Sometimes the tree is quick and sometimes it's not.

The semi-finals of the NHRA Mopar Mile High Nationals was one of those not-so-quick instances for Cory McClenathan.

"It was a long light," he said. "In a driver's mind, it's time to go, it's time to go. I squeezed the throttle. Realizing I was too early I stopped myself with the brake, went back off, hit it again when the lights came down, but by then I'd already triggered some fuel systems that went off in the car and when I hit the gas again to leave, it just put cylinders out. I had already caused damage when I squeezed the throttle.

Sometimes the tree is quick and sometimes it's not.

The semi-finals of the NHRA Mopar Mile High Nationals was one of those not-so-quick instances for Cory McClenathan.

"It was a long light," he said. "In a driver's mind, it's time to go, it's time to go. I squeezed the throttle. Realizing I was too early I stopped myself with the brake, went back off, hit it again when the lights came down, but by then I'd already triggered some fuel systems that went off in the car and when I hit the gas again to leave, it just put cylinders out. I had already caused damage when I squeezed the throttle.

The NHRA, acting upon concerns that some drivers were "guessing" the green light, implemented a device on the Christmas Tree to variate the start time once both cars are full staged."

In his semifinal match-up against Doug Kalitta, N. 2 qualifier McClenathan fell victim to the new starting-light system, as his actions at the Christmas Tree resulted in damage to the clutch and engine, slowing him to a losing 4.279-second run at 259.51 mph. Kalitta took the win with a 3.997/303.16.

"Basically, it opened up some fuel areas that started drowning out the motor with fuel and we didn't have a chance after that. I was at the mercy of Doug that maybe he'd smoke the tires and I'd be able to get it down there and make up for my mistake.

"As I went by the tree it was still green so I went ahead and legged it through there. Probably not the smartest thing to do when you're trying to save engines. But, at the same time, I saw Doug beside me and thought, If they smoke their tires they're vulnerable. But it didn't happen and he won.

"We have a fantastic race car. (Crew chiefs) Todd (Okuhara) and Phil (Shuler) and the FRAM guys are making great calls. We have a race car that when we get to sea level (next week in Seattle) I think everybody is going to have to look out. We're going to have something that's going to run real hard at 1000 feet every single time. And once the driver becomes a driver again I think we'll be unstoppable.”

McClenathan drove to the semifinal finish after defeating Terry Haddock and Shawn Langdon in the first two rounds.

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