FULLER WANTS BRISTOL WIN
Wed, 2008-05-14 09:28
Three times racing Bristol, he’s yet to win a national event there …
The phrase, two out of three ain’t bad, sounds pretty good to NHRA Top
Fuel driver Rod Fuller considering he’d headed into Bristol Dragway
with two final round appearances in only three tries racing at the NHRA
Thunder Valley Nationals in Bristol, Tenn.
The timing is perfect for Fuller who is hot off of a win two weeks ago at Gateway International Raceway near St. Louis. He qualified his Caterpillar dragster eighth with a time of 4.541 seconds.
The Las Vegas racer then raced to his seventh career Top Fuel victory by defeating five-time series champion Tony Schumacher in the final round 4.525 to 4.583 seconds. It was Fuller’s 20th career NHRA national event victory. He also has won 13 races in the Super Comp/Gas category.
Three times racing Bristol, he’s yet to win a national event there …
The phrase, two out of three ain’t bad, sounds pretty good to NHRA Top Fuel driver Rod Fuller considering he’d headed into Bristol Dragway with two final round appearances in only three tries racing at the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals in Bristol, Tenn.
The timing is perfect for Fuller who is hot off of a win two weeks ago at Gateway International Raceway near St. Louis. He qualified his Caterpillar dragster eighth with a time of 4.541 seconds.
The Las Vegas racer then raced to his seventh career Top Fuel victory by defeating five-time series champion Tony Schumacher in the final round 4.525 to 4.583 seconds. It was Fuller’s 20th career NHRA national event victory. He also has won 13 races in the Super Comp/Gas category.
“I’m excited about getting to Bristol,” Fuller said. “The way the CAT dragster is running, I don’t see why we can’t win a second straight race. Our car is so consistent right now and that gives me a lot of confidence as a driver. Bristol is an SMI track and spending so much time at LVMS, I feel like I’m part of the SMI family. We expect to do well at Bristol.”
Fuller posted runner-up finishes to Doug Kalitta at Thunder Valley in 2005 and ‘06. The 2005 final round was Fuller’s first career Top Fuel final round appearance. Last July at Bristol, Fuller qualified fourth with a run of 4.592 seconds at 323.04 mph. He advanced to the semifinals before falling to Bob Vandergriff, Jr.
Crew chief Rob Flynn said the hottest weapon in the teams arsenal is consistency.
“We feel like we’ve got some consistency right now,” Flynn said. “Our goal is to go down the track on every run and learn from it and so far being consistent has gotten us to the winner’s circle. We also like going to Bristol because it’s a very nice facility and we see many of our friends from NASCAR. It’s a great racing town.”
Fuller enters the eighth race on the 2008 NHRA schedule ranked fourth in the Top Fuel standings. He jumped two positions after winning the St. Louis race.
Fuller has qualified for 68 consecutive NHRA Top Fuel events. The last time he failed to make the cut was at the Houston race in 1996 when he was driving the Montana Express dragster on a part time schedule.
This gives Fuller the second longest qualifying streak in Top Fuel to go along with his average starting position of sixth in three races at Bristol Dragway.
Hot Rod Fuller has been to the finals twice in three races at Bristol Dragway. (Roger Richards)
The timing is perfect for Fuller who is hot off of a win two weeks ago at Gateway International Raceway near St. Louis. He qualified his Caterpillar dragster eighth with a time of 4.541 seconds.
The Las Vegas racer then raced to his seventh career Top Fuel victory by defeating five-time series champion Tony Schumacher in the final round 4.525 to 4.583 seconds. It was Fuller’s 20th career NHRA national event victory. He also has won 13 races in the Super Comp/Gas category.
Three times racing Bristol, he’s yet to win a national event there …
Hot Rod Fuller has been to the finals twice in three races at Bristol Dragway. (Roger Richards)
The timing is perfect for Fuller who is hot off of a win two weeks ago at Gateway International Raceway near St. Louis. He qualified his Caterpillar dragster eighth with a time of 4.541 seconds.
The Las Vegas racer then raced to his seventh career Top Fuel victory by defeating five-time series champion Tony Schumacher in the final round 4.525 to 4.583 seconds. It was Fuller’s 20th career NHRA national event victory. He also has won 13 races in the Super Comp/Gas category.
“I’m excited about getting to Bristol,” Fuller said. “The way the CAT dragster is running, I don’t see why we can’t win a second straight race. Our car is so consistent right now and that gives me a lot of confidence as a driver. Bristol is an SMI track and spending so much time at LVMS, I feel like I’m part of the SMI family. We expect to do well at Bristol.”
Fuller posted runner-up finishes to Doug Kalitta at Thunder Valley in 2005 and ‘06. The 2005 final round was Fuller’s first career Top Fuel final round appearance. Last July at Bristol, Fuller qualified fourth with a run of 4.592 seconds at 323.04 mph. He advanced to the semifinals before falling to Bob Vandergriff, Jr.
Crew chief Rob Flynn said the hottest weapon in the teams arsenal is consistency.
“We feel like we’ve got some consistency right now,” Flynn said. “Our goal is to go down the track on every run and learn from it and so far being consistent has gotten us to the winner’s circle. We also like going to Bristol because it’s a very nice facility and we see many of our friends from NASCAR. It’s a great racing town.”
Fuller enters the eighth race on the 2008 NHRA schedule ranked fourth in the Top Fuel standings. He jumped two positions after winning the St. Louis race.
Fuller has qualified for 68 consecutive NHRA Top Fuel events. The last time he failed to make the cut was at the Houston race in 1996 when he was driving the Montana Express dragster on a part time schedule.
This gives Fuller the second longest qualifying streak in Top Fuel to go along with his average starting position of sixth in three races at Bristol Dragway.
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