Championship Drag Racing

Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals
Atlanta, GA
(May 4-7)

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Rod Fuller Yas Marina Circuit dragster

Atlanta, Sunday: Despite a bad case of food poisoning that kept him doubled over in pain most of the night , "Hot Rod" Fuller managed to come to life Sunday and soundly defeat Clay Millican in the first round of final elimination racing at Atlanta Dragway.

After qualifying third for Sunday's Summit Racing NHRA Southern Nationals, Fuller tripped the quarter-mile timers at 4.504 seconds at 329.26 mph, bettering Millican's 4.554 seconds at 318.99 mph and advancing to the quarterfinal round of eliminations.

"I really didn't know how I was going to feel once I got strapped into the car," Fuller said. "I checked myself into the hospital last night with a severe case of food poisoning. The doctor's gave me some medication and fluids and wanted me to stay overnight but I couldn't let our fans and crew down.

"Once I started feeling a little better, I caught a couple of hours of sleep and headed to the track. My brother Tony gave me a hand with my duties in the pit and that helped but I still wasn't up to par. We got the win though and that certainly helped the way I felt."

Due to a four-hour rain delay, NHRA officials asked team's that advanced to shorten the turnaround time between elimination rounds from 75 to 65 minutes. Fuller's Valvoline/David Powers Motorsports team bettered that request by five minutes, ready to meet second-round challenger Larry Dixon.

Although Fuller had a better green-light reaction time, .058 seconds to Dixon's .062, the Goodyear slicks began to shake 30-feet from the starting line. Dixon's car pulled the front wheels off the track, requiring him to get off the throttle. After seeing that, Fuller got his machine to recover from the tire shaking and got back on the throttle, but inadvertently crossed the centerline, disallowing the run and giving Dixon the win.

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