Tim Fuller added his name to a historic list Thursday night during the World of Outlaws World Finals.
After leading all 30 laps, the Edwards, NY driver earned his fifth Super DIRTcar Series win at The Dirt Track at Charlotte, joining Brett Hearn and Matt Sheppard as the only drivers to accomplish that feat.
“This definitely feels good,” Fuller said. “I gave away a Series race at Can-Am, and to be able to come down here in this equipment and draw the pole and just kind of snowball with it, it just went smooth.”
Fuller, the SRI Performance Award Winner, beat Sebastien Gougeon to Turns 1 and 2 to take the lead as they battled down the backstretch.
With Gougeon chasing Fuller, Anthony Perrego moved forward from his fifth starting position, taking over third by Lap 2. His charge continued one lap later, wrestling second away from Gougeon and setting his sights on Fuller.
However, Fuller’s No. 19 kept pulling away from the rest of the 30-car field, as the Northeast Dirt Modified Hall of Famer gained over a three second lead by Lap 9.
Fuller hit lap traffic on Lap 10, and Perrego started closing in on the lead. But he never got closer than two seconds before the race’s first caution came out on Lap 22 for Daniel Johnson, who slowed with a right-rear flat tire.
When the race resumed, Perrego tried thundering around the outside of Fuller in Turns 1 and 2, but Fuller was too strong and pulled away down the backstretch. Perrego got another chance on a Lap 24 restart after Alex Payne slowed, but Fuller pulled away again.
As Fuller and Perrego reached the start/finish line to complete Lap 24, a four-car crash involving Mike Trautschold, Larry Wight, Erick Rudolph, and Billy Pauch Jr. brought out the red flag. However, that’s when all eyes turned to the battle for the 2024 championship.
When the red flag came out, Series points lead Matt Sheppard, who was running sixth, pulled into the pit area with mechanical issues, ending his night with a 28th-place finish. Sheppard’s misfortune gave Mat Williamson, who was running fourth, a chance to capitalize if he could hold on to his position.
Fuller turned away Perrego’s challenges for a third time when the green came back out on Lap 25 and cruised to the $10,000 victory—his 36th career Super DIRTcar Series win.
The Hall of Famer said tire choice played a vital role in his ability to stay out front for all 30 laps.
“We watched the Late Models,” Fuller said. “We did what they were doing, especially with the tire wear tonight. I knew what I was going with on the right rear. I was debatable on the left rear and right front. And it was the first night here. Usually, by the second or third night, we know what we’re going to do.
“We said screw it. Somebody was going to be right, and someone was going to be wrong. Fortunately, we were right in this case.”
Perrego settled for second, his fifth top five in his last seven Charlotte starts. He also moved up to third in the Series standings, 18 points ahead of Tim Sears Jr.
“A couple of guys moved up the racetrack, and we were able to sneak up to third pretty quick,” Perrego said. “The car fired off really well. Obviously, Tim was really good tonight. We had a couple pokes at him on the restart. I think that one I was sleeping, and he left, and that was my best run at him. I think if I ran even with him, we might’ve been able to sneak around him.”
Demetrios Drellos grabbed the final spot on the podium, his eighth top five in 15 starts at the 4/10-mile oval. The Queensbury, NY driver, still searching for his first Charlotte victory, said he lost momentum after getting caught behind Gougeon in the early stages.
“[Gougeon] was out of shape, and I had a really good run on him on the outside,” Drellos said. “I probably should’ve been second. I had a really good car at the end, but I didn’t have anything for the 19. Clean air helps a lot here.
“I think we’re as good if not better than we’ve been here.”
Williamson crossed the line fourth, reclaiming the points lead for the first time since July. The St. Catharines, ON driver leads Sheppard by 26 points entering Friday’s World of Outlaws World Finals action as he searches for his second Series title.
Louden Reimert rounded out the top five, earning his third top 10 in four Super DIRTcar Series races in 2024.
Up Next: The Super DIRTcar Series returns to The Dirt Track at Charlotte in Concord, NC, on Friday, Nov. 8, for night three of the World of Outlaws World Finals. Qualifying will kick off the program before a 30-lap, $10,000-to-win Feature. TICKETS: bit.ly/2024WorldFinals
If you can’t make it to the track, you can watch all of the action on DIRTVision, either online or with the DIRTVision app.
Word Finals Feature Night 2 (30 Laps): 1. 19-Tim Fuller[1]; 2. 4*-Anthony Perrego[6]; 3. 111-Demetrios Drellos[4]; 4. 88-Mat Williamson[5]; 5. 58-Louden Reimert[8]; 6. 44G-Sebastien Gougeon[2]; 7. 84Y-Alex Yankowski[7]; 8. 21A-Peter Britten[12]; 9. 02-Jack Lehner[17]; 10. 26-Ryan Godown[13]; 11. 12-Darren Smith[10]; 12. 83X-Tim Sears Jr[11]; 13. 11T-Jeff Taylor[15]; 14. 27J-Danny Johnson[19]; 15. 70A-Alex Payne[3]; 16. 5-Tyler Siri[23]; 17. 165-Rex King Jr[18]; 18. R70-Ryan Arbuthnot[20]; 19. 98H-Jimmy Phelps[27]; 20. 101-Billy Pauch Jr[26]; 21. 18-Ryan Macartney[24]; 22. 27JR-Daniel Johnson[14]; 23. 14-CG Morey[30]; 24. 91-Felix Roy[22]; 25. 99L-Larry Wight[29]; 26. 35-Mike Mahaney[28]; 27. 8-Rich Scagliotta[25]; 28. (DNF) 9S-Matt Sheppard[9]; 29. (DNF) 28-Michael Trautschold[16]; 30. (DNF) 25-Erick Rudolph[21]
Post-Race Tech: Fuel samples and wiring were checked on the top five. All cars passed.
