Madison: Rod Fuller final summary

Fuller's memorable weekend ends too soon

St. Louis (June 25, 2006) - It was a tire shaking affair for Valvoline/David Powers Motorsports Top Fuel driver "Hot Rod" Fuller in the first round of final eliminations of the O'Reilly NHRA Midwest Nationals at Gateway International Speedway.

Fuller had to call upon his years of Sportsman experience to gain control of the big Goodyear slicks about 100 feet from the starting line as the 8,000 horsepower, nitro-burning engine was more than the hot track could handle.

"Considering I had to lift off the go peddle, we still ran a pretty good number," Fuller said. "Although it wasn't anywhere near our 4.55-second pass that got us into the No. 1 spot last night, we still ran 4.99-seconds and 312 mph. Unfortunately it wasn't enough to get us into the second round."

It was another rookie from the Sportsman ranks, Troy Buff, driving in his first Top Fuel event, who crossed the finish line first with a 4.758-second pass at 314.97 mph.

Despite the loss, crew chief Lee Beard remained upbeat. "We didn't make good runs in the heat during qualifying and that would have given us the insight we needed to advance today," Beard said. "Although it's disappointing not to be able to capitalize on our No. 1 qualifier spot, I think it proves just what a serious contender we are for the championship. We'll be there in the end."

Even though he had an early exit, Fuller will maintain the elite No. 4 slot in the world rankings. Another shot at advancement will come after the summer break, a three week hiatus when teams regroup for the second half of the 2006 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series.

-dpm