Cory McClenathan, right, credits crew chief Mike Green and a move to Don Schumacher's team as keys to his 2008 resurgence.

There was a time in NHRA history, about a decade ago, when Cory McClenathan was nearly unbeatable. At the wheel of Joe Gibbs' Top Fuel dragsters, he posted back-to-back six-win campaigns in 1997 and 1998 and for five straight years finished no worse than third in the NHRA championship points standings, including second-place showings in 1995, 1997, and 1998. He won Indy twice in four years, in 1996 and 1999, and was the first driver to exceed 320 mph. Life was good.

The new decade has not been as kind to Cory Mac. When Gibbs left drag racing at the end of the 2000 season, it almost spelled the end of McClenathan's racing career. With no sponsor in 2001, he ran only one race, and through 2007, he had won just three times, once every other year (2002, 2004, and 2006).

But it's already very clear that the 2008 season marks a rebirth for the well-liked veteran driver of the Fram dragster. After years of turmoil and ownership squabbles, he joined Don Schumacher Racing late last year, and the results of that stability have been astonishing. He was runner-up at the season opener in Pomona and collected his 30th win in Las Vegas. He sits fourth in the points standings, just 87 out of first.

“When Joe Gibbs left drag racing, I lost everything, from my home to my motorhome, and had to claim bankruptcy,” he recalled. “I went from having everything to having nothing, but I kept at it.”

He began the long, hard buildup by signing a sponsorship contract with Fram that now is in its third season, but a parade of car owners and crew chiefs ultimately did little but muddy the water. Frustration reached an all-time high last summer when brothers Mark and Andy Carrier sold the team to Scott Griffin and things rapidly fell apart on numerous fronts. Then his beloved dog, Cookie, died.

It all started to turn around when he joined Schumacher's massive operation and Schumacher put into place the final piece of the puzzle by hiring veteran crew chief Mike Green, who was coming off a tough year as crew chief on Don Prudhomme's Funny Car. They haven't looked back since and in Las Vegas found the winner's circle in just their fifth race together.

“I'm so happy,” said McClenathan, who now heads eagerly to Atlanta, where he has won three times (1995, 1998, 2004). “The last couple of years have not been what I wanted them to be, but I can't complain about a single thing this year.

“Mike and the guys did a great job in Vegas; it was definitely a crew chief's race. All I had to do was make sure that I kept it in the groove and stay close on the Tree. After Mike's year last year, I'm sure this has given him confidence, too.”

While a lot of their peers stayed Monday after the Vegas event to test, McClenathan and Green went on their merry way, aces up their sleeves.

“We ran the whole Las Vegas race – all eight runs – plus two rounds on Sunday in Houston on the same engine,” said McClenathan. “That's pretty much unheard of. Mike is so easy on the tune-up. If this thing punches a ring land, I'm surprised. The 90 percent rule is helping us. We run a little over 88, and it's steadily starting to ease things on the parts attrition and falls right into Mike's tune-up.

“I have to give a lot of credit, too, to Neal Strasbaugh, who came over with Mike from Prudhomme's. What an intelligent young man. This kid is sharp; he's gonna be somebody.”

On a team as big as Schumacher's, there's always the potential for being dragged into drama, but McClenathan keeps to himself, confident in his own abilities to lead.

“Don knows that he doesn't have to worry about this team at all,” he said. “I've been a team owner before, so I can deal with some of the issues that come up, and having Mike Green, who's also been around forever, it makes it all the more easier. We're just doing our own thing and having a great time.

“We're really excited; we're only four rounds out of the lead behind my teammate Tony Schumacher, the car is running great, the team is jelling, and the whole world is starting to get brighter.”

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