NHRA POST RACE NOTES: 18th O'Reilly Mid-South Nationals
POST RACE NOTES: 18th annual O'Reilly Mid-South Nationals Aug. 19-21, Memphis Motorsports Park, Memphis, Tenn. TOP FUEL * "Hot" Rod Fuller, from Las Vegas, earned his first career POWERade Series victory at the helm of his David Powers Motorsports dragster with a 4.612-second pass at 313.07 mph. It was the third final-round appearance of the year for the part-time driver, who's competed in 10 of 17 events. * Fuller defeated Tony Schumacher, who spun his wheels at half-track and pedaled his way to a 5.747 at 172.47 in his U.S. Army dragster. * Fuller remains just outside the top-10 in the POWERade Series standings, but defending Series champion Schumacher pulled to within four points of Doug Kalitta for first place. * Schumacher was helped along the way Sunday when his new DSR teammate, Melanie Troxel, edged out Kalitta (4.869 to 4.914) in a critical first round matchup. Troxel qualified seventh and Kalitta 10th. * Schumacher qualified No. 1 and carried the low e.t. of the event (4.610) into race day. It was his seventh No. 1 qualifying effort of the year and the 18th of his career. * Larry Dixon's streak of consecutive final round appearances at Memphis (with wins in 2002 and 2004) ended Sunday with his loss in the semifinals to eventual champion Fuller. * Dixon's Miller Lite crew earned the Full Throttle Pit Crew Championship award. * Cory McClenathan earned the Motel 6 'Who Got the Light' award with a .0022-second quarterfinal win in his FRAM Airhog dragster over Scott Kalitta and his Mac Tools/Jesse James dragster. FUNNY CAR * Behind the wheel of his Castrol Syntec Ford Mustang, Eric Medlen, of Indianapolis, defeated Ron Capps with a 4.911-second final-round pass (vs. 4.985 for Capps) to claim his second straight win and third in the last four events. * Robert Hight was the No. 1 qualifier for the sixth time in his rookie season and he narrowly maintained his lead in the POWERade Series points race. He has now been atop the standings for five races, the longest stretch by any leader in the four POWERade Series categories. * Hight's No. 1 qualifier, combined with the qualifying position of a couple of other racers, was enough to get him in the Skoal Showdown in Indianapolis. * Medlen's win shrunk the gap between first and fifth place in the Funny Car standings to just 71 points. Capps is 30 points back, Gary Scelzi trails by 35, Force is 47 points behind. * Medlen defeated team owner John Force (Castrol Startup GTX Ford Mustang) in the quarterfinals and teammate Hight (Auto Club of Southern California Ford Mustang) in the semifinals before taking down Capps, who drives the Brut Dodge Stratus, in the finals. * Tim Wilkerson's Levi, Ray and Shoup Chevrolet Monte Carlo crew earned the Full Throttle Pit Crew Championship award. PRO STOCK * Greg Anderson returned to the winner's circle for the fifth time in 2005, driving his Summit Racing Pontiac GTO past Kurt Johnson's ACDelco Chevrolet Cobalt with a final-round pass of 6.801 seconds at 201.49 (vs. 6.834 at 201.88 for Johnson). * Kurt, who entered Memphis with three wins and four final round appearances in his previous five events, showed once again that his car remains stout by recording his fourth No. 1 qualifier of the season and 27th of his career. * Kurt now has advanced to five final rounds in the last six events, winning in Brainerd, Seattle and St. Louis. * The win was Anderson's second at Memphis and the 36th of his career. * Kurt Johnson moved up to second place in the point standings, 73 behind two-time and defending world champion Anderson. He supplanted his father, Warren, who now is 132 points behind Anderson. * Kurt Johnson's Chevrolet Cobalt crew earned the Full Throttle Pit Crew Championship award. PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE * Andrew Hines and GT Tonglet met for the second consecutive event in an all Screamin' Eagle Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson final, but this time it was Hines that earned the win-light with a 7.161-second pass at 180.52 against the 7.239-second pass at 175.37 for Tonglet. * The win allowed Hines to replace Tonglet atop the POWERade Series standings by 15 points and the double Harley final allowed Hines and Tonglet to make the class a virtual two-bike chase for the championship. * With five Pro Stock Motorcycle events remaining, Hines (850) and Tonglet (835) are well clear of third-place Antron Brown (746) and his U.S. Army Suzuki. The next closest rider, Ryan Schnitz, is another 100 points back at 628. * Hines earned the No. 1 qualifier and low e.t. for the event with his 7.127-second pass on Saturday afternoon. It was his seventh No. 1 qualifier, bringing him within four of the Pro Stock Motorcycle record of 11 set by his older brother, Matt. * Tonglet's Screamin' Eagle Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson's crew earned the Full Throttle Pit Crew Championship.