Fuller Ends Dixon’s Father’s Day Winning Streak At Five With His Third Career Win
Written by Josh Katinger · June 18, 2006
Ron Capps, Jason Line and Matt Smith round out Father’s Day winners at K&N Filters Supernationals
ENGLISHTOWN, N.J. — Top Fuel driver Rod Fuller managed to stop Larry Dixon’s streak of five consecutive Father’s Day victories Sunday by beating Dixon in the final of the $1.8 million K&N Filters NHRA Supernationals.
NHRA.com: Sunday Recap
Fuller’s Valvoline rail went straight down a hot and greasy quarter-mile in 4.692 seconds at 314.24 mph to beat Dixon’s tire-hazing 4.825 at 299.73 mph. Fuller was joined by Funny Car’s Ron Capps, Pro Stock’s Jason Line, and Pro Stock Motorcycle’s Matt Smith in Old Bridge Township Raceway Park’s winner’s circle.
“I knew Dixon had that Father’s Day thing going but our car was running great all weekend and I knew we had a chance if we stayed within ourselves,” Fuller said. “This one’s for my dad. He’s a racer and he’s the reason I love racing. He’s my best friend.”
Season-long points leader Melanie Troxel’s first-round loss to Dixon combined with her 11th-place qualifying effort helped Doug Kalitta trim her lead in the POWERade standings from 71 to 48 points.
The Funny Car final was close as Capps got a big headstart with a .079- to .133-second reaction time advantage only to barely hold off hard-charging reigning champion Gary Scelzi. The final numbers had Capps winning with a 5.025 at 299.46 mph in his Brut Dodge Charger to Scelzi’s quicker but losing 5.012 at 301.81 mph in the Oakley machine.
“Beating Gary on a holeshot takes some of the excitement out of this win,” Capps said, as he held back tears. “Last year ‘Ace’ (crew chief Ed McCulloch) got sick the Thursday before the race with his cancer and Scelzi’s crew chief Mike Neff jumped in and helped us. Gary is a mentor to me and our teams are together. Our trailers literally connect to one another and I know they wanted that win.”
Ladders
Top Fuel
Funny Car
Pro Stock
Pro Stock Motorcycle
Final Finish Order (1-16)
TOP FUEL:
1. Rod Fuller
2. Larry Dixon
3. Brandon Bernstein
4. Hillary Will
5. J.R. Todd
6. Doug Kalitta
7. Cory McClenathan
8. Tony Schumacher
9. David Grubnic
10. Morgan Lucas
11. Clay Millican
12. Melanie Troxel
13. Doug Herbert
14. Bob Vandergriff
15. David Baca
16. Rit Pustari
FUNNY CAR:
1. Ron Capps, Dodge Charger
2. Gary Scelzi, Charger
3. Tommy Johnson Jr., Chevy Monte Carlo
4. Tony Bartone, Monte Carlo
5. Phil Burkart, Monte Carlo
6. Tony Pedregon, Monte Carlo
7. Tim Wilkerson, Monte Carlo
8. John Force, Ford Mustang
9. Scott Kalitta, Monte Carlo
10. Whit Bazemore, Charger
11. Bob Gilbertson, Dodge Stratus
12. Robert Hight, Mustang
13. Cruz Pedregon, Monte Carlo
14. Eric Medlen, Mustang
15. Del Worsham, Monte Carlo
16. Jim Head, Stratus
PRO STOCK:
1. Jason Line, Pontiac GTO
2. Dave Connolly, Chevy Cobalt
3. Allen Johnson, Dodge Stratus
4. Kurt Johnson, Cobalt
5. Warren Johnson, GTO
6. Jim Yates, GTO
7. Rickie Smith, GTO
8. Richie Stevens, Stratus
9. V. Gaines, Stratus
10. Greg Anderson, GTO
11. Ron Krisher, Cobalt
12. Larry Morgan, Stratus
13. Dave Howard, Cobalt
14. Greg Stanfield, GTO
15. Mark Pawuk, Cobalt
16. Mike Edwards, GTO
PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE:
1. Matt Smith
2. Karen Stoffer, Suzuki
3. Tom Bradford
4. Matt Guidera
5. Ryan Schnitz
6. Craig Treble, Suzuki
7. Antron Brown, Suzuki
8. Steve Johnson, Suzuki
9. Chip Ellis
10. Angelle Sampey, Suzuki
11. Geno Scali, Suzuki
12. Paul Gast, Suzuki
13. GT Tonglet, Harley-Davidson
14. Andrew Hines, Harley-Davidson
15. Michael Phillips, Suzuki
16. Joe DeSantis, Suzuki
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