Second Round Loss for Rod Fuller
<img src="http://www.nitromater.com/gallery/files/5/r_fuller.jpg" alt="r_fuller" align="left"borders="0"/>
BRAINERD, Minn. -- Rod Fuller drove his David Powers-owned Caterpillar dragster to a quarterfinal finish Sunday afternoon at Brainerd International Raceway.
Racing from the No. 8 starting position for the eighth time in his career after qualifying with an elapsed time of 3.933-seconds on Saturday at B.I.R., Fuller defeated perennial title contender Brandon Bernstein before losing a close race to points-leader and five-time series champion Tony Schumacher in round two. Fuller and the Caterpillar Top Fuel team now rank fifth in the NHRA Top Fuel standings.
Fuller met the Budweiser car for the second time this season. As the first pair of dragster to do battle on Sunday morning at B.I.R., Fuller advanced to the quarterfinals and a third consecutive race with the U.S. Army dragster when Bernstein fouled at the start. Fuller used a tune-up from crew chief Rob Flynn to power the Caterpillar dragster to a pass of 3.942 seconds at 306.46 mph and a win in the left lane at B.I.R. It was the sixth red light win in Fuller's professional career. He has never lost due to a foul start.
Facing off against the Alan Johnson-tuned dragster for the seventh time this season, Fuller used a stout .046 of-a-second reaction time to race the Caterpillar-backed rail to the early lead. The Flynn-tuned rail clocked a performance of 3.982 at 301.07, but it wasn't enough as the U.S. Army dragster scored the narrow win with a lap of 3.920 at 306.46. Fuller is now 2-5 against Schumacher this season. Fuller now has a round record of 21-15 this season.
"I think, overall, it was a good weekend for us," Fuller said. "We're really happy that the motor isn't dropping cylinders. That problem has plagued us all season. We gave (Tony) Schumacher a close race. I didn't see him for a long time and they made a great run like always. That's still the only car we've lost to at the last three races. I think we're moving in the right direction heading into the Countdown (to the Championship).
The next NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series event is the 24th annual Toyo Tires Nationals, Aug. 14-17, at Maple Grove Raceway in Reading, Pa. Fuller earned the pole at the Reading NHRA race last summer and raced to a runner-up finish to Doug Herbert. Fuller's Caterpillar dragster will again fly the colors of Ransome Cat during the Reading NHRA race this August.
Headquartered in Houston with race operations located in Brownsburg, Ind., David Powers Motorsports fields the two-car Top Fuel operation of drivers Rod Fuller and Antron Brown. DPM proudly represents racing partners Matco Tools, Caterpillar, Forward Sports Marketing, Valvoline, Toyota, Ringer's Gloves, Go Fast Sports, Goodyear, FRAM, and Autolite.
R1 FULLER (.081) 3.942 ET, 306.46 MPH def. Bernstein (-.032) 4.549 ET, 179.55 MPH
R2 Schumacher (.086) 3.920 ET, 306.46 MPH FULLER (.046) 3.982 ET, 301.07 MPH
<img src="http://www.nitromater.com/gallery/files/5/r_fuller.jpg" alt="r_fuller" align="left"borders="0"/>
BRAINERD, Minn. -- Rod Fuller drove his David Powers-owned Caterpillar dragster to a quarterfinal finish Sunday afternoon at Brainerd International Raceway.
Racing from the No. 8 starting position for the eighth time in his career after qualifying with an elapsed time of 3.933-seconds on Saturday at B.I.R., Fuller defeated perennial title contender Brandon Bernstein before losing a close race to points-leader and five-time series champion Tony Schumacher in round two. Fuller and the Caterpillar Top Fuel team now rank fifth in the NHRA Top Fuel standings.
Fuller met the Budweiser car for the second time this season. As the first pair of dragster to do battle on Sunday morning at B.I.R., Fuller advanced to the quarterfinals and a third consecutive race with the U.S. Army dragster when Bernstein fouled at the start. Fuller used a tune-up from crew chief Rob Flynn to power the Caterpillar dragster to a pass of 3.942 seconds at 306.46 mph and a win in the left lane at B.I.R. It was the sixth red light win in Fuller's professional career. He has never lost due to a foul start.
Facing off against the Alan Johnson-tuned dragster for the seventh time this season, Fuller used a stout .046 of-a-second reaction time to race the Caterpillar-backed rail to the early lead. The Flynn-tuned rail clocked a performance of 3.982 at 301.07, but it wasn't enough as the U.S. Army dragster scored the narrow win with a lap of 3.920 at 306.46. Fuller is now 2-5 against Schumacher this season. Fuller now has a round record of 21-15 this season.
"I think, overall, it was a good weekend for us," Fuller said. "We're really happy that the motor isn't dropping cylinders. That problem has plagued us all season. We gave (Tony) Schumacher a close race. I didn't see him for a long time and they made a great run like always. That's still the only car we've lost to at the last three races. I think we're moving in the right direction heading into the Countdown (to the Championship).
The next NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series event is the 24th annual Toyo Tires Nationals, Aug. 14-17, at Maple Grove Raceway in Reading, Pa. Fuller earned the pole at the Reading NHRA race last summer and raced to a runner-up finish to Doug Herbert. Fuller's Caterpillar dragster will again fly the colors of Ransome Cat during the Reading NHRA race this August.
Headquartered in Houston with race operations located in Brownsburg, Ind., David Powers Motorsports fields the two-car Top Fuel operation of drivers Rod Fuller and Antron Brown. DPM proudly represents racing partners Matco Tools, Caterpillar, Forward Sports Marketing, Valvoline, Toyota, Ringer's Gloves, Go Fast Sports, Goodyear, FRAM, and Autolite.
R1 FULLER (.081) 3.942 ET, 306.46 MPH def. Bernstein (-.032) 4.549 ET, 179.55 MPH
R2 Schumacher (.086) 3.920 ET, 306.46 MPH FULLER (.046) 3.982 ET, 301.07 MPH
