EPPING, NH – The NHRA New England Nationals at New England Dragway kicked off an exciting stretch of summer drag racing for Funny Car driver Buddy Hull, driver for Jim Dunn Racing. Epping is the first in a five-week-long period that includes four NHRA national events. This first race was an opportunity for the team to work out some bugs for the rest of the summer stint.

“This five weekend-four race stretch is the perfect incubator for improvement. It gives us zero time to get rusty,” said Hull, who has competed in both Top Fuel and Funny Car. “When you’re only able to take two or three days off, before you have to go right back to it, it creates a pattern. It creates a rhythm, it creates a groove. I think it’s safe to say that the racetracks we have ran on this year have inherently been more challenging than what we’ve seen in the past few years. We’ve had some interesting scenarios. This track, for example, is one that offers a different set of challenges, such as narrow lanes and grooves that are hard to see. But these next few races, we have some really good racetracks, and we’re getting into the heat of the summer, which is the great equalizer, especially for cars like ours that don’t necessarily make the kind of power like the John Force’s and Bob Tasca III’s. That consistency that we’re about to get into is really going to set us on the right path. We’re just going to keep plugging away, and you better believe that we’re going to start getting some round wins under our belts. I guarantee it.” Continue reading →

LONG BEACH, CA – For the first time since his Top Fuel rookie season in 2021, NHRA driver Buddy Hull is making his return to the New England Nationals, May 31-June 2, at New England Dragway, this time as a rookie Funny Car driver, driving for Jim Dunn Racing.

“Looking back at the first time I competed at this event, it makes me realize how far I have come,” said Hull. “Back in 2021, this race was one of the first national NHRA events that I had ever competed in. Almost everything has changed since then. I’m now blessed to be competing in Funny Car instead of Top Fuel, and for the legendary Big Jim. I have an incredible wife and we’re welcoming a baby boy real soon. I don’t think I could have imagined back then where I would be now, both on the track and off. Life is crazy like that.”

For the past two races, Hull has qualified in the No. 13 spot. He’s made several strong passes during qualifying that make this next race in Epping feel very promising. Continue reading →

LONG BEACH, CA – Entering what you could consider as Q2 of the 2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series, Funny Car driver Buddy Hull is confident he has some strong momentum from the first five races of the year. As he prepares for this weekend’s Gerber Collision & Glass NHRA Route 66 Nationals presented by PEAK Performance at Route 66 Raceway, just outside of Chicago, he is fired up to keep the momentum going.

“I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – this season is a marathon and not a sprint,” said Hull, driver for the iconic Jim Dunn Racing team. “We’re five races in and we still have fifteen to go. We have nine races left until the Countdown, so we just have to keep buckling down, and improving bit by bit, which is what we have been doing.”

Most recently, Hull made his best qualifying start as a rookie Funny Car driver at the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals in Charlotte, entering race day in the No. 13 spot. During qualifying at the same race, he made his quickest and fastest run in his Funny Car to date. Continue reading →

LONG BEACH, CA – Getting the summer races of the NHRA Mission Food Drag Racing Series started with a tasty new ride, Jim Dunn Racing and rookie Funny Car driver Buddy Hull will debut the new-look Sweet Classics nitro Funny Car at the Gerber Collision & Glass Route 66 NHRA Nationals, May 17-19 at Route 66 Raceway outside of Chicago. The sweeping marketing initiative will include the full Funny Car design, uniform shirts, and specialty hero cards as well as a pre-race appearance at a local Menards which will feature a Thursday night appearance by the actual race-ready Funny Car and driver Hull.

“When we get the chance to bring someone new into the sport, we want to do everything first class and make sure they get a huge bang for their buck,” said Jon Dunn, son of legendary team owner Jim Dunn. “The Sweet Classics Funny Car is one of the best-looking Funny Cars we have ever brought to the track and we are thrilled to be introducing them to Menards and letting the fans get a sneak peek on Thursday night. Our goal every race with every sponsor is to represent them as professionally as possible and make sure they get the most out of the association.” Continue reading →

LONG BEACH, CA – This weekend, nitro Funny Car driver Buddy Hull has a lot to celebrate at the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at zMAX Dragway in Charlotte, NC. This race marks the four-year anniversary of his professional debut in the NHRA, so it holds some extra sentimentality and additional motivation to set new personal bests and win rounds.

“Few things get me as fired up as coming back to Charlotte,” said Hull. “The first three years of my career were racing with my Vertex Roofers and General Contractors Top Fuel dragster. I am extremely proud of that period in my career, and how it led to even bigger and better things, transitioning to racing Funny Car with Jim Dunn Racing. I am pumped to be coming back to this race, for the first time as a Funny Car driver, to show everyone how far I have come over the last four years.”

Though Hull had a challenging experience at the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals in Las Vegas, he is confident that he and the Jim Dunn Racing team will improve significantly during the second four-wide race of the season. Continue reading →

LAS VEGAS – Most firsts do not come easy, and that includes the first time attempting four-wide competition in a Funny Car for Buddy Hull, driver for Jim Dunn Racing. This weekend’s Vegas NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway posed many unexpected hurdles for the Jim Dunn team, but Hull is confident that it was an opportunity to shake off any first-time jitters in preparation for the second four-wide race in Charlotte in a couple of weeks.

“No one is harder on me, than me,” said Hull. “I was super excited going into this weekend to show off all the progress we have been making with the car, and we unfortunately did not deliver. I must remember that it is rare that progress is linear. We were able to collect several rounds of data this weekend. We’re going to take a hard look at it over the next two weeks and come back to Charlotte an even stronger team. I know we can, and will, do better moving forward.”

The fourth round of qualifying was the strongest for Hull. He made a 4.236 second, 294.31 mph pass, finishing second behind No. 12 qualifier Chad Green. Continue reading →

LAS VEGAS, NV – Prior to the NHRA Las Vegas Four-Wide Nationals this weekend NHRA Funny Car driver Buddy Hull headed across the massive SMI motorsports property to the infield of Las Vegas Motor Speedway to take in a new high horsepower experience at Dream Racing. The five-star driving experience, Dream Racing shows what it means to be a race car driver of super cars and luxury race cars. The concept behind Dream Racing is simple: a culmination of its founders’ passion for racing and years of experience as instructors and directors at the most prestigious driving experiences and driving schools in the world.

This weekend Hull and his Jim Dunn Racing Funny Car are receiving support from Primal Steakhouse and its owner Chad Dillow who is a Dream Racing member and super car enthusiast. Dillow arranged for Hull to make laps in a variety of super cars and race cars this afternoon.

“We’re out here at Dream Racing, thanks to our friend at Chad from Primal Steakhouse, they’re highly connected out here,” said Hull, who will be racing in his fourth Funny Car career national event this weekend. “Primal is sponsoring our Jim Dunn Racing Funny Car this weekend and we thought it would be cool to get some laps in a different kind of racecar. Continue reading →

LONG BEACH, CA – Even though he is already four races into his inaugural Funny Car season, driver Buddy Hull is still experiencing firsts. This weekend, he will be piloting his Jim Dunn Racing KGC nitro Funny Car for the first time at a four-wide race, at the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on April 12-14.

“Four-wide races are one of the coolest parts of NHRA drag racing. They hold a special place in my heart not just because they are electrifying for both drivers and fans, but because I made my professional debut at the Charlotte Four-Wide Nationals back in 2021, when I was racing my Vertex Roofers and General Contractors Top Fuel dragster,” said Hull. “I’m a sentimental guy, so the four-wide races literally track for me how long I’ve been competing at the professional level. And this year is even more special, because it’s my first year driving for Big Jim, and my first in a Funny Car. It all feels very meant to be. I’m only in year four, but then I look at guys like Ron Capps who just celebrated year 30 in Phoenix. That’s the kind of racing career I am striving to have.”

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Long Beach, CA – Rolling into The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the Las Vegas Four-Wide Nationals Jim Dunn Racing and driver Buddy Hull will be looking for their first win of the season this weekend with the new-look Kindness General Contractors known as KGC Dodge Charger Funny Car.

In addition to the new primary sponsor the team will be promoting local companies, Gilley’s, Treasure Island and Primal Steakhouse as it continues to battle in one of the toughest Funny Car fields in recent memory. Kindness General Contractors has been a long-time supporter of Jim Dunn Racing and the team is looking forward to representing them at one of the most unique races of the season.

“One of the amazing things about NHRA drag racing is the relationships you make and KGC has been with us for a number of years,” said Jon Dunn. “We have done some specialty cars with them to support and recognize veterans and they are just a great company to be associated with. This weekend we are looking to keep moving in the right direction and hopefully go some rounds with the KGC Funny Car.”

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CHANDLER, AZ – Some race weekends serve as lessons more than others. For this year’s NHRA Arizona Nationals at Firebird Motorsports Park, the lesson for Funny Car driver Buddy Hull is ‘it’s not how you start, but it’s how you finish.’

The driver for Jim Dunn Racing started race day from the No. 16 spot, which is a challenge that Hull is not one to stray away from. In round one, he was set to run against No. 1 qualifier and recent Funny Car standout, Austin Prock. With close reaction times, Hull was ahead of Prock at the 330-foot mark. The tide turned by the end of the race, but Hull was still proud that he didn’t give Prock an easy win. Prock would go on to win his first Funny Car national event outrunning Alexis DeJoria in the final round.

“We both left, and even though I didn’t see him, I heard him pedal the car two times. It’s this thing that you feel when you’re in the car, you actually feel it more than you hear it,” said Hull. “And then we struck the tires and knocked the tire off at probably 450-500 feet, somewhere in that range. Next thing, he comes by me, and I heard him pedal it one more time, and maybe even one more time after that. So when I saw him out in front of me that far, I wasn’t going to pedal it again. I’m not going to blow up our race car.

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