Returning to a race where he has been to the Top Fuel final round in three out of the last four seasons is probably as good of a place as any for Rod “Hot Rod” Fuller to make his debut in the 2009 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series. Fuller will rejoin the tour for the Route 66 Nationals at Route 66 Raceway in Joliet, Ill., after missing the first nine races of the season due to his former team dissolving over the off-season. Fellow racer and team owner Bob Vandergriff Jr., will turn the reigns of his Top Fuel dragster over to Fuller for the Chicago race and, possibly, other races to follow.
“I drove the car at the recent Atlanta race for our sponsor partner, SpeedCo, and ran the third-quickest time on the very first qualifying pass. The car is now being set up for Hot Rod’s specifications and our team will provide everything we can to get him to the Winner’s Circle,” said Vandergriff.
Fuller will be sponsored by one of the largest Cat equipment dealers in the country, Patten Industries.
“The fact that I was born in Chicago and now have the opportunity to drive for Patten Cat, a dealer that has been in business in Northern Illinois for more than 75 years, has made it worth the wait to get back out on the circuit” noted Fuller, a seven-time NHRA Top Fuel race winner.