Rod Fuller on Indy
“We’ve gone to the semis two years in a row and we’ve done well at ORP. We’re going to have a lot of folks from Peoria from Caterpillar, and MacAllister is back on the car, so we feel like we can go some rounds. We’ve been going out early at the last few races, but I feel Rob (Flynn) has a good handle on the race car. I’m excited to do well.”
Rob Flynn (crew chief) on Indy
“We’ve done fairly well there going to the semifinals, now we need to go another round further and bring home the win at our home race for all our friends at MacAllister and Caterpillar. “
Rod Fuller Indy NHRA Notebook
Two weeks ago at Reading, Pa., Fuller qualified the Ransome CAT dragster second at 3.816-seconds. It was the second time he started in the No. 2 spot this season. He advanced to the second round of eliminations before falling to teammate Antron Brown.
Fuller enters the final race before the Countdown to the Championship ranked fifth in the NHRA POWERade Top Fuel standings. He trails fourth-place driver Cory McClenathan by just four points. Fuller has one win (St. Louis) in two final round appearances this season. He also earned the pole at the Norwalk, Ohio race in June. He has seven career poles and wins.
Last year at the U. S. Nationals, Fuller qualified his MacAllister CAT dragster sixth with a lap of 4.524 seconds at 325.85 mph. He advanced to the semifinals before smoking the tires against Larry Dixon. He has advanced to the semifinals at the prestigious U. S. Nationals the last two years.
Fuller has qualified for 78 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 6.9 in 17 races this season and has an average starting position of sixth at three races at ORP.
Fuller has 13 career NHRA sportsmen victories in the Super Comp (seven) and Super Gas (six) categories. He has 20 career NHRA national event victories, seven coming in Top Fuel.
Fuller’s Caterpillar dragster will be sporting the colors of local Caterpillar dealer MacAllister Machinery during the U. S. Nationals.
2008 NHRA Top Fuel Standings – 17 of 24 races
1. Tony Schumacher (8) 1,650 - - -
2. ANTRON BROWN (2) 1,124 -526
3. Larry Dixon (1) 1,082 -568
4. Cory McClenathan (1) 1,019 -631
5. HOT ROD FULLER (1) 1,015 -635
6. Brandon Bernstein 974 -676
7. Hillary Will (1) 907 -743
8. Doug Herbert (1) 843 -807
9. David Grubnic 736 -914
10. Doug Kalitta 732 -918
11. Morgan Lucas 726 -924
Hot Rod Fuller’s Career Results at O’Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis
Year Qualified Finish & Winning Driver
2005 No. 8 Second round—Tony Schumacher
2006 No. 4 Semifinals—Tony Schumacher
2007 No. 6 Semifinals—Larry Dixon
Fuller’s Indy Schedule
Date & Time Event and Location
Thur., Aug. 28, 11a.m.-1 p.m. Caterpillar Appearance—Wiese
3-5 p.m. Caterpillar Appearance—MacAllister Machinery
Fri., Aug. 29, 6:30 p.m. TF Qualifying 1, O’Reilly Raceway Park
Sat., Aug. 30, 1:45/6:30 p.m. TF Qualifying 2/3, O’Reilly Raceway Park
Sun., Aug. 31, 12:45/3:40 p.m. TF Qualifying 4/5, O’Reilly Raceway Park
Mon., Sept. 1, 11 a.m. Final Eliminations, O’Reilly Raceway Park
Fuller’s Career-Best Performances
E.T.—4.464 seconds Joliet, Ill. June 2007
MPH—331.61 mph Chandler, Ariz. Feb. 2007
E.T.—3.841 seconds* Kent, Wash. July 2008
MPH—313.73 mph* Kent, Wash. July 2008
*1,000-foot
Fuller’s Career-Best at O’Reilly Raceway Park
E.T.—4.508 seconds Clermont, Ind. Sept. 2006
MPH—329.67 mph Clermond, Ind. Aug. 2006
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