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READING, Pa. (Aug. 18, 2007) – POWERade Top Fuel point-leader Rod Fuller opened the first day of qualifying at Maple Grove Raceway in familiar territory, first. The five-time NHRA Top Fuel winner used the quickest car in both qualifying sessions to earn the provisional No. 1 qualifying spot Friday evening in his Ransome CAT dragster.
The Las Vegas racer used a tune-up from crew chief Rob Flynn to blister the Maple Grove Raceway quarter mile in 4.606 seconds at 314.68 mph to pace the field in the first qualifying session. Fuller then used more of Flynn’s “Canadian Horsepower” to card the quickest run of the day. He powered his Ransome CAT rail to the provisional pole with a pass of 4.521 at 327.19 Friday evening under the lights at the famed Pennsylvania strip. Fuller has five career poles and three this season. Last season, Fuller qualified third at Maple Grove Raceway with a 4.518-second elapsed time.
“It was a great day,” Fuller said. “I don’t think it will hold tomorrow, but you never know with Mother Nature. They’re calling for cooler temperatures and there’s a lot left in the car. We lost a blower belt at 4.3 seconds; it was going to run 330 mph at like 4.51. It was a great day for our team. It’s always good to shine with CAT on the car.
“We’ve really been in test mode at the last three races, but now we’re back in race mode. We’ve got a combination that works and we’re going into the Countdown with that. We’re back to what we know works. It responded to the changes. I’m just proud of Rob Flynn and my guys.”
Top Fuel qualifying resumes with sessions scheduled for noon and 3 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 18. ESPN2 will televise two hours of qualifying highlights from the Toyo Tires Nationals at 6 p.m. (ET) on Saturday.
Q1 4.606 ET, 314.68 MPH No. 1
Q2 4.521 ET, 327.19 MPH No. 1
POINTS-LEADER FULLER EARNS PROVISONAL POLE AT READING
READING, Pa. (Aug. 18, 2007) – POWERade Top Fuel point-leader Rod Fuller opened the first day of qualifying at Maple Grove Raceway in familiar territory, first. The five-time NHRA Top Fuel winner used the quickest car in both qualifying sessions to earn the provisional No. 1 qualifying spot Friday evening in his Ransome CAT dragster.
The Las Vegas racer used a tune-up from crew chief Rob Flynn to blister the Maple Grove Raceway quarter mile in 4.606 seconds at 314.68 mph to pace the field in the first qualifying session. Fuller then used more of Flynn’s “Canadian Horsepower” to card the quickest run of the day. He powered his Ransome CAT rail to the provisional pole with a pass of 4.521 at 327.19 Friday evening under the lights at the famed Pennsylvania strip. Fuller has five career poles and three this season. Last season, Fuller qualified third at Maple Grove Raceway with a 4.518-second elapsed time.
“It was a great day,” Fuller said. “I don’t think it will hold tomorrow, but you never know with Mother Nature. They’re calling for cooler temperatures and there’s a lot left in the car. We lost a blower belt at 4.3 seconds; it was going to run 330 mph at like 4.51. It was a great day for our team. It’s always good to shine with CAT on the car.
“We’ve really been in test mode at the last three races, but now we’re back in race mode. We’ve got a combination that works and we’re going into the Countdown with that. We’re back to what we know works. It responded to the changes. I’m just proud of Rob Flynn and my guys.”
Top Fuel qualifying resumes with sessions scheduled for noon and 3 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 18. ESPN2 will televise two hours of qualifying highlights from the Toyo Tires Nationals at 6 p.m. (ET) on Saturday.
Q1 4.606 ET, 314.68 MPH No. 1
Q2 4.521 ET, 327.19 MPH No. 1
