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MADISON, Ill. (May 5, 2007) – He did it again. For the second straight week, “Hot” Rod Fuller powered his David Powers-owned dragster to the pole position. This time behind the wheel of the Fabick CAT dragster, Fuller blistered the Gateway International Raceway quarter mile in 4.596-seconds to claim the No. 1 qualifying position at the 11th annual O’Reilly Midwest Nationals. Last weekend, he led the Top Fuel field at the Atlanta NHRA race.
After losing the opening day of qualifying at the St. Louis event due to rain, Fuller and his Rob Flynn-led crew knew the importance of making a solid opening pass with just two qualifying attempts to make the 16-car field. Using a tune-up from Flynn, Fuller blistered the Gateway quarter mile in 4.596 seconds at 313.37 mph to pace the Top Fuel field in his yellow-and-black rail. The Fabick CAT dragster overpowered the hot drag strip on its second pass of the day, but the 4.596-second elapsed time remained the quickest pass of the day to earn Fuller his fourth career No. 1 qualifying position. It is the second straight season that the Las Vegas racer has earned the pole at the St. Louis race. Last June, he ran 4.551-seconds to capture his first career Top Fuel pole.
“It’s great for Fabick CAT, Caterpillar, Linn State ( Technical College ), Matco (Tools), Valvoline and all the great sponsors that support us,” Fuller said. “We’re just continuing on like we have been all season long qualifying in the top three. Not having a full-time primary sponsor, it’s great to be No. 1 again. That keeps us going in the right direction to get the primary sponsor that we need. This is a really tough track to get down, so to qualify No. 1 is awesome.”
Fuller will face off against No. 16 qualifier Doug Herbert in the opening round of Top Fuel eliminations at 11 a.m. (CT) on Sunday. ESPN2 will televise three hours of final eliminations coverage from the O’Reilly Midwest Nationals from 7-10 p.m. (ET) on Sunday evening. Fuller is 6-2 in his career versus Herbert and has a 1-0 mark against the North Carolina racer this season.
Q1 canceled rain
Q2 canceled rain
Q3 4.596 ET, 313.37 MPH No. 1
Q4 12.462 ET, 72.98 MPH No. 1
FULLER EARNS SECOND CONSECUTIVE POLE, QUALIFIES NO. 1 AT ST. LOUIS FOR SECOND STRAIGHT SEASON
MADISON, Ill. (May 5, 2007) – He did it again. For the second straight week, “Hot” Rod Fuller powered his David Powers-owned dragster to the pole position. This time behind the wheel of the Fabick CAT dragster, Fuller blistered the Gateway International Raceway quarter mile in 4.596-seconds to claim the No. 1 qualifying position at the 11th annual O’Reilly Midwest Nationals. Last weekend, he led the Top Fuel field at the Atlanta NHRA race.
After losing the opening day of qualifying at the St. Louis event due to rain, Fuller and his Rob Flynn-led crew knew the importance of making a solid opening pass with just two qualifying attempts to make the 16-car field. Using a tune-up from Flynn, Fuller blistered the Gateway quarter mile in 4.596 seconds at 313.37 mph to pace the Top Fuel field in his yellow-and-black rail. The Fabick CAT dragster overpowered the hot drag strip on its second pass of the day, but the 4.596-second elapsed time remained the quickest pass of the day to earn Fuller his fourth career No. 1 qualifying position. It is the second straight season that the Las Vegas racer has earned the pole at the St. Louis race. Last June, he ran 4.551-seconds to capture his first career Top Fuel pole.
“It’s great for Fabick CAT, Caterpillar, Linn State ( Technical College ), Matco (Tools), Valvoline and all the great sponsors that support us,” Fuller said. “We’re just continuing on like we have been all season long qualifying in the top three. Not having a full-time primary sponsor, it’s great to be No. 1 again. That keeps us going in the right direction to get the primary sponsor that we need. This is a really tough track to get down, so to qualify No. 1 is awesome.”
Fuller will face off against No. 16 qualifier Doug Herbert in the opening round of Top Fuel eliminations at 11 a.m. (CT) on Sunday. ESPN2 will televise three hours of final eliminations coverage from the O’Reilly Midwest Nationals from 7-10 p.m. (ET) on Sunday evening. Fuller is 6-2 in his career versus Herbert and has a 1-0 mark against the North Carolina racer this season.
Q1 canceled rain
Q2 canceled rain
Q3 4.596 ET, 313.37 MPH No. 1
Q4 12.462 ET, 72.98 MPH No. 1
