TOP FUEL DRAG RACER
Darrell Gwynn Racing

Questions and story by Dwight Drum
Photos by Gary Larsen and Darrell Gwynn Racing
Web work by Gary Larsen

Cory McClenathan:

"Win at all costs without cheating."

"Cory Mac" is seasoned driver with driving talents that have earned him a resilient spot in NHRA POWERade Drag racing. Share a few season moments with MclCenathan.

Dwight Chats with Cory Mac:

"Probably the fans…when it's all over, said and done, it gets awful quiet. I would think the fans are such a big part of this. For one thing, we wouldn't be here without them. They are the ones that buy the tickets and get in the stands. I would say the fans are the biggest thing I'd miss."

"My dad owned a high performance VW shop, and built a lot of sand drag cars. Once I got my license, I wanted to drive his street car. He had this guy that drove it that didn't do really well. As soon as I got in the car and won the first two races, that's when I knew what I wanted to do."

"That's a tough question! (Laughs) I think the biggest thing is I have heart...Heart will make you do a lot more then your hands and feet, and everything else. That's what makes a good driver...Someone who has heart, someone who has good feel, whether it's inside a car or outside a car, that's the biggest thing to me...someone who has heart."

"Drive to win! Win at all costs without cheating. That's my biggest thing to get down through there. No matter what kind of mood or what you have going on, personal or anything else, or how rough it gets on the track. My drive is to win races."

"I think it's from within. My dad told me I wore out three or four Big Wheels as a kid, so no matter what it was I always had to have the fastest or be the best at what ever I was driving. It doesn't matter if it was a go-cart or drag race car. I have that drive. I think that's where it came from, from being a young kid and probably my dad laughing at me on a Big Wheel"

"Probably that I wear my heart on my sleeve. Some people mistake that for a bad attitude, either at the track or not being a good loser. I'm the guy that wears my heart on my sleeve. I say it how it is. Some people don't like that, but my dad always taught me be honest. Tell them what's on your mind."

"Yeah. Sometimes life will be exactly that way, especially on the road, if you have some bad times, some good times. It's just like the weather. When it's dark and cloudy out, something comes over you, because the next thing is usually rain. A bright light is not only a weather thing. When the sun comes out, I'm a better person, but I have to look within sometimes and pick myself up and keep going. Drag racing can do that to you. Just like the weather can."

"A good driver knows when to keep his mouth shut! (Laughs) Sometimes a good driver knows when to say the right thing. It's all the same. You need to step back and look at yourself. I've done some interviews and stepped away thinking, now what's going to hurt me later, and then I've done interviews and thought well that made you a better person."

"To the kids out there…the kids who want to come out and do this for a living. Stay in school! Get the grades you need to get before you come out here. I've been in that position. I've been a father and I have a daughter that had a junior dragster. She knows she couldn't get in that car unless her grades were up. I'm not sure if she wants to do this for a living. This was something instilled in me. If I couldn't keep my grades up, I couldn't go drag racing this weekend...That's my biggest thing!"

Darrell Gywnn Racing