Cory McClenathan and the Fram Tough Guard Top Fuel team have one victory under their belts, as well as the Countdown to 1 playoffs points lead, following the NHRA Carolina Nationals on last Sunday.

Courtesy: NHRA Media Relations

Dallas, Texas–Now that Cory McClenathan and the Fram Tough Guard Top Fuel team have one victory under their belts, as well as the Countdown to 1 playoffs points lead, following the NHRA Carolina Nationals on Sunday, they're on plan as they head to this weekend's NHRA Fall Nationals at the Texas Motorplex.

"Our goal is the same as always: go in there, get qualified well on Friday afternoon, try to run good Friday night, and pick up some of those extra qualifying points that they're now offering [three, two and one points for the top three qualifiers in each qualifying round] to give us a little cushion points-wise before eliminations on Sunday," said McClenathan, a three-time winner in Dallas.

"Texas Motorplex is an all-concrete track, [owner] Billy Meyer takes good care of it, and we know it will be fast," added McClenathan, who also was low qualifier there in 1994. "The weather makes a big difference on that track. Hopefully, it will be somewhat cool and not overly hot. But I also think we have a good car for hot and cool tracks.

"[Crew chiefs] Phil [Shuler] and Todd [Okuhara] and the Fram Tough Guard boys will do exactly what they're supposed to, which is forget about the points deal and go in there and get qualified well and work on it for Sunday.

"We've attacked every single race that way this year, and I don't want to change things. I don't want the pressure of being in the No. 1 spot to change us right now. It's just about going in there and taking one round at a time on Sunday and, if all goes well, we'll go the semi’s or to the final, keep on earning points, and make the last five races of the playoffs very exciting.

"When a track is all-concrete, like zMax was in Concord, it's normally going to stay about the same temperature-wise all the way down and you don't have that big transition from concrete to asphalt. So, it definitely helps us.

"The Concord racetrack has come around in one year's time, but Texas Motorplex has been around for a few years so it's probably got more teeth in it and a lot of cars have been down that track. It's always produced big mile-an-hour and good times, so I look forward to that."

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