There was a time when Top Fuel's Scott Palmer was on a Ramen noodle budget. These days he's clearly living in the world of the cheeseburger.

Successful businessman Tommy Thompson can be attributed for the culinary upgrade.  That and sponsorship from CatSpot Organic Litter has made all of the difference.
 
"When I was running part-time all those years I had to run defensively," Palmer said. "I liken it to the way my grandparents said it was here in America during the Great Depression because we had to save everything we could. We'd take parts and pieces others were throwing away and make them work. We really didn't have a choice if we wanted to race.
 
"Now CatSpot and Tommy Thompson gives us everything we need to go fast," Palmer said. "We're no longer happy just to make the field. Now we come into every race expecting to run well, and I think our record is showing everyone we're a legitimate team. When we race the big guys now, they don't take us for chumps. They run us hard because they know we can beat them, and this is just our second full year with a true race budget."

Even when Palmer was dining on a budget, he was no pushover. He knew how to push the edge of the envelope on less than stellar racing surfaces.
 
Palmer learned how to get the most out of his parts. In other words, he learned how to make the most with the least.
 
"We've got all the parts we need now," Palmer said. "We've got Jason (McCulloch, top-flight crew chief). We're running the six-disc clutch now. We've finally got all the stuff to go fast and the NHRA turns around and takes the track prep away.
 
"Now we have all the problems the big teams have trying to tip-toe down a lot of these tracks."

Palmer has 10 round wins to his credit this year, advancing to the semifinals recently in Sonoma and putting him on track to eclipse his career round-win total of 15 from his first 148 races in just this season.

“One of the things I’m most proud of is the improvement we’re making since (team owner) Tommy Thompson and CatSpot Organic Cat Litter started supporting us,” said Palmer. “Over the years I’ve seen a lot of teams get sponsors and go out there and run the same as they always have. Not us. We’ve won more rounds in the last two years with CatSpot on the car than I have in my entire career. It makes me feel good.”

Palmer stands on the cusp of his second consecutive Countdown to the Championship berth.

“Another big part of showing Tommy we’re trying as hard as we can is making the playoffs,” Palmer said. “We know this car is unbelievable. It goes down the racetrack when we want it to and even when it looks like it doesn’t in qualifying, it’s working properly, we’re just testing new stuff. Racing offensively takes a different mindset and I’m going to figure it out. We’ve got a car that runs strong and it’s time for me to step up.”

Palmer is doing just that, one good part at a time.