Fuller claims no. 1 spot after lengthy rain delay
MEMPHIS, TN (8/19/06) -- Defending event champion "Hot Rod" Fuller returned to Memphis Motorsports Park in grand style by racing to the qualifying lead at the 19th annual O'Reilly Mid-South Nationals. Fuller's 4.575 at 318.54 mph in David Powers' Valvoline dragster did the trick in the lone Friday qualifying session. The other scheduled round was lost to rain and will not be made up.
"We're still the baddest car on the property," Fuller said. "Basically, we're riding the data from last year with some tweaks and a new car. We really feel confident here and we feel like we know this track very well.
"Being limited to one run tonight put you in that mindset like you really need to put up a number because you know it'll be hot tomorrow. We were shooting for a low 4.60 so when they told me I ran a 4.57 I was excited. I think we exceeded our expectations. It's so fun when you have a crew chief like Lee Beard and a team owner like David Powers. It sure makes my job easy."
Saturday's final two qualifying sessions are scheduled to begin at 3 and 7 p.m.local time. It is expected that temperatures will be more than 100 degrees.
"I guess anything could happen but I think the number we posted should hold," Fuller said. "If we get pushed way back like we did today or if someone just makes an unbelievable run, I guess they could go around us. But if it's good enough for anyone else to run quicker, we should be able to also.
"The best plan of attack is to work on our race day set-up and get ready to defend this trophy. I've always loved this track. I grew up at this place. To defend our win would be really cool."
