Championship Drag Racing

Torco Racing Fuels NHRA Nationals
Richmond, VA
(October 5-7)

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Driver Profile

Rod Fuller Yas Marina Circuit dragster

Richmond, pre-race: Two weeks ago at Dallas, Fuller qualified fourth in his HOLT CAT dragster with a run of 4.552-seconds. He knocked off Tony Schumacher in the opening round in a battle of the top two drivers in the points standings before falling to current leader Larry Dixon in round two. 

Fuller enters the 21st race and the final event in the Countdown to Four ranked second in the Top Fuel standings. He trails category-leader Larry Dixon by 45 points. He has a 52-point margin over fifth-place racer Bob Vandergriff, Jr. for one of the coveted top four slots for the Countdown to One.

“This is as big as it gets," he said. "We’re not guaranteed into the Countdown to One. We need to make sure we go into Richmond and go some rounds to make sure we have a shot at this championship. Last year was the first time I competed there and we went to the finals and felt like we had the car to beat. The goal is to have a great show, qualify well and make sure we get the one or two spot for Las Vegas.”

Last fall, Fuller qualified third in his Valvoline dragster with a run of 4.543 seconds at 317.79 mph at the Richmond race. He raced to his fifth final round appearance of the 2006 season where he posted a runner-up finish to 29-time NHRA Top Fuel winner Cory McClenathan.

Fuller has two wins (Phoenix, Denver) in five final round appearances this season. He also has earned four poles in 2007. He led the points standings following 14 of 20 races this season and would hold a 120-point lead over Dixon in the old NHRA points system.

Fuller has an average starting position of 3.65 this season and has qualified in the top half of the field at 19 of 20 races this year. The Las Vegas racer has advanced to at least the semifinals at 13 of 20 races this year.

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