The Las Vegas Four-Wide Nationals are a unique national event experience for the thousands of fans in attendance and the NHRA professional teams. For Jim Dunn Racing and driver Buddy Hull this weekend’s Four-Wide Nationals showed the team is moving in the right direction in a crowded Funny Car field. Through two days of qualifying on Friday and Saturday the KGC Construction Dodge Charger Funny Car was solidly positioned to race on Sunday while a handful of full-time teams battled to get into the 16-car qualified field. At the end of qualifying Hull was the No. 14 qualifier and he was slotted into a competitive quad comprised of No. 3 qualifier rookie Spencer Hyde, No. 6 qualifier rookie Hunter Green and No. 11 qualifier Dave Richards.
“I feel good about our chances in the first quad. We match up well with all three of the other Funny Cars and the four-wide format has shown anything can happen,” said Hull at the conclusion of qualifying. “This whole Jim Dunn Racing team has been making improvements every race this season and we can run with anyone I feel.”
In the first quad Hull and the KGC Construction Funny Car were lined up in lane four and as all four Funny Cars rolled into pre-stage the chance for two Funny Cars to advance to the next round was a toss-up. All four 12,000-horsepower Funny Cars took off together, with Hull cutting his best reaction time of the season a solid .097, the second quickest of the quad. The KGC Construction Funny Car was charging down the fourth lane, and as the finish line closed in, it smoked the tires on a tricky track, robbing Hull of valuable horsepower, and he could not catch up to Richards to secure the second spot and a chance to advance to the second round.
“We had a really good quad and we were looking forward to that round,” said Hull, from the Jim Dunn Racing pit. “Everything was perfect, till it wasn’t, you know. The KGC Construction Funny Car left good. It was haulin’. Everything showed great on the computer. And then, unfortunately, you know, we just smoked the tires like a lot of teams. That’s just part of drag racing. If that wouldn’t have happened, we were going to advance the next round, but that’s just drag racing. We have good data for the next race which is a big positive.”
The spectacle of the Las Vegas Four-Wide Nationals is one element that Hull really enjoys. Putting on a show for the fans with four 12,000-horsepower Funny Cars is something that is unique to NHRA drag racing and Hull is proud to be a part of the show. His experience racing other forms of drag racing has helped him acclimate himself to the sometimes chaotic and wild starting line scene.
“I have a system that I use when I go up there to make sure that I’m focused,” said Hull. “I don’t struggle with it. I’ll be honest with you, it’s all good to me. I think it adds a dynamic for the fans, I think for the fans to see four cars side by side, you know, 40,000 plus horsepower. I think it’s probably one of the coolest things on the earth.”
The Jim Dunn Racing Funny Car will be back on track for more four-wide action at the Charlotte Four-Wide Nationals at zMax Dragway, April 25-27. There will be two qualifying sessions on Friday, April 25, and two qualifying sessions on Saturday, April 26. For tickets or more information on the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals, visit nhra.com.
This story was originally published on April 14, 2025. 
