'Hot Rod' Fuller Sets New Career Best

Fuller flies in Texas with his first 4.4-second pass

Top Fuel driver "Hot Rod" Fuller debuted a special-edition 84 Lumber theme on his David Powers Homes dragster Friday by pulling out a big stick and hitting a career home run down a chilly Texas Motorplex. Riding crew chief Lee Beard's tune-up, Fuller gave his Texas-based race team its first 4.4-second pass, a stellar 4.493 at 328.94 mph, the quickest run of the opening qualifying session at the O'Reilly Fall Nationals.

The David Powers team continues to impress. In his 12 professional starts this season, Fuller has won a race and reached two other final rounds. The group is just a few points out of a top 10 ranking. Now Fuller has become just the 14th racer in history to run a 4.4-second pass. It's a goal the team has rapidly accomplished.

"We've only made 10 or so runs in the 4.50s," Beard said. "We had seven in Indy and a couple more in Chicago. None of us had a chance in Memphis. It's funny because there is no real pressure for us. We're not in the running for the championship so if we feel like trying something there is no risk. If we screw up it's no big deal.

"It's cool to run a 4.49 but the guy we're all chasing (Tony Schumacher) was running 4.44s and 4.43s last week in Chicago so we've still got a lot of ground to make up as far as I'm concerned. We looked out there today and saw that Billy (Meyer, track owner) had ground the track and it looked real good. We made a good run and we're happy."

Fuller, who returned to the class this year after a nine-race stint in the mid-'90s, was extremely excited about the quickest quarter-mile ride of his brief professional career.

"We all like to think of ourselves as macho racecar drivers but I have to admit I was scared on that one," Fuller said. "It was accelerating like nothing I've ever felt before. I cannot believe how much difference there is between a 4.50 run and a 4.40 run. It's a quantum leap. I got back to the pit and told Beard I felt like a rookie all over again."

It's been a great second half for David Powers Motorsports. Soon after winning Memphis, Powers signed Beard and assistant crew chief Rob Flynn to three-year contracts. He then reached an agreement with Fuller to keep him in the cockpit through 2008. Thursday the team announced a two-year major sponsorship deal with Valvoline.

"Everything is geared towards running for the championship in 2006," Powers said. "All the components are now in place and we're excited about the future."