FULLER ENDS DIXON'S FATHER'S DAY WINNING STREAK AT FIVE WITH HIS THIRD CAREER WIN

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.

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."

This was Scelzi's first final-round appearance of his title defense. He moved up one slot to seventh in the POWERade Series points. Capps more than doubled his advantage in the standings with this win. After entering the race with a 48-point cushion, he leaves town with a 106-point edge.

With all the pre-final talk focusing on Connolly's lethal performances at the starting line, it was Line coming through with a quick start that began his 6.729-second, 205.98-mph victorious pass. Line's .013-second start got his Summit Racing Pontiac GTO rolling and he carried that momentum to the other end, beating Connolly's 6.739 at 206.45 mph in his Skull Gear Chevy Cobalt.

"I can't believe I won this race as crappy as I've been driving all day," Line said. "This is really something. I don't know what it is about this racetrack but I love it. We won the last two years here before I was a father and now I win my first Father's Day race since my son Jack was born. How cool is that?"

Greg Anderson paid the price for his first-round holeshot loss to nemesis Warren Johnson as his lead in the POWERade rankings was trimmed from 110 to 37 points over Line, his KB Racing teammate.

Smith finally got his first NHRA victory by coming from behind on his G-Squared/Torco Race Fuels Buell and taking care of Karen Stoffer and her Geico Suzuki in the final round. Smith was awarded the victory at last year's U.S. Nationals at the racetrack but officials later reversed the decision when video tape showed he crossed the finish line second. This year, the same thing happened in an earlier round victory.

This one was a clear victory with Smith overcoming terrible.030- to .107-second reaction time deficit by halftrack and taking the win with a 7.111 at 185.38 mph ahead of Stoffer's 7.234 at 186.12 mph.

"The first thing I asked them at the top end was, 'Are you guys absolutely sure I've won this race?' " Smith said. "I guess this one was legit. Even Karen came over and said she saw that I was ahead of her at the stripe. It feels like this has been a long time coming, for sure. I'm glad dad (Pro Stock driver Rickie Smith) was down there waiting for me."

ENGLISHTOWN, N.J. -- Final finish order (1-16) for professional categories at the 37th annual K&N Filters SuperNationals presented by Strauss Auto at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park. The $1.8 million race is the 11th of 23 events in the $50 million NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series.

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.

ENGLISHTOWN, N.J. -- Sunday's final results from the 37th annual K&N Filters SuperNationals presented by Strauss Auto at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park. The $1.8 million race is the 11th of 23 in the $50 million NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series:

Top Fuel -- Rod Fuller, 4.692 seconds, 314.24 mph def. Larry Dixon, 4.825 seconds, 299.73 mph.

Funny Car -- Ron Capps, Dodge Charger, 5.025, 299.46 def. Gary Scelzi, Charger, 5.012, 301.81.

Pro Stock -- Jason Line, Pontiac GTO, 6.729, 205.98 def. Dave Connolly, Chevy Cobalt, 6.739, 206.45.

Pro Stock Motorcycle -- Matt Smith, Buell, 7.111, 185.38 def. Karen Stoffer, Suzuki, 7.234, 186.12.

Top Alcohol Dragster -- Jeff Bohr, broke was unopposed.

Top Alcohol Funny Car -- Frank Manzo, Chevy Monte Carlo, 5.691, 255.48 def. Bob Tasca III, Ford Mustang, 5.691, 256.65.

Competition Eliminator -- Sal Biondo, Chevy Beretta, 8.575, 129.24 def. Vinny Barone, Roadster, 8.083, 137.29.

Stock Eliminator -- Dan Fletcher, Chevy Camaro, 10.831, 115.12 def. John Shaul, Plymouth Fury, 10.215, 129.28.

Super Comp -- Franklin Di Bartolomeo, Dragster, 8.902, 163.79 def. Jeff Kundratic, Dragster, 8.944, 158.24.

Super Gas -- Regis Lepage, Ghevy S-10, 10.128, 130.51 def. Jeff Szilagyi, Chevy Corvette, broke.

Super Street -- Matt Ticcony, Plymouth Duster, 10.950, 141.59 def. Tom DePascale, Chevy Vega, 10.958, 139.93.

ENGLISHTOWN, N.J. -- Final round-by-round results from the 37th annual K&N Filters SuperNationals presented by Strauss Auto at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park, the 11th of 23 events in the $50 million NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series:

TOP FUEL:

ROUND ONE -- Cory McClenathan, 4.785, 273.22 def. David Baca, 6.264, 138.87; J.R. Todd, 4.645, 311.85 def. Doug Herbert, 5.037, 270.54; Larry Dixon, 4.674, 320.43 def. Melanie Troxel, 4.828, 250.69; Rod Fuller, 4.619, 326.32 def. Clay Millican, 4.821, 283.01; Hillary Will, 5.741, 190.08 def. Bob Vandergriff, 5.935, 213.37; Tony Schumacher, 4.586, 324.51 def. David Grubnic, 4.614, 320.74; Brandon Bernstein, 7.282, 108.05 def. Rit Pustari, 7.342, 110.02; Doug Kalitta, 4.644, 324.67 def. Morgan Lucas, 4.701, 304.53; QUARTERFINALS -- Bernstein, 4.728, 309.27 def. McClenathan, 5.158, 288.77; Will, 4.754, 310.91 def. Todd, 4.958, 279.32; Fuller, 4.643, 320.74 def. Kalitta, 5.002, 293.09; Dixon, 4.746, 310.13 def. Schumacher, 5.300, 254.42; SEMIFINALS -- Dixon, 4.754, 306.53 def. Will, 10.113, 75.88; Fuller, 5.007, 303.84 def. Bernstein, 6.248, 186.20; FINAL -- Fuller, 4.692, 314.24 def. Dixon, 4.825, 299.73.

FUNNY CAR:

ROUND ONE -- Phil Burkart, Chevy Monte Carlo, 4.974, 314.97 def. Eric Medlen, Ford Mustang, 5.611, 187.36; Tony Pedregon, Monte Carlo, 4.926, 313.73 def. Scott Kalitta, Monte Carlo, 4.961, 294.88; Tony Bartone, Monte Carlo, 4.979, 308.21 def. Bob Gilbertson, Dodge Stratus, 5.169, 231.52; Tim Wilkerson, Monte Carlo, 5.010, 300.06 def. Robert Hight, Mustang, 5.180, 281.25; Ron Capps, Dodge Charger, 4.922, 311.85 def. Jim Head, Stratus, 6.747, 131.42; Gary Scelzi, Charger, 4.929, 313.44 def. Cruz Pedregon, Monte Carlo, DQ CBL; Tommy Johnson Jr., Monte Carlo, 4.980, 315.12 def. Del Worsham, Monte Carlo, 5.970, 185.74; John Force, Mustang, 4.946, 315.71 def. Whit Bazemore, Charger, 4.995, 311.41; QUARTERFINALS -- Johnson Jr., 5.597, 252.85 def. Wilkerson, 5.714, 268.92; Scelzi, 4.947, 311.41 def. T. Pedregon, 5.310, 241.67; Capps, 4.985, 308.43 def. Burkart, foul; Bartone, 5.836, 179.28 def. Force, 5.918, 217.35; SEMIFINALS -- Capps, 5.021, 301.20 def. Johnson Jr., 5.857, 202.94; Scelzi, 5.478, 203.80 def. Bartone, 7.936, 101.73; FINAL -- Capps, 5.025, 299.46 def. Scelzi, 5.012, 301.81.

PRO STOCK:

ROUND ONE -- Richie Stevens, Dodge Stratus, 20.186, 39.13 def. Dave Howard, Chevy Cobalt, foul; Dave Connolly, Cobalt, 6.707, 206.70 def. V. Gaines, Stratus, 6.711, 206.57; Jason Line, Pontiac GTO, 6.707, 206.61 def. Greg Stanfield, GTO, 6.749, 205.16; Kurt Johnson, Cobalt, 6.703, 206.76 def. Larry Morgan, Stratus, foul; Warren Johnson, GTO, 6.727, 205.94 def. Greg Anderson, GTO, 6.718, 206.20; Rickie Smith, GTO, 6.753, 205.60 def. Mike Edwards, GTO, foul; Allen Johnson, Stratus, 6.759, 205.19 def. Mark Pawuk, Cobalt, 6.756, 205.54; Jim Yates, GTO, 6.715, 206.13 def. Ron Krisher, Cobalt, foul; QUARTERFINALS -- A. Johnson, 6.736, 205.44 def. Stevens, 7.504, 166.62; Line, 6.718, 206.42 def. Smith, 6.774, 205.32; K. Johnson, 6.741, 205.94 def. Yates, 6.750, 206.07; Connolly, 6.724, 206.54 def. W. Johnson, 6.734, 205.98; SEMIFINALS -- Connolly, 6.739, 205.79 def. K. Johnson, 6.780, 205.57; Line, 6.725, 206.42 def. A. Johnson, 6.768, 205.22; FINAL -- Line, 6.729, 205.98 def. Connolly, 6.739, 206.45.

PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE:

ROUND ONE -- Tom Bradford, Buell, 7.135, 184.93 def. Paul Gast, Suzuki, foul; Ryan Schnitz, Buell, 7.149, 180.48 def. Andrew Hines, Harley-Davidson, 7.173, 186.25; Karen Stoffer, Suzuki, 7.164, 192.58 def. Geno Scali, Suzuki, foul; Matt Smith, Buell, 7.091, 184.14 def. Michael Phillips, Suzuki, foul; Craig Treble, Suzuki, 7.149, 188.49 def. Angelle Sampey, Suzuki, foul; Antron Brown, Suzuki, 7.126, 188.38 def. Joe DeSantis, Suzuki, broke; Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 7.203, 183.82 def. Chip Ellis, Buell, foul; Matt Guidera, Buell, 7.148, 185.36 def. GT Tonglet, Harley-Davidson, 7.168, 187.05; QUARTERFINALS -- Stoffer, 7.148, 186.51 def. Schnitz, 7.155, 179.28; Guidera, 7.171, 180.74 def. Treble, 7.160, 187.11; Bradford, 7.130, 186.02 def. Johnson, 7.247, 181.20; Smith, 7.176, 181.54 def. Brown, foul; SEMIFINALS -- Stoffer, 7.282, 182.30 def. Guidera, 7.262, 181.23; Smith, 7.120, 186.07 def. Bradford, 7.141, 185.38; FINAL -- Smith, 7.111, 185.38 def. Stoffer, 7.234, 186.12.

ENGLISHTOWN, N.J. -- Point standings (top 10) for NHRA professional categories following the 37th annual K&N Filters SuperNationals presented by Strauss Auto at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park, the 11th of 23 events in the $50 million NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series -

Top Fuel

1. Melanie Troxel, 872; 2. Doug Kalitta, 824; 3. Brandon Bernstein, 717; 4. Rod Fuller, 651; 5. Larry Dixon, 635; 6. David Grubnic, 623; 7. (tie) Morgan Lucas, 560; Tony Schumacher, 560; 9. Cory McClenathan, 547; 10. Doug Herbert, 487.

Funny Car

1. Ron Capps, 944; 2. John Force, 838; 3. Robert Hight, 684; 4. Eric Medlen, 638; 5. Tony Pedregon, 616; 6. Tommy Johnson Jr., 608; 7. Gary Scelzi, 568; 8. Whit Bazemore, 535; 9. Del Worsham, 502; 10. Cruz Pedregon, 498.

Pro Stock

1. Greg Anderson, 763; 2. Jason Line, 726; 3. Jim Yates, 672; 4. Dave Connolly, 657; 5. Kurt Johnson, 639; 6. Mike Edwards, 569; 7. Erica Enders, 560; 8. Allen Johnson, 506; 9. Warren Johnson, 503; 10. Larry Morgan, 498.

Pro Stock Motorcycle

1. Angelle Sampey, 463; 2. Andrew Hines, 451; 3. Antron Brown, 412; 4. Karen Stoffer, 358; 5. Matt Smith, 346; 6. (tie) Chip Ellis, 338; Ryan Schnitz, 338; 8. Matt Guidera, 275; 9. Tom Bradford, 256; 10. Geno Scali, 255.