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Image courtesy NHRA/National Dragster
After two years of running a very limited schedule, four-time NHRA Top Fuel world championship runner-up Cory McClenathan will saddle up and compete at about a dozen NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series national events this season in a split campaign in the cars owned by Mike and Chris Dakin and Dexter Tuttle.
McClenathan will begin his NHRA season in Gainesville with the Dakin team and also compete in Charlotte (Four-Wide Nationals), Atlanta, Englishtown, Bristol, Norwalk, Brainerd, St Louis, and possibly Indy with the Warrior Racing team.
McClenathan will switch to Tuttle’s Liquid MPG Fuel Additive entry during Countdown to the Championship events in Charlotte, Dallas, Las Vegas, and the Auto Club NHRA Finals in Pomona. Additional events may be added with the Tuttle car.
“Even though we’re not running the first three races, we’d like to be able to get and stay in the top 10 by Indy and be in the Countdown, and we’d obviously look at adding events if we get into that position,” said McClenathan. “I’m also working on some good sponsorship deals that could get us to more races – and into 2016 — but I’m not going to talk about that until it happens.
“Regardless, I’m excited to be running a strong schedule with Mike and Dexter. Both of these are quality cars with quality parts and good people, so I’m excited to get going. Fans can keep up with our progress at www.corymacracing.com.”
McClenathan, whose last full season in 2010 resulted in a third-place finish – the eighth top-three finish of his career – competed in just two events the last two years while driving for the Dakins and his team. McClenathan ran 15 races in 2012 with Australian crane magnate Santo Rapisarda and forged a six-race campaign in 2011 with Rapisarda and Tuttle.
Dakin’s team will be led by tuners Jimmy Dupuy and Scott French, who will work with longtime Dakin team member Bob Peck. Sponsorship help will come from Indian Creek Fabricators, Mutual Tool, Red Line Oil, Impact, and Goodson.
Tuttle partnered last year with Clay Millican and finished in 12th place, highlighted by a semifinal finish in Epping.
In addition to his dragstrip duties, McClenathan also will try his hand this season at off-road truck racing in the Lucas Off Road Series, competing in the regional Pro Lite program with FabTech Industries owner Dave Winner and his son, Cory, in a two-truck effort. If all goes well, the duo will move into the Pro Lite Pro Series in 2016. Sponsors for that effort in FabTech, Dirt Logic, Fleshgear, Impact, General Tire, Maxima Racing Oils, Ultra Wheels, Eibach, and Motive Gears.
