Rising Top Fuel star Rod Fuller will be back behind the wheel of the Fabick CAT dragster. The four-time NHRA Top Fuel winner will pilot the yellow-and-black rail for the second time this season as David Powers Motorsports and Fenton, Mo.-based Fabick CAT have partnered for the 10th annual Torco Racing Fuels Nationals, June 8-10, at Route 66 Raceway near Chicago. Linn State Technical College, located in Linn, Mo., also will be part of the event.

The relationship between David Powers Motorsports and the CAT dealer groups is designed as a pilot program to increase technician recruiting. Caterpillar dealers are experiencing a shortage of technicians, and NHRA drag racing offers a technician-rich recruiting environment to find qualified candidates with experienced mechanical backgrounds. Fabick CAT is the authorized dealer for Caterpillar equipment, prime and stand-by power systems, parts and service, compact construction, and rental equipment for 99 counties in southern Missouri and Illinois. David Powers Motorsports partnered with Houston-based Mustang CAT during the Houston race and Fabick CAT for the St. Louis race in early May.

“We had great success working with Rose (Dierker) and the Fabick team at the St. Louis race,” Powers said. “We would hope that we can emulate those results at the Joliet race. The Fabick CAT folks were great to work with and are a true group of professionals. We’ll also have guests from CAT Global Petroleum and we hope they also see the value in our sport and enjoy the event at Joliet.”

“I’m really excited because our team had great chemistry with the folks from Fabick,” Fuller added. “It was an honor to fly their colors at St. Louis. We qualified No. 1 and got our points lead back at that race, and that’s our goal this weekend at Joliet. I’m hoping that we can put on another good show for the Fabick folks and put the CAT dragster in the winner’s circle.”

Fuller enters the ninth race of the season ranked second in the NHRA POWERade Top Fuel standings. He trails category-leader Brandon Bernstein by 56 points. Fuller raced his Rob Flynn-tuned rail to the win at the Phoenix race in February and earned consecutive poles at the Atlanta and St. Louis races. His teammate, Whit Bazemore, sits eighth in the Top Fuel points.

"We were honored when Caterpillar invited us to help sponsor another NHRA race, especially after the positive impression Rod Fuller and the entire David Powers Motorsports team made on the Fabick CAT organization during the races at Madison (Ill.)," Fabick CAT President Doug Fabick said.

Fabick CAT will offer an impressive display of Caterpillar equipment at the Joliet race. They will have a location in the popular Manufacturer’s Midway area of the pits where fans can inquire about a career as a Caterpillar dealer technician, acquire information on the CAT equipment, drive a CAT M-Series Motor Grader simulator, and meet Fuller.

ESPN2 will feature 90 minutes of qualifying highlights from the Torco Racing Fuels Nationals from 5-6:30 p.m. (ET) on Saturday, June 9, and three hours of final eliminations coverage from 4-7 p.m. (ET) on Sunday, May 6.