NHRA NEWS Dunn to celebrate 75th birthday, 60th year of drag racing in Houston

[Dan Bell]

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Where else would you expect a man in his 60th year of drag racing to celebrate his 75th birthday? At a dragstrip, of course, and that's exactly what NHRA legend Jim Dunn will be doing this weekend as the team owner/crew chief takes his Canidae Racing Funny Car team to Houston for the 22nd annual O'Reilly NHRA Spring Nationals presented by Pennzoil at Houston Raceway Park March 27-29.

On his birthday Saturday, Dunn will be turning the wrenches on the Canidae/Lucas Oil Chevy trying to qualify Jerry Toliver for his fourth race of the season. The Jim Dunn Racing team will feature a 75th Birthday logo to commemorate the special day and historic season.

"I enjoy the races, and the spectators are great," Dunn said. "That's my home away from home. I'm just glad that I'm still walking and still have the opportunity to tune this Canidae/Lucas Oil Funny Car. Anytime we go to the starting line, we say we can beat the guy. I've always said that the day I go up to the starting line and say I can't beat him, I'll quit. Racing is racing."

Toliver and the Jim Dunn Racing team continue to make strides and are coming off of their best race weekend of the young season. Toliver made four full passes in qualifying the Canidae/Lucas Oil Chevy 12th in Gainesville and defeated Mike Neff in round one for his first round-win of the year. Toliver looks to carry that momentum into Houston, where he was runner-up to Tim Wilkerson in 2004 and runner-up to Bob Gilbertson in 2000.

"I think our performance at Gainesville was definitely a step in the right direction and gives us some momentum going into Houston," Toliver said. "I don't care who you are, going rounds in Funny Car is tough. It was good to get a round-win there, and for this team with a new car and new driver to do it in such a short amount of time is impressive. We're starting to put the pieces together, and we're getting closer."

Jim Dunn was the first, and is still the only, driver to win an NHRA national event title in a rear-engine Funny Car, a feat he accomplished in 1972.

Dunn, a pioneer in this sport as a driver, team owner, and tuner, began his career as a competitor in 1950 when the popularity of drag racing was starting to move from the streets and taking hold on local strips throughout Southern California. Throughout the years, he has accumulated numerous wins and performance records, including a victory at the 1972 Supernationals in Ontario, Calif., a win at the 1981 World Finals in Irvine, Calif., and a runner-up finish in Indy in 1981. Dunn is also the only driver to win the prestigious March Meet in Bakersfield, Calif., in Top Fuel and Funny Car.

Since retiring from driving in 1990, Dunn's career has continued to flourish as a respected crew chief, technical adviser, and car owner. He wrenched cars to numerous victories throughout the 1990s including at the 1997 bonus event for Funny Cars in Indianapolis, the 1998 NHRA national event in Columbus, Ohio, and the 1999 Mac Tools U.S. Nationals presented by Lucas Oil in Indianapolis. His most recent win as an owner/tuner was last July in Seattle with Tony Bartone behind the wheel of the Canidae/Lucas Oil Chevy. In 2001, Dunn was voted No. 27 on NHRA's list of the top 50 drivers of its first 50 years, and in 2006, he was given the great honor of induction into the International Drag Racing Hall of Fame.

"Everybody asks how you can do this for 60 years," Dunn said. "I must just really love pain or I'm just really stupid [laughs]. It's been good for me because I enjoy working on the cars. I enjoy listening to them and hearing them. I do it for myself because I enjoy it. When the car starts and does what you ask it to, that's the whole emotional trap right there."