Story By: ELON WERNER / JIM DUNN RACING – NORWALK, OH – Nitro Funny Car driver Buddy Hull and the Jim Dunn Racing team have officially turned a corner. Racing at the beloved Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio for the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals gave Hull and the Jim Dunn team the time and circumstances needed to get all their ailments in order.
“I’ve been talking about this all year, but we’ve been putting a lot of new parts into this race car, and they are finally starting to agree with each other and come together,” said Hull. “The motor and the clutch are beginning to speak to each other now, rather than hate each other. And the car is going down the racetrack, which means we can now collect a lot of data, and we can continue to tune it up to go faster. We are seeing those results in real time.”
Hull made his best run of the weekend during the first round of eliminations against No. 3 qualifier Blake Alexander. He made a 4.075 second, 314.90 mph pass, backing up his three other solid passes he made during qualifying that were all under 4.250 seconds.
“Now that I’ve made so many back-to-back solid runs, I can get a better feel for the car under a variety of circumstances,” said Hull. “I now have a better grasp on what a good versus bad run feels like in the car. At the beginning of the year, I was having to fight the car so much that I couldn’t focus on much else. Everybody is doing better, so we are able to remain positive. And I think that’s why we’re making the turn. What you can expect from us is continued performance. We are right there. We’re finally at the point of being one of the more consistent teams to be moving down the track, and I am so proud of that.”
On top of the success Hull found in the car this weekend, he also found time to participate in many of the fun activities that define the Norwalk event. Hull was a fierce competitor in the annual ice cream eating contest amongst fellow drivers, and says he plans on training up to win it all next year.
“I’ve raced here before in my Top Fuel dragster, and the fans and the track here in Norwalk are just lovely,” said Hull. “The fans are incredibly loyal, and the Bader family puts on a hell of a show. Everything from the legendary ice cream to the fireworks on Friday night. It’s just an incredible show. And the fans and us drivers love it. It’s good for the NHRA and the teams when tracks put in the extra effort, so we always love coming here.”
Now that the first half of the season has ended, Hull is now looking ahead to the Western Swing. He believes that the strong foundation that he and the Jim Dunn team have built over the last 10 races is enough to propel them to greater qualifying success and race day win lights.
“I do wish there were three races in the Western Swing, but short breaks are nice,” said Hull. “My business Vertex Roofers is keeping me busy, so this break is going to allow me to catch up a little with my off-track life. It would have been nice if they could have found a third race to add to the Western Swing, but we’ll hit Seattle and Sonoma with full force. Coming off of the improved success of the last few races has me more excited than ever for the second half of a season. Let’s get it.”
Hull and the Jim Dunn Racing team will be back on the national tour at the NHRA Northwest Nationals in Seattle, Wash. on July 19-21 at Pacific Raceways. There will be two qualifying sessions on Friday, July 19 and two qualifying sessions on Saturday, July 20.