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: Mike Kloeber
Team Owner: Bob Vandergriff, Jr. (Vandergriff Motorsports)
2008 Wins/Final Rounds: 1/4
Career Wins/Final Rounds: 7/18
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: Seven
Career-best Elapsed Time: 4.464 seconds (Joliet 2007), 3.813 seconds
(Las Vegas 2 2008)
Career-best Speed: 331.61 mph (Phoenix 2007), 318.39 mph (Las Vegas
2 2008)
Marital Status: Single
Height: 5’5”
Weight: 170 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 |
| 2008 |
24 |
6 |
1 |
3 |
5 |
6 |
9 |
1 |
0 |
29-23 |
| 2007 |
23 |
2 |
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
2008
St. Louis WINNER (def. Tony Schumacher)
Joliet runner-up (Tony Schumacher)
Las Vegas 2 runner-up (Tony Schumacher)
Pomona 2 runner-up (Larry
Dixon)
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
Norwalk
2007
Atlanta
St. Louis
Norwalk
Reading
2006
St. Louis
Memphis
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.
