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Kevin Kovac
GRAND FORKS, N.D. (July 8) - Tim Fuller had never been in the state of North Dakota until he competed in last year's World of Outlaws Late Model Series event at River Cities Speedway.
After punctuating that visit with his first-ever victory on the national tour, the resident of Watertown, N.Y., can't wait to return on Friday night (July 11) for the high-banked, quarter-mile oval's 50-lap, $10,000-to-win WoO LMS A-Main.
"I have real good memories of that place," Fuller said with a smile when asked about the site of his milestone triumph. "You never forget the track where you get your first big win."
A veteran Northeast DIRTcar big-block Modified star who switched his focus to dirt Late Model racing last season, Fuller made his River Cities trip the highlight of his run to the 2007 WoO LMS Rookie of the Year title. He pulled off a dramatic win, passing Eddie Carrier Jr. of Salt Rock, W.Va., for the lead with just four laps remaining in a whirlwind 50-lapper that was widely acknowledged as one of the most exciting races on last year's tour.
"It was a dream to win the way we did," recalled the 40-year-old Fuller. "It was just one of those nights when the stars and the moon lined up right - the racetrack was good, we picked the right tires, and I was in the right place at the right time to get by Carrier in lapped traffic."
Fuller still admits that the triumph came much quicker than he ever expected. He won in just his 19th career WoO LMS start - and just three races after he cracked the top five for the first time on the tour.
"With the level of competition on this series, the amount of time it took us to win one was real good," said Fuller. "Was I surprised we won as soon as we did? Yeah, pretty much."
Of course, if you also ask Fuller if he's surprised that he's still looking for his second WoO LMS victory, you'll get a simple answer that leaves no uncertainty about his feelings: "Yes."
Fuller was one of the circuit's top performers in the months after he broke into Victory Lane, rolling up nine top-five and 14 top-10 finishes in his next 20 starts. He entered the 2008 season with his confidence sky high, but so far this year he has just three top-five and five top-10 finishes in 18 events and ranks a distant ninth in the points standings.
"Everybody says that your second year is always your worst," said Fuller. "The sophomore slump - I never believed in that, but man, it sure seems like it's true. We can't do anything right now.
"I feel like we've actually been running better this year than we were at the end of last year, but we can't get a finish to save our life. That's it in a nutshell. I've messed up a few times on tires this year when we had good starting spots and then backed it up to (finish) 10th, but there's a couple races I was up front in too and stupid stuff happened and we dropped out.
"That win last year took all the questions out about whether we could do it or not," he added. "But you have to build on that by taking the next step and becoming a consistent top-five runner, like (defending champion Steve) Francis and other guys who are always in the hunt, and right now we're simply not there yet."
Fuller is hoping that maybe, just maybe, another visit to River Cities Speedway might the tonic for his doldrums so far this season. He followed his victory with runner-up finishes in two of the next three WoO LMS events, so why can't he do it again?
With Friday's event at River Cities part of the WoO LMS 'Wild West Tour' that will visit nine tracks in six states and one Canadian province between July 9 and July 21, Fuller will have ample opportunity to turn around his campaign.
"It's gonna snowball one way or the other for us," said Fuller, looking at his long road trip ahead. "Either what we do works and we'll go good and be happy, or it won't and we'll be down in the dumps. Hopefully it'll go good."
Fuller will be part of arguably the most talented group of WoO LMS travelers ever to invade River Cities Speedway, which is hosting the tour for the third consecutive year.
Other WoO LMS travelers headed for River Cities include Ashland, Ky.'s Francis; points leader Darrell Lanigan of Union, Ky., who won the 2006 tour stop at River Cities; 20-year-old Josh Richards of Shinnston, W.Va., who enters the Wild West Tour with a series-leading four victories this season; Shannon Babb of Moweaqua, Ill., who drove a backup car from the 24th starting spot to a fast-closing third-place finish in last year's 50-lapper at River Cities; Rick Eckert of York, Pa.; Shane Clanton of Locust Grove, Ga.; Chub Frank of Bear Lake, Pa.; Clint Smith of Senoia, Ga.; John Blankenship of Williamson, W.Va.; and '08 Rookie of the Year candidates Vic Coffey of Leicester, N.Y., and Joe Isabell of Pennellville, N.Y.
A host of regional stars have plans to enter the event, including Jimmy Mars of Menomonie, Wis.; Brady Smith of Solon Springs, Wis.; Adam Hensel of Barron, Wis.; John Anderson of Omaha, Neb.; and Kelly Boen of Henderson, Col.
Standouts from River Cities' weekly Super Late Model division who will look to defend their home turf include points leader Joey Pederson of East Grand Forks, Minn., Mike Balcaen of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Tom Corcoran of East Grand Forks, Minn., Steve Anderson of Grand Forks, N.D., and Brad Seng of Grand Forks, N.D.
Adding a new element to the big program, this will mark the first time that River Cities runs its WoO LMS event on its regular Friday-night date. The track's previous shows were contested as midweek specials.
In addition, the card will also include River Cities' regular 410 Sprint Car division and will run in conjunction with the Grand Forks Fair.
On Friday, on-track action is scheduled to begin with hot laps at 6 p.m.
General admission is $25 on race day, with kids 12-and-under $15. Reserved seats are available for $28 in advance and $30 on race day.
For ticket information, call 218-773-3002 or visit www.rivercitiesspeedway.com.
More information on the WoO LMS is available by logging on to www.worldofoutlaws.com.
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