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Hot Rod Fuller Falls in Round One in 2010 Debut at Sonoma
"Hot Rod" Fuller drove his Abu Dhabi/Yas Marina Circuit Top Fuel dragster to a first-round finish Sunday morning at Infineon Raceway after overpowering the hot Sonoma race track in a first-round match against Mike Strasburg.
A day after qualifying his Lee Beard-tuned dragster in the No. 3 position at 3.873-seconds on Saturday afternoon at Infineon Raceway, Fuller faced off against Utah racer Mike Strasburg, the No. 14 qualifier. The drivers used nearly identical reaction times, but Fuller's Abu Dhabi rail lost traction and slowed to a run of 4.448 seconds at 190.48 mph. Strasburg's blue dragster sped to a pass of 3.982 at 307.44 to score his first round win of the 2010 NHRA season.
"We didn't expect the car to react like that," Fuller said. "Lee (Beard) and the guys seemed to have a great handle on the car all weekend long and after running that 3.87 on our last qualifying run, we were very confident. That's a bummer because we want to go some rounds with this Abu Dhabi car. We're excited to go to Denver next weekend, a place we've won at a few years back."
The next NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series event is the 31st annual Mopar Mile-High Nationals, July 23-25, at Bandimere Speedway in Morrison, Colo. near Denver. Fuller won the Denver race in Top Fuel in 2007.
E1 Strasburg (.111) 3.982 ET, 307.44 MPH def. FULLER (.110) 4.448 ET, 190.48 MPH
About Yas Marina Circuit
Yas Marina Circuit is the world's newest and one of the most technologically advanced motor racing facilities ever developed. Located on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, the Circuit debuted on October 30, 2009 with the final race of the FIA Formula 1TM World Championship - the inaugural Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Year round, Yas Marina Circuit hosts an extensive program of leading international and national motorsport racing series. Its facilities include the Yas Drag Racing Centre and the Yas Racing School.
About Don Schumacher Racing
Don Schumacher Racing, headquartered in Brownsburg, Ind., consists of six professional NHRA teams: The U.S. Army Top Fuel dragster driven by seven-time world champion Tony Schumacher; the FRAM dragster of Cory McClenathan, and the Matco Tools/U.S. Army dragster of Antron Brown. The Funny Car teams are the NAPA AUTO PARTS Dodge driven by Ron Capps, the Valvoline/Mail Terminal Services Dodge piloted by Jack Beckman, and the DieHard/shelor.com Dodge driven by Matt Hagan. DSR also manages the Abu Dhabi/Yas Marina Circuit dragster driven by Rod Fuller. Since 1998, Don Schumacher Racing teams have won 145 national events in 278 final rounds and eight world championships.
