A lifelong dream was accomplished this weekend for Billy Dunn, as the 29 year old was the first to cross the finish line on Sunday to conclude the 42nd annual Super DIRT Week in the Napa 200. The win was by far the biggest of his young career in Big Block Modified Racing. Dunn has had his best year to date, and the $50000 victory on Sunday was his first career Super DIRTcar Series win.
The entire weekend was a roller coaster ride for Dunn and his Number One Speed race team. They had been searching for consistent speed all weekend in the Big Block car, while the Small Block ride was fast all weekend long.
After rolling through tech inspection with both cars on Tuesday, Dunn was ready for Super DIRT Week XLII. They were hoping to hit the track Wednesday for practice, but that was cancelled while track workers continued to prepare the racing surface. The first on track session came on Thursday for both the Big Block Modified and the 358 Modified, leading up to time trials later that day. Dunn posted the 25th fastest speed in time trials for the Napa 200, leaving the team searching for more speed over the next couple days. In the 358 Modified, Dunn was 10th fastest overall in the time trial session, and was looking to tweak the car in practice for Friday night’s qualifying heat races.
After more practice on Friday, Dunn hit the track under the lights on Friday night for 20 lap qualifying heats with both cars. Billy started 13th in his qualifier, and charged through the field to post a solid top five finish, and would earn the 16th place starting position for Sunday’s NAPA 200. In the 358 Modified qualifier, Dunn started from the fifth position and picked up one spot to finish 4th, and would start the Salute to the Troops 150 on Saturday from the 11th starting position.
The Number One Speed team was very confident going into Saturday’s 150 lap main event. They had a fast car, and a good strategy planned out for the race. By lap five of the event, Dunn had worked his way forward, and was inside the top five, and would soon find his way to second place as the first caution was displayed on lap 22, as Dunn and several others made their way to pit road to top off for fuel in hopes of making it the rest of the distance. Other teams had different pit strategies in place, with many cars waiting until much later in the race to hit pit road. Dunn was back inside the top ten by lap 35, and continued to move forward as the race progressed. As pit stops cycled through for most teams after a lap 42 caution, Dunn was up to fourth place, while the top two had yet to make a pit stop. By the halfway point at lap 75, all teams had been to pit road, and Dunn was in third place. The leader of the race had a mechanical failure at lap 100, moving Dunn to second place as he began to mount a challenge for the race lead with 50 laps remaining. For several laps, Dunn was trying every possible lane to take the lead, often getting alongside the leader but unable to complete the pass. At lap 118, Dunn finally grabbed the top spot and appeared to be well on his way to victory. As they took the white flag on lap 149, Dunn’s car sputtered going into turn one, and a shot at the win slipped away as the fuel cell ran dry.
“It was a heartbreaker,” said a disappointed Dunn after the race. “I think we had the best car here so we had to gamble to get out front in the clean air. I’d rather wreck on the first lap than run out of gas and leading on the last lap.”
Sunday was a new day for Dunn, looking to put Saturday’s disappointing finish behind them. They started the NAPA 200 from the 16th starting position and were hoping that a good pit stop and a solid strategy would get them a solid finish in the event. By lap 30, Dunn was holding steady in the 14th position, patiently waiting to make his move. With 60 laps into the event, Dunn had cracked the top 10 for the first time, and would soon be making a pit stop for fuel and a tire change. Strategy would be the key, with DIRTcar implementing a new rule that caution laps would not count over the final 25 laps, so teams would have to gamble and take that into consideration when making their pit stop. Almost the entire field, including Dunn came to pit road after a caution on lap 82. While most teams opted to go the distance from their, Dunn decided to come back to pit road once again at lap 167 for more fuel and a tire change to a softer compound for the final 33 laps of the race. This move proved to be pivotal in the outcome. When they went back to green on lap 167, Dunn restarted from the 18th position, but with many teams trying to conserve fuel to last to the finish of the race, Dunn made quick work of getting back up through the field. A total of three cautions and a red flag played right into Dunn’s favor The final caution came on lap 191, and Dunn was in the fifth position for the restart. When the race resumed, Dunn quickly moved to fourth, and watched the three cars ahead of him run out of fuel in the closing laps. By lap 197 Billy was well in command, and cruised to the biggest win of his career by more than 8 seconds over the second place car.
“Our strategy played out almost 100 percent – almost by the lap we wanted to pit both times,” said Dunn, who was just three months old when his parents brought him to NAPA Super DIRT Week for the first time in 1984. “I’ve been coming here since I was a kid and dreaming of this, it is awesome. Every one of my heroes has won this race and now I’m on that list with them. It’s pretty special. This is definitely the greatest day in my racing career. I’ll never forget this. I really have to thank the entire Number One Speed team for all their help this weekend”.
There is still plenty of racing left this season for Dunn, beginning this weekend at Brockville Speedway for the 1000 Islands RV DIRTcar Northeast Fall Nationals this Sunday. The following weekend Dunn will be at Orange County Speedway in Middletown, New York for Eastern States Weekend, followed by the World Finals at the Dirt Track at Charlotte Motor Speedway on November 7-9th.
Billy Dunn would like to thank Number One Speed, FastLube of Watertown, Finger Lakes Auto Machine, Glen A. Gould Estate Construction, Frosty’s Ice Cream, and Bicknell Racing Products for their continued support for the 2013 racing season. He would also like to thank Laurent Ladouceur and the Mr. Radiator Race team for the opportunity to race their 358 Modified at Mohawk Raceway on Friday nights.
For more information on Billy Dunn and the Number One Speed race team, please check out our website,
www.billydunn49.com.
