Rod Fuller has been flying high atop the NHRA Top Fuel points standings following his victory at Phoenix in late February, now the four-time NHRA Top Fuel winner will sport the recognizable yellow and black colors of Caterpillar. David Powers Motorsports, Caterpillar and Houston-based Mustang Cat have partnered to back the Fuller-driven rail during the 20th annual O’Reilly Spring Nationals at Houston Raceway Park, team owner David Powers announced today.
The relationship between David Powers Motorsports, Caterpillar 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. Mustang Cat is the southeast Texas authorized sales, parts and service dealer for Caterpillar construction equipment and engines.
“David Powers Motorsports is pleased as to have been selected from a large group of quality NHRA teams to develop the Caterpillar/Cat dealer technician recruiting program, ” Powers said. “In addition, we’re using this as a way to introduce Caterpillar and its dealers to the world’s most exciting motor sport. We couldn’t be more thrilled than to work with the folks from Mustang Cat at the Houston race. ”
Fuller enters the Houston event with a 39-point lead in drag racing’s premier category. The Las Vegas racer claimed his fourth career Top Fuel victory by driving his Powers-owned rail to the win at Firebird International Raceway near Phoenix in late February. The versatile driver, who has amassed 17 national event wins in four different categories, also has powered his Rob Flynn-tuned rail to career-best performances this season, 4.466 seconds and 331.61 mph.
“It’s awesome to get to drive this Caterpillar/Mustang Cat dragster, ” Fuller said. “Our car has been running great and hopefully we can continue that and maintain our points lead at Houston. This is an important race being David’s (Powers) home track. We also want to show the folks from Caterpillar that NHRA drag racing is the right sport for them. ”
In just its second full season on the NHRA circuit, David Powers Motorsports features Fuller and the Matco Tools dragster of 20-time NHRA winner Whit Bazemore. The Powers cars currently rank first and third in the Top Fuel division. Flynn and champion tuner Lee Beard lead Powers’ tuning braintrust as both Fuller and Bazemore eye spots in the Countdown to the Championship.
“As the Southeast Texas Cat Dealer, Mustang Cat is excited to partner with David Powers Motorsports, ” Mustang Cat Assistant Human Resources Manager Dave Edwards said. “David and his team are not only great competitors, but their commitment to integrity and excellence aligns very well with the values of our company. To sponsor a Top Fuel dragster for a hometown race team at a hometown event just makes perfect sense to us. This sponsorship of the car provides us with a tremendous opportunity to highlight the technical career opportunities available at Mustang Cat. We are proud to be on the David Powers team, and we look forward to recruiting some outstanding technicians to join the Mustang Cat team as well. “
“Caterpillar dealers across North America are always looking for skilled technicians to join their dealership team and our goal is to help our dealers find them, ” Caterpillar Product Support Marketing Rep Amelia Powers added. “We are excited about co-sponsoring the David Powers Motorsports team with Mustang Cat. The race in Houston creates an opportunity for us to work with a great race team, David Powers Motorsports, and a quality Cat dealer, Mustang Cat, in a technician-rich environment. We appreciate the skill that participants and fans of NHRA have and we look forward to this premiere event. ”
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