ROD FULLER - Team

Team

Hot Rod Fuller - Driver
Category: Top Fuel
Residence: Las Vegas
Hometown: Rogers, Ark.
Date of Birth: April 20, 1971
2008 Car: Caterpillar dragster
Crew Chief: Rob Flynn
Team Owner: David Powers
2007 Wins/Final Rounds: 3/6
Career Wins/Final Rounds: 6/14
Best Points Finish: 2nd (2007)
First Start: Memphis 1995
First Victory: Memphis 2005
First No. 1 Qualifying Position: St. Louis 2006
Career No. 1 Qualifying Awards: Six
Career-best Elapsed Time: 4.464 seconds (Joliet 2007)
Career-best Speed: 331.61 mph (Phoenix 2007)

Marital Status: Single
Height: 5’5”
Weight: 175 lbs.
Hobbies: Weightlifting, Shopping

Born into a family of drag racers, it’s no surprise that the Chicago native blossomed into a champion quarter mile racer. To make a living as a professional drag racer, success is a key ingredient to sustaining an extensive career on the quarter mile, and success is something Fuller has become quite familiar with over the past decade.

Fuller, who earned Bachelors and Masters degrees from the University of Arkansas, has been a fulltime NHRA competitor since 1994. The athletic racer has amassed 19 career NHRA national event victories, including six in Top Fuel. He also earned 30 NHRA Divisional victories in the Super Gas and Super Comp categories.

Fuller first dabbled in the Top Fuel ranks in the mid-1990s, piloting John Mitchell’s Montana Express dragster in nine races. It took nearly a full decade for the accomplished sportsmen racer to get another opportunity to compete at the sport’s highest level. Former racer turned businessman David Powers, President of David Powers Homes, tabbed Fuller to drive his 8,000 horsepower dragster in 15 races in 2005.

The part-time racer drove to a 10th place finish in the POWERade standings in ‘05. The highlight of Fuller’s season came at Memphis Motorsports Park when he bested Tony Schumacher in the final round to capture his first career Top Fuel victory. A year later, Fuller raced to two wins in five final rounds en route to a fifth place finish in the Top Fuel ranks in his first full season in drag racing’s premier categories. He also carded the first two No. 1 qualifying awards of his career.

Last season, Fuller proved to be one of the elite drivers in the sport. He earned a second consecutive victory at Firebird International Raceway near Phoenix and never ranked lower than third in the standings. Fuller’s banner year saw the Las Vegas driver earn a career-best three victories in six final round appearances, four poles and a second place finish in the Top Fuel division in the new Countdown to the Championship format. His on-track highlight came during the fall Las Vegas race when on Oct. 27 the hometown hero cashed in the $100,000 payday in the Technicoat Shootout. A day later he became just the fourth Top Fuel driver to double-up at the event earning a $50,000 bonus from NHRA. Fuller and David Powers Motorsports announced a multi-year partnership with industry giant Caterpillar during the U.S. Nationals at Indianapolis. He powered the CAT dragster to wins at Denver and Las Vegas 2.

When not piloting his 330-mph nitro-burning Top Fuel rail, Fuller continues to hone his driving skills by bracket racing. He also is an avid fitness buff that weight trains on a regular basis. He is single.

Year	No. Races	Points Finish	Won	Runner-up	Semi.	Qtr.	1st Rnd.	No. 1 Qual.	DNQ	Round W-L
2007	23		3	3	8	3	6	3	0	40-20
2006	23	5	2	3	4	6	8	2	0	31-21
2005	15	10	1	2	1	3	8	0	0	15-14
1996	4	30	0	0	0	0	2	0	3	0-1
1995	5	26	0	0	0	0	3^*	0	2	0-3
Total	70	--	6	8	13	12	27	6	5	86-59

* Alternate at Sonoma (1995)

CAREER FINAL-ROUND RECORD

2007
Phoenix WINNER (def. Melnaie Troxel)
Joliet runner-up (Larry Dixon)
Norwalk runner-up (Tony Schumacher)
Denver WINNER (def. Whit Bazemore)
Reading runner-up (Doug Herbert)
Las Vegas 2 WINNER (def. Doug Kalitta)

2006
Phoenix WINNER (def. Melanie Troxel)
Bristol runner-up (Doug Kalitta)
Englishtown WINNER (def. Larry Dixon)
Dallas runner-up (Brandon Bernstein)
Richmond runner-up (Cory McClenathan)

2005
Bristol runner-up (Doug Kalitta)
Joliet 1 runner-up (Scott Kalitta)
Memphis WINNER (def. Tony Schumacher)

CAREER No. 1 QUALIFIER RECORD

2007
Atlanta
St. Louis
Norwalk
Reading

2006
St. Louis
Memphis

Rob Flynn
Birthplace: Edmonton, Alberta
Residence: Avon, Ind.
Birth date: Nov. 27, 1959
Position: Crew Chief – Rod Fuller
Wife: Michelle
Children: Stacy (11), Paul (10)
Hobbies: Hockey, golf

Flynn joined David Powers Motorsports in August of 2005 teaming with champion tuner Lee Beard on Rod Fuller’s dragster. In Flynn’s first race with the successful start-up team, Fuller captured his first career Top Fuel victory at the Memphis race. Having spent more than 30 years in drag racing, Flynn has worked with the likes of Ken Veney, Pat Austin, Scott Kalitta, Connie Kalitta, Darrell Gwynn, Ed McCulloch, Whit Bazemore, Jerry Toliver, Del Worsham, Cruz Pedregon, Bob Vandergriff, Jr., Doug Herbert and Gary Densham. The native of Edmonton, Alta. has tuned racers to victories in four different categories (Top Fuel, Funny Car, Top Alcohol dragster and Top Alcohol Funny Car).

Mike Guger
Birthplace: Cleveland
Residence: Avon, Ind.
Birth date: May 28, 1957
Position: Assistant Crew Chief
Wife: Vicki
Hobbies: Running, camping, RC models

Guger has been involved in auto racing for more than 30 years. He entered the sport in 1973 working with legendary driver turned crew chief Dale Armstrong. He spent four years working on Billy Myer’s Funny Car before reuniting with Armstrong on Kenny Bernstein’s Top Fuel team from 1990-95. He spent the 1996 season at John Roedeck’s building TFX blocks. A year later, he worked on Cruz Pedregon’s Funny Car at Joe Gibbs Racing. Guger then spent nine years in open wheel racing working for Patrick Racing (CART), Blair Racing (IRL) and Adrian Fernandez Racing (IRL). He joined the David Powers Motorsports team in December 2006 as the assistant crew chief to Rob Flynn. He continues to serve in that role.

Gage Fairchild
Birthplace: Omaha, Neb.
Residence: Spokane, Wash.
Birth date: Jan. 23, 1986
Position: Fabricator/Technician
Wife: Kimberly
Hobbies: Football, building hot rods

Fairchild joined the DPM camp in January 2008 as a fabricator on Rod Fuller’s Caterpillar dragster. It is his first position in NHRA drag racing. He spent more than two years at Valley Ford Metal Crafters in Washington as a welder/fabricator and also attended Wyotech in Laramie, Wyo.

Cody Jackson
Birthplace: Hermiston, Ore.
Residence: Avon, Ind.
Birth date: Oct. 28, 1988
Position: Bottom End Specialist
Marital Status: Single
Hobbies: Video games, shopping

Jackson joined the Caterpillar team during its near championship run in 2007 where he serviced superchargers. The son of Dick Jackson, Cody will service the bottom end and build racks on Rod Fuller’s rail in 2008.

Dick Jackson
Birthplace: Weiser, Idaho
Residence: Indianapolis
Birth date: June 9, 1957
Position: Cylinder Heads/Truck Driver
Marital Status: Single
Children: Joshua (21), Cody (19)
Hobbies: Drag racing

Jackson joined the David Powers Motorsports before the 2007 season as the cylinder heads specialist. He will continue in that role in 2008 along with being the lead truck driver for the Caterpillar team. Before joining DPM, Jackson worked for Mitch Meyers’ A/FD in 2003-04, helping the veteran alcohol racer win the NHRA Sportsmen championship in 2004. He also worked on Jay Payne’s Valvoline-backed Pro Mod that won the NHRA championship in 2006, and competed in the NASCAR Winston Racing Series late model class earning a championship in 1998.

Gary Pritchett
Birthplace: Silver Spring, Md.
Residence: Avon, Ind.
Birth date: Feb. 20, 1987
Position: Clutch Assistant
Marital Status: Single
Hobbies: Racing, street bikes, quads

The godson of famed Funny Car racer Bunny Burkett, Pritchett has grown up around the sport. Now in his second season with DPM, Pritchett will assist Jimmy Wingo in the clutch area. He also is the tire specialist for the Caterpillar team. He previously worked at Bigfoot Speed & Custom in Fredericksburg, Va. where he performed suspension and engine work for three years. He races Top Alcohol Funny Cars during his spare time.

Bryan Tschihart
Birthplace: San Antonio
Residence: Brownsburg, Ind.
Birth date: May 26, 1967
Position: Short Block Specialist/Truck Driver
Wife: Loraine
Children: Cory (11), Kristen (10)
Hobbies: Racing

A mud racer for 10 years, Tschirhart joined the David Powers Motorsports team in January 2007. Tschirhart builds short blocks for the Caterpillar team along with driving the team’s tech trailer. At the track, he pulls the left cylinder head. Last season he serviced the bottom end on Rod Fuller’s dragster. He also has worked for Jim Bailey (2001) and Jack Ostrander (2004-’06) on the IHRA circuit.

Leo Vascik
Birthplace: Monroe, Mich.
Residence: Brownsburg, Ind.
Birth date: Nov. 2, 1980
Position: Clutch Assistant
Wife: Taisa
Children: Christian (2)
Hobbies: Racing, motorcycles, computers, video design

Vascik joined the Caterpillar Top Fuel team in the spring of 2008. He won in just his second race with the team when Rod Fuller won at St. Louis. Prior to joining the DPM team, Vascik spent 18 months working on the Evan Knoll-owned A/Fuel dragster driven by Dyno Dave Heitzman. Vasick also spent four seasons working in dirt track racing.

Jimmy Wingo
Birthplace: Dover, Del.
Residence: Pittsboro, Ind.
Birth date: June 15, 1973
Position: Clutch Specialist
Wife: Amber
Children: Mikey (11), Desire (10), Zakary (5), Joshua (2)
Hobbies: Sprint cars, racing, spending time with kids

The veteran dirt track racer joined the Caterpillar Top Fuel team for the 2008 season. He will be the clutch specialist on Rod Fuller’s dragster. Wingo has spent seven seasons on the NHRA tour working for Jerry Toliver Racing, John Force Racing and most recently Don Prudhomme Racing for two seasons on Tommy Johnson’s Funny Car. He has performed the clutch, supercharger, rod and piston assembly, and bottom end duties.

Dave Tomchek
Birthplace: Minneapolis
Residence: Las Vegas
Birth date: July 15, 1965
Position: Athletic Trainer UNLV Basketball/Hot Rod Fuller
Wife: Denise
Children: Wyatt, Michaela, Skylar
Hobbies: Motorsports, Fishing, and Professional Wrestling

Dave Tomchek, 42, is an athletic trainer for the University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV) men’s basketball program. The seasoned athletic trainer graduated from the University of Michigan with a degree in Kinesiology. He earned his Master’s degree from UNLV in athletic administration in 1990. Upon graduating, Tomchek was an athletic trainer for the Runnin’ Rebels from 1990-92. He served as an athletic trainer and director of strength and conditioning for the Atlanta Braves minor league system from 1992-97. He also acted as the athletic trainer for the Michael Jordan Senior Flight School in Las Vegas the past 10 years and is the director of medical services for the NBA Summer League. He has worked with Hot Rod Fuller since the Top Fuel driver injured his knee in 2007.