I've had a lot of fun the last six weeks, starting with the race here in Vegas in April. I was dreading it because I wasn't racing, but I got over it and had lots of fun. The week started with a bowling tournament at the Cashman Center. It was a huge PBA bowling tournament that lasted a month to decide the winner. Some of the best bowlers in the world were there. It was all legit rules — you even had to pass tech with your bowling ball and no beer was allowed. I thought beer, bowling, and cigarettes came hand in hand. LOL! I've only bowled twice and both times there was some beer involved; at my brother, Tony's, bachelor party and once with Hillary at the Red Rock Lanes. It started out a disaster as I was throwing the ball too hard and it kept going in the gutter. The first game I rolled a 56, which turned out to be the worst score in the history of that tournament. Not bad for a former athlete and a five-sport letterman in high school. The second game, Rob Geiger and Jeff Wolf of the Las Vegas Review-Journal helped give me some pointers. They told me not to throw it so hard and just roll it down the middle. I broke 100, so I guess their tips worked.

I went out to the races at Vegas all three days and had a ton of fun. It's so different not racing. It actually gave me a new whole perspective of our sport and some improvements that I believe are needed like going back to quarter-mile racing. It just seemed the race was over way too quickly. I did decide that when I come back I'm definitely going to spend more time on the ropes and make specific times so my fans don't have to stand around and wait. Just hanging out also gave me a chance to really visit with my fans. There were a handful of people still wearing the old “Hot Rod” Fuller Caterpillar gear. The fans were also telling me the miss the rivalry between Tony Schumacher and me. I think he misses it too, but he wouldn't say so. I'm glad Shawn Langdon is doing well because, like I said five years ago, the best drivers come from Super Gas and Super Comp. I also got to hang out with both Bob Vandergriff Jr. and Kevin Poynter, two people I hope I get to work with real soon. I'm keeping all my options open to get back out there racing ASAP to mix things up. I miss it a lot.

On Tuesday after the Vegas race, I got to go home and see the family in Arkansas. Like always, I met up with a lot of friends whom we joke as the Arkansas Mafia. My best bud Chad Campbell picked me up at the airport, and we headed to the house I grew up in. I usually don't get a lot of family time, but this trip, I tried to spend more time with the folks.

Wednesday morning came early, and we had breakfast with a prospective sponsor. My marketing man Ryan Haas drove down from Kansas City. From there, we went to lunch with another sponsor that's in the food industry. We also had a meeting with Valvoline, a longtime sponsor and supporter of the Fuller family. We've been trying to do some business-to-business stuff with Valvoline for some time. After a day of meetings, we headed to BW3 for dinner and fun. It was great telling old stories and hearing how they get spun out of control, kinda like the four-pound fish that turns into a 20-pounder.

My last night home, my dad had a great idea to take the family bracket racing. We headed over to the track in Tulsa. It's the first drag strip I ever raced on. It's also the first place I got to see a nitro car run. They used to have the IHRA Springnationals there, and even John Force and “Snake” match raced there. I told John Force I would be faster than him, which actually came true, but I sure don't have 14 world championships. LOL It was so fun with the family. I got to drive my old Super Gas car, which I haven't raced five years. Once I got into her, it felt like I never left. It's my little bro's car now. It also was very cool to see my older brother Steve race. It was the first time my dad and all his sons raced at the same track in a long time. He was a proud papa!

Well I was pretty amazed that my bracket abilities are still there. I ended up making it to the quarterfinals, where I lost a close race. I tried to tighten up at the strip too close and gave up by .007 of a second. I had the reaction time advantage .012 to .036, and my car was running dead on, but it wasn't meant to be. You'll have that. The worst part is that my dad and brothers made the semi’s, so I blew the all-Fuller semifinals. Tony ended racing my older brother Steve, and Tony won. Tony ended up losing the final. It was a great showing for the family. One of the best parts was coming back to my roots. Like they say, never forget where you come from. I got to visit with a lot of fans and talk to a lot of kids. They have dreams and aspirations to race Top Fuel someday, and I told them that I was that same kid 22 years ago. I want to thank the Tulsa track and my buddies at Warren Cat and the fans for making me feel so welcome.