SYRACUSE, NY - Oct. 7, 2009 - Tim Fuller is undoubtedly the hottest driver on the World of Outlaws Late Model Series.
Now the Watertown, N.Y., star is hoping all his sweet full-fender vibes will transfer to his DIRTcar Modified assault on Super DIRT Week XXXVIII, which runs Oct. 7-11 at the Syracuse Mile on the New York State Fairgrounds.
With wins in seven of the last 11 WoO LMS A-Mains – including the last tour event contested on Sept. 6 at Pennsylvania's Tri-City Speedway – Fuller is riding high as he returns to his Modified roots for the Northeast open-wheel circuit's biggest show of the season. He'll race for nearly $75,000 in first-place cash during the extravaganza of speed, which is headlined by the $50,000-to-win Rite Aid 200 for DIRTcar big-block Modifieds on Sunday (Oct. 11).
“It sure would be nice to keep things going at Syracuse,” said Fuller, who will also enter the $20,000-to-win 358-Modified Syracuse 150 on Saturday (Oct. 10) and a 100-lap Mr. DIRTcar 358-Modified Series event that offers a $4,000 top prize on Thursday night (Oct. 8) at Brewerton (N.Y.) Speedway. “There's a lot of money on the line and I'd like to get some of it.”
Fuller, 41, will make all his Super DIRT Week starts at the Syracuse Mile in equipment fielded by the Smith Brothers Concrete team, a long-running big-block Modified operation from the Middletown, N.Y., area that is co-owned by Steve Hastings and Joe Knoth. Fuller joined the team earlier this season to run selected big-block Modified events that fit into his busy dirt Late Model schedule.
But while Fuller's cars will sport the No. 74 that Hastings and Knoth have displayed on their Modifieds for years, the machine he's set to run in the Rite Aid 200 is actually his own proven Syracuse car. Fuller has entered the 2006 Teo-Pro mount in the last three Rite Aid 200s, finishing seventh (2006), second (2007) and fifth (2008) and winning the pole position with a fast time-trial lap in both '06 and '08.
Hastings and Knoth agreed to make Fuller's car a Smith Brothers No. 74 for Syracuse duty early in their partnership. They took the Mod to car builder Bobby Hearn's northern New Jersey shop for updating several months ago and recently installed a new big-block engine that they had constructed by New York's Precision Engine Service.
“We'll be good (with the big-block car),” stated a confident Fuller, who spent the past few days making final preparations on the car in his shop. “The big thing is that I'm not going into the week in a car I don't know. I know I have a good, fast car that works well at Syracuse.”
Fuller, who will run the 358-Modified Syracuse 150 in a separate Smith Brothers No. 74 and Brewerton's midweek satellite event in a small-block owned by central New Yorker Joe Beyea, won the Rite Aid 200 in 2004 and 358-Modified Syracuse 150 in 2005 while making his living as a fulltime DIRTcar Modified driver. He'd love to repeat in both races – not only for his own bank account, but to provide Hastings and Knoth a huge highlight for their careers as car owners and reward them for backing him in 2009.
Earlier this year, on Aug. 8, Fuller captured a Super DIRTcar Series event at Canandaigua (N.Y.) Speedway – the first win Hastings and Knoth enjoyed on the Northeast's premier big-block Modified tour in two decades. They have not realized great success in limited Super DIRT Week appearances over the years, so Fuller has a chance to bring them a second rare experience in his first season as their driver.
“Racing for these guys has been perfect,” Fuller said of his '09 Modified outings, which also included a spring victory in the DIRT Challenge Cup at Rolling Wheels Raceway in Elbridge, N.Y., and a second-place finish in the inaugural $20,000-to-win DIRTcar All-Star 100 in July at Cayuga County Fair Speedway in Weedsport, N.Y. “I couldn't ask for a better deal. They're out to run good but also have a good time, so they fit my program real well.
“They're giving me everything you need to win at Syracuse and hopefully we can get the job done for them.”
Fuller has been a Super DIRT Week fixture since 1992, when he finished 33rd in his first start in the 358-Modified event. He's started every Rite Aid 200 since 1996, with his average finish of 12th ranking among the best of all drivers during that span.
And even as he continues to develop into a true national dirt Late Model star, he can't fathom spending Columbus Day weekend doing anything but running a Modified on the famed ‘Moody Mile' in Syracuse.
“I enjoy going (to Super DIRT Week) because it's still one of the premier events in the country,” said Fuller, a former champion of the overall Mr. DIRTcar big-block Modified (2005) and Mr. DIRTcar 358-Modified (1993 and 2003) points races. “I really enjoy race day (of the Rite Aid 200) and the challenge of trying to win the race. I've always said that you haven't made it in Modifieds until you've won it.”
Fuller will be back behind the wheel of his Gypsum Express No. 19 dirt Late Model just three days after the Rite Aid 200 when he enters the WoO LMS ‘Topless Showdown' on Wed., Oct. 14, at The Dirt Track @ Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C. The unique 50-lap event boasts a top prize of as much as $30,000, depending on the starting position of the winner.
Currently ranked fourth in the WoO LMS points standings and tied with Josh Richards for the most wins (seven), Fuller will close out the tour's 2009 season on Nov. 5-7 with the third annual running of the World of Outlaws World Finals at The Dirt Track.
For more information about Super DIRT Week, including ticket info, contact DIRTcar Racing Northeast Headquarters at 315-834-6606. Further newsworthy items can be found at www.superdirtcarseries.com and www.superdirtweekonline.com, while tickets can be ordered on-line by logging into https://syracuse.ticketdirector.com.
Additional information on the WoO LMS can be obtained by visiting www.worldofoutlaws.com.
The World of Outlaws Late Model Series is brought to fans across the country by many important sponsors and partners, including Arizona Sport Shirts (Official Apparel Company), Armor All (Official Car Care Products), Crane Cams (Official Valvetrain), Hoosier Racing Tires (Official Racing Tires), Fusion Energy Boost (Official Energy Boost), SuperClean (Official Cleaner-Degreaser) and VP Racing (Official Racing Fuel); in addition to contingency sponsors Champ Pans, Eibach Springs, Hoosier Tires, Integra Shocks, Jake's Custom Golf Carts, Ohlins Shocks, Racing Electronics, Quarter Master and Wrisco Aluminum; Crane Cams Engine Builder's Challenge participants Cornett Racing Engines, Custom Race Engines and Pro Power Racing Engines; and Chassis Builder Challenge participants Rocket Chassis and Team Zero by Bloomquist.
Now the Watertown, N.Y., star is hoping all his sweet full-fender vibes will transfer to his DIRTcar Modified assault on Super DIRT Week XXXVIII, which runs Oct. 7-11 at the Syracuse Mile on the New York State Fairgrounds.
With wins in seven of the last 11 WoO LMS A-Mains – including the last tour event contested on Sept. 6 at Pennsylvania's Tri-City Speedway – Fuller is riding high as he returns to his Modified roots for the Northeast open-wheel circuit's biggest show of the season. He'll race for nearly $75,000 in first-place cash during the extravaganza of speed, which is headlined by the $50,000-to-win Rite Aid 200 for DIRTcar big-block Modifieds on Sunday (Oct. 11).
“It sure would be nice to keep things going at Syracuse,” said Fuller, who will also enter the $20,000-to-win 358-Modified Syracuse 150 on Saturday (Oct. 10) and a 100-lap Mr. DIRTcar 358-Modified Series event that offers a $4,000 top prize on Thursday night (Oct. 8) at Brewerton (N.Y.) Speedway. “There's a lot of money on the line and I'd like to get some of it.”
Fuller, 41, will make all his Super DIRT Week starts at the Syracuse Mile in equipment fielded by the Smith Brothers Concrete team, a long-running big-block Modified operation from the Middletown, N.Y., area that is co-owned by Steve Hastings and Joe Knoth. Fuller joined the team earlier this season to run selected big-block Modified events that fit into his busy dirt Late Model schedule.
But while Fuller's cars will sport the No. 74 that Hastings and Knoth have displayed on their Modifieds for years, the machine he's set to run in the Rite Aid 200 is actually his own proven Syracuse car. Fuller has entered the 2006 Teo-Pro mount in the last three Rite Aid 200s, finishing seventh (2006), second (2007) and fifth (2008) and winning the pole position with a fast time-trial lap in both '06 and '08.
Hastings and Knoth agreed to make Fuller's car a Smith Brothers No. 74 for Syracuse duty early in their partnership. They took the Mod to car builder Bobby Hearn's northern New Jersey shop for updating several months ago and recently installed a new big-block engine that they had constructed by New York's Precision Engine Service.
“We'll be good (with the big-block car),” stated a confident Fuller, who spent the past few days making final preparations on the car in his shop. “The big thing is that I'm not going into the week in a car I don't know. I know I have a good, fast car that works well at Syracuse.”
Fuller, who will run the 358-Modified Syracuse 150 in a separate Smith Brothers No. 74 and Brewerton's midweek satellite event in a small-block owned by central New Yorker Joe Beyea, won the Rite Aid 200 in 2004 and 358-Modified Syracuse 150 in 2005 while making his living as a fulltime DIRTcar Modified driver. He'd love to repeat in both races – not only for his own bank account, but to provide Hastings and Knoth a huge highlight for their careers as car owners and reward them for backing him in 2009.
Earlier this year, on Aug. 8, Fuller captured a Super DIRTcar Series event at Canandaigua (N.Y.) Speedway – the first win Hastings and Knoth enjoyed on the Northeast's premier big-block Modified tour in two decades. They have not realized great success in limited Super DIRT Week appearances over the years, so Fuller has a chance to bring them a second rare experience in his first season as their driver.
“Racing for these guys has been perfect,” Fuller said of his '09 Modified outings, which also included a spring victory in the DIRT Challenge Cup at Rolling Wheels Raceway in Elbridge, N.Y., and a second-place finish in the inaugural $20,000-to-win DIRTcar All-Star 100 in July at Cayuga County Fair Speedway in Weedsport, N.Y. “I couldn't ask for a better deal. They're out to run good but also have a good time, so they fit my program real well.
“They're giving me everything you need to win at Syracuse and hopefully we can get the job done for them.”
Fuller has been a Super DIRT Week fixture since 1992, when he finished 33rd in his first start in the 358-Modified event. He's started every Rite Aid 200 since 1996, with his average finish of 12th ranking among the best of all drivers during that span.
And even as he continues to develop into a true national dirt Late Model star, he can't fathom spending Columbus Day weekend doing anything but running a Modified on the famed ‘Moody Mile' in Syracuse.
“I enjoy going (to Super DIRT Week) because it's still one of the premier events in the country,” said Fuller, a former champion of the overall Mr. DIRTcar big-block Modified (2005) and Mr. DIRTcar 358-Modified (1993 and 2003) points races. “I really enjoy race day (of the Rite Aid 200) and the challenge of trying to win the race. I've always said that you haven't made it in Modifieds until you've won it.”
Fuller will be back behind the wheel of his Gypsum Express No. 19 dirt Late Model just three days after the Rite Aid 200 when he enters the WoO LMS ‘Topless Showdown' on Wed., Oct. 14, at The Dirt Track @ Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C. The unique 50-lap event boasts a top prize of as much as $30,000, depending on the starting position of the winner.
Currently ranked fourth in the WoO LMS points standings and tied with Josh Richards for the most wins (seven), Fuller will close out the tour's 2009 season on Nov. 5-7 with the third annual running of the World of Outlaws World Finals at The Dirt Track.
For more information about Super DIRT Week, including ticket info, contact DIRTcar Racing Northeast Headquarters at 315-834-6606. Further newsworthy items can be found at www.superdirtcarseries.com and www.superdirtweekonline.com, while tickets can be ordered on-line by logging into https://syracuse.ticketdirector.com.
Additional information on the WoO LMS can be obtained by visiting www.worldofoutlaws.com.
The World of Outlaws Late Model Series is brought to fans across the country by many important sponsors and partners, including Arizona Sport Shirts (Official Apparel Company), Armor All (Official Car Care Products), Crane Cams (Official Valvetrain), Hoosier Racing Tires (Official Racing Tires), Fusion Energy Boost (Official Energy Boost), SuperClean (Official Cleaner-Degreaser) and VP Racing (Official Racing Fuel); in addition to contingency sponsors Champ Pans, Eibach Springs, Hoosier Tires, Integra Shocks, Jake's Custom Golf Carts, Ohlins Shocks, Racing Electronics, Quarter Master and Wrisco Aluminum; Crane Cams Engine Builder's Challenge participants Cornett Racing Engines, Custom Race Engines and Pro Power Racing Engines; and Chassis Builder Challenge participants Rocket Chassis and Team Zero by Bloomquist.
