Pressure's off now that title bid is over

Richmond, Va. -- Two weeks ago at Memphis Motorsports Park, Rod Fuller qualified the Caterpillar dragster 11th at 3.909-seconds. That matched Fuller against five-time champion Tony Schumacher for the ninth time in 21 races this season. The Alan Johnson-tuned dragster edged the Caterpillar car, 3.880 to 3.894, in the opening round.

Fuller, a seven-time Top Fuel winner, earned his seventh career professional win by defeating Schumacher in the final round of the St. Louis race in May, 4.525 to 4.583. Fuller also earned his seventh career pole this season by qualifying first at the Norwalk, Ohio, race at 4.629-seconds. The Caterpillar car has recorded low E.T. of the meet three times and top speed of the meet twice this year.

“It’s all about fun now," said Fuller. "The pressure is off now that the championship hunt is over. I still want to finish in the top five and finish the season on a strong note. We have three races left to go to do that. We need to qualify better and go out there and go some rounds with the Caterpillar car.”

Last fall at Virginia Motorsports Park, Fuller qualified the Caterpillar dragster seventh at 4.591 seconds at 321.50 mph. He was defeated in the opening round by upset-minded Doug Foley 4.603 to 4.634. In 2005, Fuller qualified third and posted a runner-up finish to 30-time NHRA winner Cory McClenathan. It was Fuller’s eighth career final round appearance.

“We look forward to working with the Carter CAT people and to rebound from our performances at the last few races," said Fuller. "We want to qualify better to have a better starting position and that will put us in a better position to do well.”

Fuller has qualified for 82 consecutive NHRA Top Fuel events. The last time he failed to make the cut was at the Houston race in 1996. Fuller has the second longest qualifying streak in Top Fuel (Tony Schumacher). He has an average qualifying position of 7.7 in 21 races this season.