CORY MAC GAINS SPONSOR, POINTS

A lot of changes have happened to Carrier Boyz Racing, owned by Andy and Mark Carrier, and their driver Cory McClenathan since the team was in Reading, PA in September for the NHRA Lucas Oil Nationals.

Perhaps the biggest news came last weekend at the CARQUEST Auto Parts Nationals, when FRAM, a unit of Honeywell Consumer Products Group, which manufactures and markets FRAM automotive filters, announced a multi-year sponsorship agreement beginning in 2005 with the Carrier Boyz Racing Top Fuel team and McClenathan.

The remainder of the changes came about in Cory Mac's quest for a guaranteed position in the Budweiser Shootout, a special race-within-a-race being held during the NHRA ACDelco Las Vegas Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, October 30.

In the newly established qualifying procedure for the 2004 Budweiser Shootout only the seven Top Fuel drivers in positions 1-7 will be guaranteed a spot in the Shootout. The eighth position spot, a wild card position, will be awarded to one of the eight drivers who qualify in positions 8-15 through a special lottery drawing.

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When McClenathan visited Maple Grove Raceway in September he was in the No. 8 spot with 2330 points, 65 points behind Doug Herbert in seventh. Then at Dallas, the Anaheim, Calif., driver picked up 20 of the needed 65 points. But the biggest surprise came at Chicago last weekend. McClenathan qualified No. 1, while Herbert qualified fifth. That narrowed the gap to ten points. But when Larry Dixon did not qualify at Chicago, both Herbert and McClenathan moved up a spot, sixth and seventh respectively, and Dixon dropped to eighth, 45 points behind Cory Mac.  (Ron Lewis photo)  [10-7-2004]