Jeff Fuller (born March 27, 1957) is an American former professional
stock car racing
Stock car racing is a form of Auto racing, automobile racing run on oval track racing, oval tracks and road courses. It originally used Production vehicle, production-model cars, hence the name "stock car", but is now run using cars specifical ...
driver. Before joining NASCAR's major leagues, Fuller won the 1992
Winston Modified Tour championship, driving for Sheba Racing. The Massachusetts native has 31 wins on the Modified Tour and was named the series' most popular drivers for three consecutive seasons (1992–1994). He is the older brother of the fellow NASCAR driver
Rick Fuller
Richard Fuller (born April 1, 1969) is an American retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling from 1997 to 2000.
Early life
Born in Middleborough, Massachusetts, Fuller graduated from ...
.
Racing career
Busch Series
Fuller made his Busch Series career in 1992, making one start. Driving the #20 First Ade
Oldsmobile
Oldsmobile (formally the Oldsmobile Division of General Motors) was a brand of American automobiles, produced for most of its existence by General Motors. Originally established as "Olds Motor Vehicle Company" by Ransom E. Olds in 1897, it produc ...
for
Dick Moroso
Richard D. Moroso (1939-November 7, 1998) was an American hot rodder, drag racer, and businessman.
Moroso was born in New Rochelle, New York and grew up in Old Greenwich, Connecticut. He started selling speed parts out of his family's basement in ...
, Fuller started 27th and finished 26th, twenty-nine laps down.
Three years later, in 1995, after a run in the Whelen Modified Series, Fuller moved to the Busch Series to compete for
Rookie of the Year. His team would be the #47
Sunoco
Sunoco LP is an American master limited partnership organized under Delaware General Corporation Law, Delaware state law and headquartered in Dallas, Texas. Dating back to 1886, the company has transformed from a vertically integrated energy ...
Chevy owned by
ST Motorsports. His sole top-5 was a fourth in the fall race at
Charlotte. He also added on five other top-10s. His best start in the season was only a pair of tenths at
New Hampshire
New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...
and
Rockingham. He also finished in the top-30 in all but one race and only recorded five DNFs. This enabled him to finish tenth in points in just his first season in Busch Series, earning him Rookie of the Year honors.
Missing two races relegated Fuller back to 17th in points in 1996. In the same weekend at
Bristol
Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...
, Fuller won his first career pole, won his first career race and his wife Liz gave birth to a child. Fuller only managed 3 other top-10s in 1996. He made one of his starts in a
Michael Ritch-owned car, driving the #02
ECU Pirates
The East Carolina Pirates are the sport, athletic teams that represent East Carolina University (ECU), located in Greenville, North Carolina. All varsity-level sports teams participate at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA ...
at Rockingham to a 38th-place finish. To top off this great year, Fuller had a daughter named Tiffany Fuller. He had two more children, daughter Shannon and son Jeffrey Jr. That same year, Fuller won a race in a one-off start at Thompson Speedway in what was then the Busch North Series.
Fuller's team continued to struggle in early 1997. Fuller managed only two top-10s in his first fifteen races, (7th at Darlington and 3rd at New Hampshire) Fuller was released from the #47 after running eighteenth in points. Fuller missed the next two races, but then signed on to become the driver for the #45
Hunters Specialties
Hunting is the Human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, and killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to obtain the animal's body for meat and useful animal products (fur/hide (sk ...
Chevy for
Mike Laughlin, earning finishes of 7th at
Gateway and 9th at Bristol. However, Fuller was replaced for the last race by
Greg Sacks
Greg Sacks (born November 3, 1952) is an American former stock car racing driver. He is married and has three children. He lives in Ormond Beach, Florida. He and his sons are partners in Grand Touring Vodka.
Sacks has spent most of his career a ...
, but drove the #5
Alka-Seltzer
Alka-Seltzer is an effervescent antacid and pain reliever owned by Bayer since 1978. First marketed by the Dr. Miles Medicine Company of Elkhart, Indiana, United States, Alka-Seltzer contains three active ingredients: aspirin (acetylsalicylic ac ...
Chevy for
Terry Labonte
Terrance Lee Labonte (born November 16, 1956), nicknamed "Texas Terry" or "the Iceman", is an American former stock car racing, stock car driver. He raced from 1978 to 2014 in the former NASCAR Winston Cup and Sprint Cup Series (now called the NAS ...
. After finishing 14th, he cemented a 21st-place finish in points.
In 1998, Fuller only made eleven starts, making races with five different teams. Most of the season was with the #89 Allerest Chevy owned by
Meredith Ruark. His best finish with them was 25th at Charlotte. Overall, Fuller's best finish of 1998 was with Laughlin's racing team at
Pikes Peak
Pikes Peak is the List of mountain ranges of Colorado#Mountain ranges, highest summit of the southern Front Range of the Rocky Mountains in North America. The Ultra-prominent peak, ultra-prominent fourteener is located in Pike National Forest, ...
, where he finished eleventh. Fuller also paired with Joe Gibbs Racing in 1998. He drove their #42
Carolina Turkey Pontiac at Charlotte to a fifteenth-place finish. Fuller's other top-20 finish in 1998 was for
Bill Elliott
William Clyde Elliott Sr. (born October 8, 1955), also known as "Awesome Bill from Dawsonville", "Million Dollar Bill", or "Wild Bill" is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He last competed in the Superstar Racing Experienc ...
at Miami, where he finished fifteenth as well.
In 1999, Fuller made 27 of the season's 32 races, but did not record a single top-10. Fuller ran the first twenty-two races with Ruark's team, earning a best finish of 12th at Pikes Peak and
IRP. While with the team, he also had a vicious accident a Dover when he spun and slammed into the pit road wall hard twice and breaking it after contact with
Phil Parsons
Phillip Gregory Parsons (born June 21, 1957) is an American former professional stock car racing driver, team owner, and analyst for FOX NASCAR since 2003. After years racing in NASCAR Winston Cup, he returned to the Busch Series where he enj ...
. Fuller made four starts for Joe Gibbs again, driving the #42
Circuit City
Circuit City Corporation, Inc., formerly Circuit City Stores, Inc., is an American consumer electronics retail company, which was founded in 1949 by Samuel Wurtzel as the Wards Company, operated stores across the United States, and pioneered th ...
Pontiac to a best of 12th at Darlington. Fuller also added on one more start with
Lyndon Amick
Lyndon Amick (born June 30, 1977) is an American former NASCAR driver. He spent most of his NASCAR career in the NASCAR Busch Series driving for his family-owned team.
Racing career
Amick was the 1996 NASCAR Goody's Dash series champion. Amick ...
's team. He finished 33rd at
Memphis Motorsports Park
Memphis International Raceway (formerly known as Memphis Motorsports Park) was an auto racing park located near the Loosahatchie River in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, approximately ten miles south of Millington, and a few miles north ...
. Fuller's best start in 1999 was 5th at Pikes Peak, and he finished 22nd in points.
When Fuller went to Winston Cup racing, he only made one 2000 start. It was for
Moy Racing
Moy Racing, formerly PRW Racing and Bobby Jones Racing, was an auto racing team owned by former Ford Motor Company employee Joseph Reilly which fielded entries in the NASCAR Busch Series. Drivers who piloted the Moy Racing Ford include Jimmy Kitch ...
, where he started 43rd on the field at Bristol, but came back to a 21st-place finish.
Fuller only made one start in 2001, as well. Driving for
NEMCO Motorsports
NEMCO Motorsports is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes part-time in the ARCA Menards Series. The team is owned by driver Joe Nemechek and his family. NEMCO Motorsports has had success, winning the 1992 Busch ...
, he started 40th at
California
California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
and finished 42nd after only completing five laps.
Fuller made two more starts for NEMCO in 2002, running at Daytona and
Talladega. However, despite a 5th-place start at Daytona, he finished 42nd there and 40th at Talladega due to large multi car crashes.
Fuller made thirteen starts overall in 2003, driving for assorted teams. Mainly, he split his time between NEMCO and
Stanton Barrett
Stanton Thomas Barrett (born December 1, 1972) is an American professional stock car racing driver and Cinema of the United States, Hollywood stunt double, stuntman who last competed part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, Mike Harmon Racing, WRL ...
's team. His best finishes on the year were a 15th at Bristol for NEMCO and 18th at
Nashville
Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...
for Barrett. He also had a 24th-place run at Daytona for
Bost Motorsports
Bost Motorsports is a former NASCAR Busch Series team. It was owned by Danny Bost and driven by a variety of drivers.
Danny Bost decided to enter in decided to enter NASCAR in 2002, becoming co-owner of the Busch Series team called PF2 Motorspor ...
. He only finished 3 races that year.
In 2004, he ran the most races in a season of his career since 1999 for NEMCO Motorsports. Unfortunately, his best finish was 35th at
Nazareth
Nazareth is the largest Cities in Israel, city in the Northern District (Israel), Northern District of Israel. In its population was . Known as "the Arab capital of Israel", Nazareth serves as a cultural, political, religious, economic and ...
, as he did not finish a race that year. He also caused controversy during the season as he rarely completed more than a handful of laps before pulling out of the race.
In 2005, Fuller started off the year driving two races for NEMCO, but he was quickly replaced by
Kim Crosby, whose team bought the #7 NEMCO ride. Ironically, Fuller replaced Crosby later in the year, driving the #7
Big Boar Customs Chevy for
GIC-Mixon Motorsports for the remainder of the year. Fuller qualified for fifteen races with the team, and his best finishes were at Dover, where he finished 24th in the fall and 25th in the spring. After Memphis, where Fuller finished 42nd, the team folded due to lack of funding, leaving Fuller without a ride.
Fuller returned to the Busch Series in 2006 at the June Nashville race. He was signed to drive the #34 GlowBuoy Chevrolet for Frank Cicci Racing where he started 38th and finishing 27th. He drove for Cicci again at Kentucky. But in that race, Fuller would suffer a terrifying crash and finished 41st.
For 2007, Fuller drove for Stanton Barrett Motorsports on a limited basis.
Fuller began the 2008 season looking for a ride. Meanwhile, Fuller remained in the garage area during most Nationwide Series races helping young drivers learn to handle their car and master new tracks. In February 2008, Fuller traveled to Afghanistan for a 10-day visit to 6 camps meeting soldiers, signing autographs and seeing first hand what the troops go through while deployed.
R3 Motorsports placed Fuller behind the wheel of their No. 23 Chevrolet for the 2009 NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Darlington Raceway. Fuller replaced Robert Richardson, Jr. for the 200-lap event. This was his first series start since the Montreal road course race in 2008, and he finished in 30th place.
Fuller planned to drive the #97 Chevrolet in the 2010 Nationwide Season opener at Daytona for NEMCO Motorsports, but he withdrew even though he would have made the race, after qualifying was cancelled due to rain. Fuller was one of five drivers to be paid by John Menard and team owner Jack Roush (the approximate amount for each driver was around $45,000, equivalent to a last-place finish
to drop out so John's son Paul could compete.
Sprint Cup Series
Fuller made his Cup Series debut in 1992, running the #88 Pontiac for
John and Scott Bandzul at
Richmond
Richmond most often refers to:
* Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada
* Richmond, California, a city in the United States
* Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England
* Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...
. He started 30th and finished 29th in the 35-car field after he broke a water pump.
Fuller then made seven starts in 2000 after a number of years on the Busch Series. He was tapped to drive the #27
Viagra
Sildenafil, sold under the brand name Viagra among others, is a medication used to treat erectile dysfunction and pulmonary arterial hypertension. It is also sometimes used off-label for the treatment of certain symptoms in secondary Ray ...
Pontiac for
Eel River Racing. Fuller made six of the first seven races, having a best finish of 22nd at
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...
and a best start of 7th at
Texas
Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
, but was released in favor of
Mike Bliss
Michael Duane Bliss (born April 5, 1965) is an American former professional stock car racing driver. A journeyman NASCAR competitor and the 2002 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion, he has run in all three national series.
Racing career
Bliss ...
. The Eel River team would eventually go through several drivers to include Kenny Wallace and eventually folded due to lack of funding. Later in 2000, Fuller drove the #98
MacPherson Motorsports Ford at Charlotte. He made the race with them with a 27th-place start and 41st-place finish. The team closed its doors before the 2001 Daytona 500.
Fuller tacked on three starts in 2004, running the #50
Arnold Motorsports Dodge in the later stages of the year. He was 43rd at
California
California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
and
Dover
Dover ( ) is a town and major ferry port in Kent, southeast England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies southeast of Canterbury and east of Maidstone. ...
and then 42nd at Charlotte. Charlotte was his best start on the year with a 26th-place start.
Fuller made two starts in 2005, when he drove for
Mach 1 Racing
Mach 1 Racing was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series team. It was owned by Hollywood stuntman Hal Needham and actor Burt Reynolds.
The team made its debut in 1981, fielding the No. 22 Skoal Pontiac driven by Stan Barrett. Barrett ran ten races for th ...
. However, Fuller finished 43rd in both the races. (
Darlington
Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. It lies on the River Skerne, west of Middlesbrough and south of Durham. Darlington had a population of 107,800 at the 2021 Census, making it a "large town" ...
and Dover) His best start was 40th at Darlington.
In 2007, Fuller tested the #80
Joe Gibbs Racing
Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) is an American professional stock car racing organization founded by Pro Football Hall of Fame coach Joe Gibbs. His son, J. D. Gibbs, ran the team with him until his death in 2019. Founded in Huntersville, North Carolina, ...
Chevy at
Daytona
Daytona may refer to:
Locations
* Daytona Beach, Florida
* Daytona Beach Shores, Florida
* South Daytona, Florida
* The Daytona Beach metropolitan area
* Halifax area, also known as Daytona, the region around Daytona Beach
Motor racing
* Dayto ...
.
For 2008, Fuller tested the #87 of Front Row Motorsports for the 2008 Daytona 500. In February 2008, Fuller traveled to
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...
for a 10-day visit to 6 camps supporting the US and Coalition Forces.
Fuller was going to drive the #97 FrontRowJoe.com Toyota as a second car for NEMCO Motorsports in the
2010 Daytona 500
The 2010 Daytona 500 was the first stock car race of the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. The 52nd Daytona 500, it was held on February 14, 2010, in Daytona Beach, Florida, at Daytona International Speedway, before a crowd of about 175,000 atte ...
as a safety-net car for team owner
Joe Nemechek
Joseph Frank Nemechek III (born September 26, 1963) is an American professional stock car racing driver who last competed part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 24 Toyota Supra for Sam Hunt Racing. Nemechek has made the second mos ...
should his #87 not make the race. When Nemechek's car made the race, Fuller started the duel and quickly pulled it behind the wall. Fuller was also entered in the No. 97 for the 2010 Drive 4 COPD 300, and was in the field after qualifying was washed out, but was paid to withdraw when several cars running the full schedule were locked out of the race.
Fuller was entered for the Aarons 499, but withdrew before qualifying with rain threatening qualifying. Fuller and the 97 were not entered for the Coke Zero 400.
Fuller qualified the #97 HeatRedefined.com NEMCO Motorsports Toyota in 13th for the
2010 AMP Energy Juice 500 at Talladega. He finished 43rd after only completing 2 laps. Again, this car was entered as both a safety net car, as well as a financial gain for the 87 as with both cars making the race, and a fully sponsored 87, allowed Nemechek to run the race to completion.
Kentucky Crash
Jeff was involved in an incredible accident at the Kentucky Speedway on June 17, 2006, when he swerved to avoid Jason Leffler's spinning car and ended up hitting the inside wall at almost full speed. The car practically imploded upon impact and then burst into flames briefly. Despite the car hitting the wall on the right side, the left side came apart. Amazingly, he never lost consciousness but the car's roof had to be cut off to extract him. He was taken to the hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation and amazingly only a broken wrist and finger. He was released the next day. They determined that the implosion of the car was due to a faulty roll cage which failed during the crash.
Fuller made a full recovery from the accident, but when Frank Cicci closed up the #34 team for the rest of the year, Fuller was again left without a ride and his status.
Motorsports career results
NASCAR
(
key) (
Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. ''Italics'' – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)
Sprint Cup Series
=Daytona 500
=
Nationwide Series
Busch North Series
Whelen Southern Modified Tour
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fuller, Jeff
1957 births
Living people
NASCAR drivers
People from Boylston, Massachusetts
Racing drivers from Massachusetts
Sportspeople from Worcester County, Massachusetts
Joe Gibbs Racing drivers