Billy Dunn Qualifies Second Fastest During Eastern States 200; Ends Weekend With a Disappointing 19th Place Run After Suspension Damage

Coming off a great weekend at Syracuse, and a solid second place finish at Brockville, Billy Dunn was looking forward to the Eastern States Weekend at Orange County Fair Speedway.  Qualifying was scheduled to take place on Friday night, with the Eastern States 200 set for Sunday.  After a steady rain all day Friday and into the evening, race officials were forced to postpone Friday’s events to Saturday morning.

Dunn was fast right from the beginning of the day, posting the second fastest speed of the time trial session and locking himself into a front row starting spot for Sunday’s 200 lap main event.  Dunn maintained a top five position through the opening laps.  After narrowly missing a multi car wreck on lap 79 that brought out the red flag, Dunn struggled and fell out of the top ten.  His problems increased with 30 laps remaining in the event when suspension issues in the left year sent him to the pits for repairs, leaving him with a disappointing 19^th place result.

“We had a good start to the weekend timing second overall, but we just struggled during the race”, says Dunn.  “We will get back to the shop and begin to prepare for Charlotte in a couple weeks and hope to end the season on a good note”.

Away from the track, this weekend was very tough for Dunn and the Number One Speed team after hearing of the passing of longtime friend Glen A. Gould.  Glen was a great ambassador to our sport, had a passion for it like no other, and will be missed by everyone that had the pleasure of meeting him.  Gould was the car owner of Billy’s 358 Modified Syracuse car that Billy drove to a second place finish just two weeks ago.  The racing community lost a great friend in Mr. Gould.

Dunn will have this weekend off, as he prepares for the final weekend of the 2012 season at the Peak World Finals in Charlotte, North Carolina on November 1^st to November 3^rd.  On Thursday, November 1^st is qualifying heats for both Friday and Saturday’s events, with feature races scheduled for November 2^nd and November 3^rd.

                                                            

Dunn would like to thank Number One Speed, FastLube of Watertown, SUNY Canton, Glen A. Gould Estate Construction, Frosty’s Ice Cream, American Traditions Motorsports, Finger Lakes Auto Machine, Jiffy Dumpster and Bicknell Racing Products for their continued support for the 2012 racing season.

                                                                                       

For more information on Billy Dunn and the Number One Speed race team, please check out our website, www.billydunn49.com. 

Billy Dunn Gets Second Place Finish at Brockville Speedway in DIRTcar 358 Modified Series Race; Big Block Race at the BOS Gets Rained Out

When Billy Dunn teamed up with Laurent Ladouceur earlier this year, nobody knew what to expect.  The goal was to help improve the Ladouceur team, and also to give Billy some more seat time, which is a huge benefit to any racer. The success was immediate, and has lasted throughout the entire 2012 season at Mohawk Raceway, where Dunn won the 2012 championship.  The almost magical combination was back together one last time for the season this past weekend at Brockville Ontario Speedway for their Mr. DIRTcar 358 Modified Series race.  Dunn also planned to race his own Big Block Modifieds in the Super DIRTcar Series race scheduled for Sunday.

Dunn was fast right from the beginning of the day on Saturday, setting fast time in his time trial group, and leading every lap of his heat race.  He made the redraw for a top 10 starting spot, and drew position number seven for the 100 lap main event, placing him on the inside of row four.  At the drop of the green flag, Dunn slid back just a bit, running in ninth after the opening 20 laps.  Just after halfway, he starting moving forward after conserving his tires, and was now inside the top five.  With 25 laps remaining he was up to third place, and began to mount a serious challenge for second.  With 81 laps complete, Dunn had moved into second, and began to set his sights on the race leader and with the flagman giving the indication for five laps remaining Billy was looking to take over the top spot.  After a valiant effort where Dunn was able to briefly pull even with the race leader coming out of turn four with four laps remaining, he grudgingly settled back into second place and remained there to close out the race.  In four events in the Mr. DIRTcar Series for the 358 Modifieds this season, Dunn finished with a pair of wins at Mohawk International Raceway and a second place finish at Syracuse and Brockville.

“We had a great car again today.  I have to thank Laurent Ladouceur and his team for the opportunity to race for him one last time in 2012”, says Dunn.  “We had a great run, but I couldn’t quite make the pass at the end for the win.  The right rear tire was worn out, and just didn’t have enough grip at the end of the race”.

Dunn was scheduled to race his own Big Block car at Brockville on Sunday afternoon for their Super DIRTcar Series race, but a steady rain that developed late Saturday evening lasted overnight and throughout the day on Sunday, forcing track and series officials to cancel the event.

Billy will be back in action at Orange County Fair Speedway in Middletown, New York this weekend for the annual Eastern States Weekend.  The 2012 season will conclude in Charlotte, North Carolina on November 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd for the Peak Motor Oil World Finals at the Dirt Track at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

                                                            

Dunn would like to thank Number One Speed, FastLube of Watertown, SUNY Canton, Frosty’s Ice Cream, American Traditions Motorsports, Finger Lakes Auto Machine, Jiffy Dumpster and Bicknell Racing Products for their continued support for the 2012 racing season.

                                                                                       

For more information on Billy Dunn and the Number One Speed race team, please check out our website, www.billydunn49.com. 

Billy Dunn Gets Second Place Finish in Gander Mountain 150 Race on Saturday at Syracuse; Top Ten in Rain Shortened S.E.F. 200 on Sunday

There were plenty of highlights of the 41^st running of Super DIRT Week for Billy Dunn.  He was amongst the fastest cars all weekend long, he finished second in the Gander Mountain 150 Small Block Modified race on Saturday afternoon, and battled his way back into the top ten in the rain shortened S.E.F 200 Big Block main event on Sunday.

For the past two season’s Billy Dunn has proved to be a perennial contender at Super DIRT Week.  After timing 15^th fastest out of 65 cars during time trials, Dunn started his qualifying heat race on Friday night from the fifth position and quickly moved into third place.  Lap after lap Billy did everything he could to get into second place.  With just three laps remaining, Dunn made a power move to the outside to take second, and at the same time the leader began to slow, and Dunn was able to pass both cars in dramatic fashion.  For the second year in a row, Dunn was a winner in the Friday night triple 20 qualifying heats for the Big Block Modifieds.  Dunn also scored a third place finish in his 358 Modified qualifying heat race.

On Saturday, Dunn’s Big Block Modified sat idle, as the 358 Modifieds took centre stage for the Gander Mountain 150.  Billy started the race from inside row three in the fifth starting spot.  After a caution on lap 42, Dunn stayed out while many others made a pit stop, and he was now in command of the race.  Billy held the lead until lap 52 when he made his mandatory pit stop.  With just under 100 laps to go, Dunn began to work his way back up through the field.  The caution was back out 20 laps later, and he was already back up to 13^th place, and continued to move up the leaderboard when the race continued.  With 100 laps into the race, Dunn had now moved back inside the top ten, running in the ninth spot.  Over the final 50 laps, Billy continued to charge forward, and would end the race with an outstanding second place performance.

“I was hoping for maybe a few more cautions there at the end to get a few more laps (beyond 150),” said Dunn, who was, of course, named the Rookie of the Race. “I know I had a little more gas than the rest of them because we made our pit stop much later.  It is pretty cool for all three of us Watertown guys finish in the top three.  Congratulations to Tim McCreadie and Tim Fuller on their great runs today”.

On Sunday, Billy started the SEF 200 from the sixth starting spot.  He battled inside the top ten for the first 20 laps.  Dunn made his pitstop near the 50 lap mark, and battled back.  With a mandatory pit stop after lap 100 for a tire change, and rain lurking in the distance, having the right strategy would be the key to success in this years 200 lap main event.  With 113 laps in the books, the race was called due to rain, and Dunn was running in the 10^th starting position.

“It is nice to have a top ten finish in this race, but we wanted more then that”, says Dunn.  “We had a strong car, and we hoped the race could have gone the full distance so we could have seen just how good of car we had towards the end of the race but it just didn’t work out”, says Dunn.

This coming weekend, Billy will be at Brockville Speedway.  He will run the 358 Modified Mr. DIRTcar Series race on Saturday afternoon, and will be back in the his own Big Block Modified on Sunday as part of the 1000 Islands RV DIRTcar Northeast Fall Nationals.  Billy’s 2012 season will conclude November 1-3 at the World Finals in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Dunn would like to thank Number One Speed, FastLube of Watertown, SUNY Canton, Frosty’s Ice Cream, American Traditions Motorsports, Finger Lakes Auto Machine, Jiffy Dumpster and Bicknell Racing Products for their continued support for the 2012 racing season.

                                                                                       

For more information on Billy Dunn and the Number One Speed race team, please check out our website, www.billydunn49.com.