Last weekend at Denver , Fuller drove to his fifth career NHRA Top Fuel victory knocking off teammate Whit Bazemore in the first all-David Powers Motorsports final round. Fuller qualified third at 4.615-seconds and ran low E.T. of eliminations in the final round, 4.683-seconds. It was his fourth final-round appearance of 2007.

The Las Vegas racer extended his points lead to 144 points over second-place racer Larry Dixon. It’s Fuller largest lead this season. He also leads the Technicoat Shootout standings for the $100,000 bonus race that will be contested on Oct. 26 in Las Vegas .

Last July at Seattle, Fuller qualified his Valvoline rail in the No. 2 position with a run of 4.578 seconds at 325.30 mph. He advanced to the semifinals before falling to David Grubnic.

Fuller has qualified fourth or better at every event this season with three poles ( Atlanta , St. Louis and Norwalk ). He is the only professional driver to have yet to qualify lower than fourth this year.

He has advanced to at least the semifinal round of eliminations at nine of 13 races this year with four trips to the money round ( Phoenix , Joliet , Ill. , Norwalk , Ohio , and Denver ).

He won the event in 2005 and has notched four victories thus far this season. With his most recent victory at Bristol Dragway July 8, the Budweiser/Lucas Oil team driver has tied his record from 2006 for most wins in a season. The 23-race NHRA circuit has just passed its mid point so Bernstein has quite a few races left to score another victory to break his career best wins in a season.

The Kenny Bernstein-owned team is one of the hottest on the circuit right now. They have performance plus consistency and in fact, have taken home four Full Throttle awards for excellence and consistency averaged over four rounds of qualifying.

From a performance standpoint, Bernstein couldn’t be happier, but from a personal standpoint, visiting the Seattle area conjures up sadness from the loss of a good friend, Russ Tom, who previously owned Downtown Harley-Davidson in Tukwila. Tom lost his life in a helicopter crash last October.

“Russ was always at the Seattle racetrack to cheer the team,” said Bernstein. “We spent a lot of time at his house over race week and there will be a real empty feeling without his presence.

“For nearly 10 years we’ve been riding with about 200 motorcycle enthusiasts starting out at Downtown Harley and ending with a big party at BB Magraw’s. Dad started the ride and then I’ve taken over the reins these past five years.

“This year we’re doing the ride in Russ’ honor and Dad and I will both ride.

“On a happier note, I know Russ would be so proud of the team this season. Russ was a sponsor on our car and he just loved the competitive side of life. He could easily have been a very successful motorcycle racer had he chosen that career path.

“It would be nice to be able to win in Seattle for Russ.”

Bernstein won races in Las Vegas and Atlanta in April, Topeka in June and Bristol July 8. He is comfortably seeded in the countdown to eight field which is the first stage of the new NHRA championship chase format.

Nitro (Top Fuel and Funny Car) qualifying for the Schuck’s Auto Supply Nationals begins Friday, July 20 at 3:30 p.m. followed by a second session at 6:30 p.m. There are two scheduled qualifying runs Saturday, noon and 3 p.m. , with Top Fuel kicking off Sunday’s eliminations at 11 a.m.

Fans, motorcycle and car club members are invited to join Kenny and Brandon Bernstein for the Russ Tom Memorial Bike Run in Seattle Thursday, July 19. The riders will depart Downtown Harley-Davidson, 13002 48th Ave. S. , Tukwila, at 5 p.m. and will make the run over to BB Magraw’s, 440 16th NE in Auburn . At BB’s a local band will entertain, while fans and riders enter to win prizes. A silent auction will be held to benefit Boyers Children’s Clinic. There is no charge to ride.

Russ Tom Memorial Bike Run t-shirts will be available for purchase.

Brandon Bernstein, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Clark headline Bud Racing One Night Stand at Sturgis. Wednesday night, Aug. 8, the Buffalo Chip campground near Sturgis , South Dakota , will be rockin’ AND rollin’ when the boys from Budweiser Racing –Brandon Bernstein, Dale Earnhardt Jr., and Jeff Clark – take the stage during the “Bud Racing One Night Stand.”

Brandon, Dale Jr. and Jeff will be hangin’ with the Buffalo Chip’ers, riffing about everything from riding bikes to rubbin’ fenders to pullin’ 5 G’s down the quarter-mile. Sandwiched between the lovely ladies of Hawaiian Tropic and the rockin’ sounds of Velvet Revolver, the Bud Racing One Night Stand will be Rally week’s “can’t miss” show.

Hosted by ESPN’s Marty Smith, Brandon, Dale Jr. and Jeff will swap stories and take questions submitted by the crowd. The night revs up at 8:30 p.m. on Wed., Aug. 8 with the Hawaiian Tropic Pageant, followed by the Bud Racing boys at 9 p.m., and Velvet Revolver on stage at 10:30 p.m.

Another highlight of the evening will be the presentation of a Budweiser custom motorcycle to Bernstein. The bike, commissioned by Budweiser and built by Jeff Clark owner of The Cycle Xchange in Matthews, N.C., will have special drag racing-type features incorporated into it.

Given his recent performance at Bandimere Speedway, Schumacher is optimistic about possibly making a trip to winner's circle at Pacific Raceways.

"Even though we got beat in the semis at Denver, what was most encouraging is that we got down the track seven straight times (qualifying included)," said the defending NHRA Top Fuel world champion. "We're all fully aware that consistency is extremely important in this sport. That's how you win races and championships."

One will have to forgive Schumacher if he's seen licking his chops upon arrival at Pacific Raceways. He has two wins to his credit there (2004 & 2006), along with another final round appearance (2005).

"For sure, we've done exceptionally well the last three seasons," he added. "I guess we just get into a comfort zone out there. I always get asked about why we're successful at certain tracks and not as successful at others. There's really no clear explanation for it. I know that Alan Johnson (his crew chief) has plenty of solid data to draw from. That's good enough for me."

The Chicago native will enter the Schuck's Auto Supply Nationals holding fifth- place in the standings. Presently, that would be good enough for a spot in the NHRA's Countdown to the Championship, which will allow the top eight in points (after the Reading, Pa. race, August 16 -19) to compete for the world title.

"We have a little bit of a cushion between us and that eighth position (126 points), but we certainly don't want to leave anything for chance with four races left until the cut off," he said. "We need to keep running like we did in Denver and, perhaps, even grab a couple of wins along the way.

"Our soldiers deserve this team's best effort all of the time. Our brave men and women give us their best effort every day, so why should we be any different? We definitely want to give them a fourth straight world championship."

"Man, we've been so close a couple of times in Seattle," Grubnic, a 44-year old resident of Ennis, Mont., said. "Hopefully this year we can get that last good lap and get the Zantrex-3 car in the winner's circle."

"Most importantly, we need to qualify well and put ourselves in position to go rounds. We're hanging on to that No. 8 in points, and we sure would like to move up and get some breathing room."

This season the NHRA instituted the new Countdown to the Championship points system. Only the top eight in POWERade points after the first 17 national events will be allowed to vie for the season championship. This weekend's event is the 14th of the season.

Going into this weekend's event at Pacific Raceways, Grubnic and the Zantrex-3 team are in 8th position in POWERade Top Fuel championship points.

"Our Mac Tools machine has been getting much more consistent lately," Kalitta, a 42-year old resident of Ann Arbor, Mich., said. "We've been going down the track with fewer and fewer problems over the past several races. I think this weekend in Seattle may finally be our time to shine this year.

"The weatherman is forecasting some cool temperatures for this weekend, so I'm sure the fans are going to get to see some really good times. We are looking forward to getting there and seeing what our Mac Tools car can do and hopefully put "Big Red" in the winner's circle."

Kalitta has been runner-up for the Top Fuel title in Seattle three times in his 10-year career, 2003, 2000, and 1999. He was a semi-finalist in 2005.

This season the NHRA instituted the new Countdown to the Championship points system. Only the top eight in POWERade points after the first 17 national events will be allowed to vie for the season championship. This weekend's event is the 14th of the season.

Going into this weekend's event at Pacific Raceways, Kalitta is in 12th position in POWERade Top Fuel championship points. He is 88 points shy of 8th place.

Will, driver of the Kalitta Motorsports-managed Top Fuel dragster owned by KB Racing LLC, needs to make a move over the final four races of the Countdown to the Championship if she plans to be one of the eight drivers that will advance to the second segment in a quest for the Top Fuel NHRA POWERade Championship.

Will is currently 11th in points and currently needs to make up 85 points before the Countdown ends at Reading, Penn., in August. The charge will be starting here at Pacific Raceways which hosts this weekend’s 20th annual NHRA Schuck’s Auto Supply Nationals

The Seattle race marks the fifth of six races in a row and eight in nine weeks. Next it’s on to Sonoma, in the heart of California’s Napa Valley wine country, for the FRAM Autolite Nationals, July 27-29. The NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series then takes a week off before heading for the final two races in the first segment of the Countdown to the Championship – Brainerd, Minn., and Reading, Penn. But for now, the focus is on Seattle.

“We are two-thirds of the way through our six-race swing,” said Will. “My team left the shop on July 4th and won’t return home until the first of August. I think it’s tough on them to be away from their families for so long, however, I know that for my team, when times get tough they work harder.

“Our KB Racing Top Fuel team had a team meeting last week and I can tell that no one shows signs of being weary. No one on the team is slowing down. I think morale is up. We talked about how we have been through a lot together this year and last year and it is our turn to go out and win.

“We know that we are in striking distance of the top eight for the Countdown and we know that we have to strike now. It’s time to charge. Our team is still confident that we can do so.

“I have extra confidence going into this race because I have some familiarity with the track. My family and I used to make the 12 hour drive from our home in Northern California to Pacific Raceways. Over the years, I have raced there in Super Gas, Super Comp, Top Alcohol Dragster and last year in Top Fuel.”

Bazemore Seattle Notebook

Last weekend at the Denver race, Bazemore qualified ninth at 4.662-seconds. He advanced to his first career Top Fuel final round where he posted a runner-up finish to teammate Rod Fuller in the first all-David Powers Motorsports final round. He won his 350th career round last weekend in a semifinal victory over Tony Schumacher.

By advancing to the final round at Denver , Bazemore jumped to seventh place in the POWERade standings. He is tied with David Grubnic with 641 points and sits just seven points from sixth place.

Last July, Bazemore raced to his 20th career Funny car victory by defeating then teammate Ron Capps in the final round at Pacific Raceways 5.036 to 5.108. Bazemore qualified his Matco Tools Funny Car 12th with a run of 4.953 seconds at 309.13 mph.

Bazemore has three career wins at Pacific Raceways (1997, 2001, ‘06). It is one of six tracks where he has earned multiple victories. He has won races at 12 current NHRA tracks.

Bazemore has an average starting spot of 8.37 at Pacific Raceways in 16 career starts at the Kent track. His average starting spot in 2007 is 7.23.

“We are determined to make a strong showing this weekend in Seattle ,” said Herbert. “We held the track record here a few years ago, and would like to set it again. All the trees up here make lots of oxygen, which helps the cars breathe better and produce more power. Pretty much the exact opposite of what we had last week in Denver .”

With four races left until the next phase of the Countdown to the Championship, winning rounds and gaining points is more important than ever. Sitting 123 points outside the top eight, a winning performance this weekend could move Herbert within shouting distance of that coveted eighth position.

“Our goal is to be racing for the Championship,” said Herbert. “We have a fast car, and just need for a little luck to swing our way.

“We are doing a better job of consistently making it down the track during qualifying, but then we have parts failures and other crazy things happen to us on race day. Hopefully that stuff is over with.

“We’re ready to show what we can do, and we are determined to start showing it this weekend.”