edwards-Anderson winner vs. Johnson-Line winner
Krisher-Stanfield winner vs. Brogdon-Yonke winner

FINAL ROUND

To be held at approximately 2:45 p.m., Saturday, March 13

• SCHEDULE: Full Throttle qualifying sessions are scheduled for noon and 2:45 p.m. on March 12 and March 13. Final eliminations begin at 11 a.m. on Sunday, March 14.

• TICKETS: Tickets are available for the 41st annual Tire Kingdom NHRA Gatornationals. Call NHRA at (800) 884-NHRA or visit www.ticketmaster.com to purchase tickets.

• ON TV: ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will televise two hours of qualifying highlights at 2 a.m. (ET) on Sunday, March 14; that show also will re-air later the same day at 10 a.m. (ET). ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will televise NHRA Race Day, a 30-minute pre-race show, at noon (ET) on Sunday, March 14. ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will televise three hours of eliminations coverage beginning at 6 p.m. (ET) on Sunday, March 14.

• LUCAS OIL SERIES: The 41st annual Tire Kingdom NHRA Gatornationals also will feature competition in seven categories in the NHRA Lucas Oil Series, where the future stars of the NHRA Full Throttle Series earn their racing stripes. Lucas Oil Series qualifying begins at 7:30 a.m. on March 11. Lucas Oil Series eliminations begin at 7:30 a.m. on March 12.

• GET SCREENED AMERICA PRO MOD SERIES: NHRA’s newest touring series will make its debut at the Tire Kingdom NHRA Gatornationals. The series will feature some of the world’s fastest and most unique doorslammer cars, featuring an ecclectic mix of vintage and late model body styles, in quarter-mile competition.

• ON THE WEB: Get live timing, scoring, multimedia and the latest news updates from every NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series event on the Internet at www.nhra.com. Visit the official NHRA pages on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.

PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE CATEGORY MAKES 2010 NHRA FULL THROTTLE SERIES DEBUT AT TIRE KINGDOM NHRA GATORNATIONALS

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The high-revving excitement of NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle competition will make its 2010 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series debut at the Tire Kingdom NHRA Gatornationals when qualifying opens for the two-wheel category on Friday, March 12 at historic Gainesville Raceway.

The Tire Kingdom NHRA Gatornationals, the third of 23 events in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series and first of 17 for the Pro Stock Motorcycle category, will be held March 11-14 at historic Gainesville Raceway. Larry Dixon (Top Fuel), Bob Tasca (Funny Car), Jason Line (Pro Stock) and Hector Arana (Pro Stock Motorcycle) are the defending winners of the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series event, which will be televised on ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD.

Defending world champ and event champ Arana, who had a dream season in 2009, will try to continue his recent string of success on his Lucas Oil Buell.

“Now I’m the one all the others will try to beat,” Arana said. “I have to be even better than before, and I want to be because I hear sometimes that people say I got lucky. I won five races. I had the No. 1 qualifier eight times. I set the record. That’s more than luck. It’s okay because it just gives me more reasons to race hard again this year.

“We didn’t change anything on the bike. (Lucas Oil teammate) Larry Morgan helped us so much last year with our engine program and we had a new oil from Lucas Oil that made a big difference. We didn’t feel like we had to do too much. Plus, we were going all over the place with the bike for shows and autograph things.”

The 20-year veteran rider says winning the season-opener is a big momentum booster and was key in getting his hunt for the championship last year off to a strong start.

“It’s good to win the first one because it sets up the whole year,” Arana said. “I beat (past champions) Eddie Krawiec and Matt Smith too, so it was a tough race. Everyone goes to Gainesville looking to see how they measure against the others. You find out real quick what happened in the off-season.”

Arana’s 2010 competition will be stout and include past champs Eddie Krawiec and Andrew Hines of the Screamin’ Eagle Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson team and Matt Smith, who returns to compete on his own bike, the Al-Anabi Racing Buell.

Others to watch in the two-wheel category include last year’s rookie phenom Doug Horne, GEICO Powersports Suzuki rider Karen Stoffer, Team Scream’s Craig Treble, two-time U.S. Nationals winner Steve Johnson, Coffman Tank Trucks Buell rider Angie Smith and David Hope, who will be riding the Mohegan Sun Racing Buell.

• SCHEDULE: Full Throttle Series qualifying sessions are scheduled for noon and 2:45 p.m. on March 12 and March 13. Final eliminations begin at 11 a.m. on Sunday, March 14.

• TICKETS: Tickets are available for the 41st annual Tire Kingdom NHRA Gatornationals. Call NHRA at (800) 884-NHRA or visit www.ticketmaster.com to purchase tickets.

• ON TV: ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will televise two hours of qualifying highlights at 2 a.m. (ET) on Sunday, March 14; that show also will re-air later the same day at 10 a.m. (ET). ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will televise NHRA Race Day, a 30-minute pre-race show, at noon (ET) on Sunday, March 14. ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will televise three hours of eliminations coverage beginning at 6 p.m. (ET) on Sunday, March 14.

• LUCAS OIL SERIES: The 41st annual Tire Kingdom NHRA Gatornationals also will feature competition in seven categories in the NHRA Lucas Oil Series, where the future stars of the NHRA Full Throttle Series earn their racing stripes. Lucas Oil Series qualifying begins at 7:30 a.m. on March 11. Lucas Oil Series eliminations begin at 7:30 a.m. on March 12.

• GET SCREENED AMERICA PRO MOD SERIES: NHRA’s newest touring series will make its debut at the Tire Kingdom NHRA Gatornationals. The series will feature some of the world’s fastest and most unique doorslammer cars, featuring an ecclectic mix of vintage and late model body styles, in quarter-mile competition.

• ON THE WEB: Get live timing, scoring, multimedia and the latest news updates from every NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series event on the Internet at www.nhra.com. Visit the official NHRA pages on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.

TIRE KINGDOM NHRA GATORNATIONALS FACT SHEET

WHAT: 41st Tire Kingdom NHRA Gatornationals, the third of 23 events in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series. Drivers in four categories - Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle - earn points leading to 2010 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series world championships.

WHERE: Gainesville Raceway, Gainesville, Fla. The track is located on 11211 North County Road 225 in Gainesville.

WHEN: Thursday through Sunday, March 11-14

SCHEDULE: THURSDAY, March 11 – LUCAS OIL SERIES qualifying at 9 a.m.

FRIDAY, March 12 – LUCAS OIL SERIES qualifying at 7:30 a.m.
GET SCREENED AMERICA PRO MOD SERIES qualifying at 1:45 p.m. and 4:30 p.m.
FULL THROTTLE SERIES qualifying at noon and 2:45 p.m.

SATURDAY, March 13 – LUCAS OIL SERIES eliminations begin at 7:30 a.m.
GET SCREENED AMERICA PRO MOD SERIES qualifying at 1:45 p.m. and 4:30 p.m.
FULL THROTTLE SERIES qualifying at noon and 2:45 p.m.

SUNDAY, March 14 - Pre-race ceremonies, 10 a.m.
FULL THROTTLE SERIES eliminations begin at 11 a.m.

TELEVISION: Sunday, March 14, ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will televise two hours of qualifying highlights at midnight (ET).
Sunday, March 14, ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will re-air the two-hour qualifying highlights show at 10 a.m. (ET).
Sunday, March 14, ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will televise NHRA Race Day, a 30-minute news magazine show, at noon (ET).
Sunday, March 14, ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will televise three hours of coverage starting at 6 p.m. (ET).

SATELLITE: Friday, March 12, 7:30 - 8 p.m. (ET), AMC 6 / Transponder 21K (11920 MHz, vertical)
(Analog feed) Saturday, March 13, 7 - 7:30 p.m. (ET), AMC 6 / Transponder 21K (11920 MHz, vertical)
Sunday, March 14, 7 - 7:30 p.m. (ET), AMC 6 / Transponder 21K (11920 MHz, vertical)
Video news release contains race action highlights each day and winners’ interviews on Sunday.

2009 EVENT
WINNERS: Larry Dixon, Top Fuel; Bob Tasca, Funny Car; Jason Line, Pro Stock; Hector Arana, Pro Stock Motorcycle.

TRACK Top Fuel - 3.882 seconds by Larry Dixon, March ’09; 315.42 mph by Brandon Bernstein, March ’09.
RECORDS: Funny Car - 4.118 seconds by Ashley Force Hood, March ’09; 304.60 mph by John Force, March ‘09.
Pro Stock - 6.536 seconds by Greg Anderson, March ’07; 211.69 by Jason Line, March ’07.
PS Motorcycle - 6.911 seconds by Angelle Sampey, March ’07; 197.45 mph by Andrew Hines, March ’05.
(Top Fuel and Funny Car race distance is 1,000 feet; Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle is 1,320 feet)

NATIONAL Top Fuel - 3.771 sec. by Tony Schumacher, Oct. ’08, Richmond, Va.; 321.58 mph by Larry Dixon, Nov. ’09, Pomona, Calif.
RECORDS: Funny Car - 4.023 sec. by Ron Capps, Feb. ’09, Chandler, Ariz.; 312.13 mph by Ashley Force Hood, April ’09, Atlanta
Pro Stock - 6.509 sec. by Mike Edwards, Oct. ’09, Richmond, Va.; 212.36 mph by Greg Anderson, Oct. ’09, Richmond, Va.
PS Motorcycle- 6.851 sec. by Hector Arana, Sept. ’09, Memphis, Tenn.; 197.45 mph by Andrew Hines, March ’05, Gainesville, Fla.
(Top Fuel and Funny Car race distance is 1,000 feet; Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle is 1,320 feet)

TICKETS: For tickets call NHRA, (800) 884-NHRA (6472); Tickets also available at Ticketmaster.com or at NHRA.com.

GENERAL ADMISSION (includes pit pass) - FULL EVENT: $140. DAILY: Thursday: Adult, $16; Junior (6-12 years), $10; Friday: Adult, $36; Junior (6-12 years), $10. Saturday: Adult, $58; Junior (6-12 years), $10. Sunday: Adult, $58; Junior (6-12 years) $10. Children (5 years-under), free with paying adult in general admission and pit access areas each day.

RESERVED SEATS (includes pit pass) - Friday: Adult, $46; Junior (6-12 years), $20; Child (5 years-under), $10. Saturday: Adult, $65; Junior (6-12 years), $24; Child (5 years and under), $14. Sunday: Adult, $65; Junior (6-12 years), $24; Child (5 years and under), $14.

2010 NHRA FULL THROTTLE DRAG RACING SERIES POINT STANDINGS

GLENDORA, Calif. -- Point standings (top 10) for NHRA professional categories following the second of 23 events in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series -

Top Fuel

1. Cory McClenathan, 201; 2. Doug Kalitta, 196; 3. Larry Dixon, 161; 4. Tony Schumacher, 144; 5. Morgan Lucas, 108; 6. Steve Torrence, 107; 7. Troy Buff, 103; 8. Shawn Langdon, 92; 9. Antron Brown, 90; 10. Brandon Bernstein, 85.

Funny Car

1. John Force, 224; 2. Jack Beckman, 187; 3. Ron Capps, 148; 4. Robert Hight, 121; 5. Matt Hagan, 120; 6. (tie) Ashley Force Hood, 111; Bob Tasca III, 111; 8. Tony Pedregon, 104; 9. Del Worsham, 97; 10. Jim Head, 86.

Pro Stock (Through first round of Phoenix eliminations; quarterfinals, semifinals and final will be completed during final three rounds of qualifying at Tire Kingdom NHRA Gatornationals)

1. Mike Edwards, 197; 2. Greg Anderson, 147; 3. Allen Johnson, 136; 4. Rodger Brogdon, 112; 5. Greg Stanfield, 105; 6. Larry Morgan, 102; 7. Ron Krisher, 99; 8. Jason Line, 87; 9. Ronnie Humphrey, 85; 10. Shane Gray, 82.