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BRAINERD, Minn. (8/13/06) -- Top Fuel pilot "Hot Rod" Fuller remains one of the top drivers on the POWERade Drag Racing Series after a strong semifinal showing Sunday at the 25th annual Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals at Brainerd International Raceway. Fuller beat former points leader Melanie Troxel on a huge holeshot as well as journeyman racer Bob Vandergriff before bowing out to red-hot defending series champion Tony Schumacher, who has raced to five final rounds in a row.
The highlight of the day for Fuller and the Valvoline/David Powers Homes race team was Fuller's big quarterfinal victory over Troxel, who led the points for the first 12 races of the season. Troxel had a slightly quicker racecar, but Fuller's expert driving ability gave him a big enough head start, .025-seconds, that he was able to hold off the hard-charging Troxel and cross the finish line first.
"This is a team effort," Fuller said. "We all try to be on our game day in and day out. I had a good day today. Next week I might not be as good and someone else on the team will step up. That's what this David Powers bunch is all about. I'm a lucky guy."
Earlier in the day, after waiting out a three-hour rain delay, Fuller opened with a pedestrian 4.863-second victory over Vandergriff, who spun his tires and posted a 5.972-second run.
With a trip to the finals on the line, Fuller lined up against three-time and defending series champion Schumacher in the semis. The Las Vegas-based Fuller was once again tough on the lights, surging out to a .022-second head start, but Schumacher's car was too strong and he was able to track down Fuller and pass him for the win, taking the victory by .0407-seconds with a 4.482-second run to Fuller's 4.544, his best effort of the weekend.
Fuller's run brought him to within 25-points of the POWERade top five. David Grubnic is fifth with 934 points. The overall lead belongs to Doug Kalitta, who is 249 points ahead of Fuller.
"The changes we made to the car since the Western Swing have really paid off," Fuller said. "We made-up some important ground in the points battle and I think crew chief Lee Beard has his sights set on the fall season wind-up to really show what we have in our back pocket.
The NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series stops next weekend in Memphis, Tenn., for the 19th annual O'Reilly Mid-South Nationals, the 17th of 23 races on the tour.
Fuller Stays in Title Hunt with Final Four Finish
BRAINERD, Minn. (8/13/06) -- Top Fuel pilot "Hot Rod" Fuller remains one of the top drivers on the POWERade Drag Racing Series after a strong semifinal showing Sunday at the 25th annual Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals at Brainerd International Raceway. Fuller beat former points leader Melanie Troxel on a huge holeshot as well as journeyman racer Bob Vandergriff before bowing out to red-hot defending series champion Tony Schumacher, who has raced to five final rounds in a row.
The highlight of the day for Fuller and the Valvoline/David Powers Homes race team was Fuller's big quarterfinal victory over Troxel, who led the points for the first 12 races of the season. Troxel had a slightly quicker racecar, but Fuller's expert driving ability gave him a big enough head start, .025-seconds, that he was able to hold off the hard-charging Troxel and cross the finish line first.
"This is a team effort," Fuller said. "We all try to be on our game day in and day out. I had a good day today. Next week I might not be as good and someone else on the team will step up. That's what this David Powers bunch is all about. I'm a lucky guy."
Earlier in the day, after waiting out a three-hour rain delay, Fuller opened with a pedestrian 4.863-second victory over Vandergriff, who spun his tires and posted a 5.972-second run.
With a trip to the finals on the line, Fuller lined up against three-time and defending series champion Schumacher in the semis. The Las Vegas-based Fuller was once again tough on the lights, surging out to a .022-second head start, but Schumacher's car was too strong and he was able to track down Fuller and pass him for the win, taking the victory by .0407-seconds with a 4.482-second run to Fuller's 4.544, his best effort of the weekend.
Fuller's run brought him to within 25-points of the POWERade top five. David Grubnic is fifth with 934 points. The overall lead belongs to Doug Kalitta, who is 249 points ahead of Fuller.
"The changes we made to the car since the Western Swing have really paid off," Fuller said. "We made-up some important ground in the points battle and I think crew chief Lee Beard has his sights set on the fall season wind-up to really show what we have in our back pocket.
The NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series stops next weekend in Memphis, Tenn., for the 19th annual O'Reilly Mid-South Nationals, the 17th of 23 races on the tour.
