Commerce: Rod Fuller preview

"Atlanta is where I got my Top Fuel license back in 1995. That's the first place I drove a Top Fuel car. I had back-to-back Super Comp wins there. I like the track. I feel comfortable there. There's not much to do besides racing. I feel like we're ...

"Atlanta is where I got my Top Fuel license back in 1995. That's the first place I drove a Top Fuel car. I had back-to-back Super Comp wins there. I like the track. I feel comfortable there. There's not much to do besides racing. I feel like we're going to pick up where we left off at (Las) Vegas. We were one of the cars to beat at Las Vegas. We had a parts failure in the semifinals. I want to continue qualifying well and extend the points lead."

Fuller Atlanta Notebook

Fuller enters the Atlanta race atop the POWERade Top Fuel standings. He took over the points lead following his victory at the Phoenix race on Feb. 25. He has advanced to the semifinals at three other races, Pomona, Gainesville and Las Vegas. At the Phoenix race, Fuller set personal-bests, 4.466 seconds and 331.61 mph. He has qualified no lower than third this season.

Last April, Fuller qualified in the No. 3 position at Atlanta Dragway with a 4.535-second pass. He fell in the second round of eliminations to Larry Dixon.

Fuller has advanced to at least the semifinals at seven of the last nine races, with one victory (Phoenix 2007) and two runner-up finishes (Dallas and Richmond 2006).

Two weeks ago in Las Vegas, Fuller qualified third with a run of 4.498-seconds. It was his eighth 4.4-second pass of the season. He raced to a semifinal finish and extended his points lead over second-place driver J.R. Todd.

Fuller is a two-time Super Comp winner at Atlanta Dragway. He claimed consecutive Super Comp wins at the Commerce race in 1999 (def. Jeff Strickland) and '00 (def. Sherman Adcock, Jr.).