The Fuller Times

26th annual Lucas Oil Nationals
Aug. 9-12, 2007
Brainerd International Raceway
Brainerd, Minn.

“My goal is to lock in the No. 1 position in the Countdown. We have to put a stop to the (Tony) Schumacher freight train. We can do it because we’re the little engine that could. We ran well there last year, so we need to go out and win the race. We put both the Valvoline and CAT cars in the winner’s circle, so we need to do the same with the great white this weekend.”

Fuller Brainerd Notebook

At the last event at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma , Calif. , Fuller qualified his David Powers-owned dragster third for the fourth time this season. He advanced to the semifinals for the 11th time in 15 races.

Over the six-race swing that took the NHRA pros from New Jersey to California, Fuller earned the most points of any Top Fuel driver, 493, and extended his lead from 53 to 128 points. Fuller became the first Top Fuel driver to earn a spot in the Countdown to the Championship after the Seattle race. He leads Schumacher by 128 points with two events before the points are re-set at the U.S. Nationals.

Last August, Fuller qualified his Valvoline dragster fourth at B.I.R. with a run of 4.558 seconds at 322.42 mph. He advanced to the semifinals before falling to Schumacher.

Fuller has two victories ( Phoenix and Denver ) in four final round appearances this season. He also has three poles ( Atlanta , St. Louis and Norwalk ). His average starting position this year is 3.06.

The points leader will race his plain-white David Powers Motorsports car at B.I.R. Fuller has driven the “Great White” at seven events this season with three semifinals and one runner-up finish (Norwalk).

Fuller on Brainerd…

Brainerd:
“Lakes”

B.I.R.:
“The Zoo”

Favorite local restaurant:
“Black Bear Lodge”

Favorite B.I.R. racing memory:
“I went to my first national event final round in Super Gas in 1996”

Favorite activity while at Brainerd:
“Going to the Zoo”

2007 NHRA Top Fuel Standings
1. ROD FULLER (2) 1,124 - - - -
2. Tony Schumacher (4) 996 - 128
3. Brandon Bernstein (4) 947 - 177
4. Larry Dixon (2) 943 - 181
5. J.R. Todd (2) 915 - 209
6. Bob Vandergriff, Jr. 729 - 312
7. WHIT BAZEMORE 730 - 394
8. David Grubnic 703 - 421
9. Melanie Troxel (1) 658 - 45
10. Doug Herbert 650 - 54

Rod Fuller’s Career Results at Brainerd International Raceway
Year Qualified Finish & Winning Driver
1995 No. 16 First round– Mike Dunn
2006 No. 4 Semifinals—Tony Schumacher

Fuller’s Brainerd Schedule
Date & Time Event and Location
Fri., Aug. 10, 3:30/6:15 p.m. TF Qualifying 1/2, B.I.R.
Sat., Aug. 11, Noon/2:45 p.m. TF Qualifying 3/4, B.I.R.
Sun., Aug. 12, 11 a.m. Final Eliminations, B.I.R.

Fuller’s Career-Best Performances
E.T.—4.464 seconds Joliet , Ill. June 2007
MPH—331.61 MPH Chandler , Ariz. Feb. 2007
E.T.—4.544 seconds Brainerd , Minn. Aug. 2006
MPH—322.42 MPH Brainerd , Minn. Aug. 2006