The Fuller Times The prerace release of seven-time NHRA Top Fuel winner Rod Fuller and the Caterpillar Top Fuel team Contact: Ted Yerzyk, (317) 852-6363 o, or (760) 207-9767 c ted@davidpowersmotorsports.com Eighth annual O’Reilly Thunder Valley Nationals May 16-18, 2008 Bristol Dragway Bristol, Tenn. Rod Fuller on Bristol “I’m excited about getting to Bristol. I’ve been there three times and have been to two final rounds. The way the CAT dragster is running, I don’t see why we can’t win a second straight race. Our car is so consistent right now and that gives me a lot of confidence as a driver. Bristol is an SMI track and spending so much time at LVMS, I feel like I’m part of the SMI family. We expect to do well at Bristol.” Rob Flynn (crew chief) on Bristol “Last year we did pretty well at Bristol. Based off of the race at St. Louis, we’d like to go one round further in Bristol then we did last year. We feel like we’ve got some consistency right now. Our goal is to go down the track on every run and learn from it and so far being consistent has gotten us to the winner’s circle. We also like going to Bristol because it’s a very nice facility and we see many of our friends from NASCAR. It’s a great racing town.” Rod Fuller Bristol NHRA Notebook Two weeks ago at Gateway International Raceway near St. Louis, Fuller qualified his Caterpillar dragster eighth with a time of 4.541 seconds. The Las Vegas racer raced to his seventh career Top Fuel victory by defeating five-time series champion Tony Schumacher in the final round 4.525 to 4.583 seconds. It was Fuller’s 20th career NHRA national event victory. He also has won 13 races in the Super Comp/Gas category. Fuller enters the eighth race on the 2008 NHRA schedule ranked fourth in the Top Fuel standings. He jumped two positions after winning the St. Louis race. Fuller has raced a consistent dragster at the last two races. The Caterpillar rail has gone down the race track on its last 14 passes running between 4.525 seconds and 4.634 seconds. Fuller has advanced to the final round twice in three races at Bristol Dragway. He posted runner-up finishes to Doug Kalitta at Thunder Valley in 2005 and ‘06. The 2005 final round was Fuller’s first career Top Fuel final round appearance. Last July at Bristol, Fuller qualified fourth with a run of 4.592 seconds at 323.04 mph. He advanced to the semifinals before falling to Bob Vandergriff, Jr. Fuller has qualified for 68 consecutive NHRA Top Fuel events. The last time he failed to make the cut was at the Houston race in 1996 when he was driving the Montana Express dragster on a part time schedule. Fuller has the second longest qualifying streak in Top Fuel (Tony Schumacher) and has an average starting position of sixth in three races at Bristol Dragway. Fuller has 13 career NHRA sportsmen victories in the Super Comp (seven) and Super Gas (six) categories. 2008 NHRA Top Fuel Standings 1. Tony Schumacher (2) 608 - - - 2. ANTRON BROWN (2) 540 -68 3. Larry Dixon (1) 469 -139 4. ROD FULLER (1) 434 -174 5. Cory McClenathan (1) 418 -190 6. Hillary Will 381 -227 7. Brandon Bernstein 353 -255 8. Doug Kalitta 323 -280 9. David Grubnic 323 -285 10. Doug Herbert 310 -298 11. Morgan Lucas 265 -343 Rod Fuller’s Career Results at Bristol Dragway Year Qualified Finish & Winning Driver 2005 No. 5 Runner-up—Doug Kalitta 2006 No. 9 Runner-up—Doug Kalitta 2006 No. 4 Semifinals—Bob Vandergriff, Jr. Fuller’s Bristol Schedule Date & Time Event and Location Thur., May 15, 11 a.m. Press Conference—Country Club of Bristol Fri., May 16, 9 a.m. Army Y.E.S. Program, Bristol Dragway Fri., May 16, 4:30/7 p.m. TF Qualifying 1/2, Bristol Dragway Sat., May 17, 1/3:30 p.m. TF Qualifying 3/4, Bristol Dragway Sun., May 18, Noon Final Eliminations, Bristol Dragway Fuller’s Career-Best Performances E.T.—4.464 seconds Joliet, Ill. June 2007 MPH—331.61 mph Chandler, Ariz. Feb. 2007 Fuller’s Career-Best at Bristol Dragway E.T.—4.502 seconds Bristol, Tenn. April 2006 MPH—326.66 mph Bristol, Tenn. April 2006 O’Reilly Thunder Valley Nationals TV Schedule (ESPN2) Date & Time (ET) Coverage Sat., May 17, 6:30-8:30 p.m. Qualifying Highlights Sun., May 18, 11-11:30 a.m. NHRA Race Day Sun., May 18, 6:30-10 p.m. Final Eliminations Coverage www.cat.com/dealercareers www.davidpowersmotorsports.com