RPW Column: “Machine Gun” Hits Century Mark At Can-Am; Career Mod Win #100 For Billy Dunn

Column By: CAN-AM SPEEDWAY – LAFARGEVILLE, NY – Friday night in northern New York, as the temperatures dipped a bit lower than normal for a summer night in July, DIRTcar 358 Modified driver Billy Dunn was just getting heated up.

It has been a bit of an up and down year for Dunn. He spent the first few races at Can-Am either winning or finishing as first runner up. Then he had a taste of bad luck with a broken motor. That can be a season-ender for some racing teams. But Dunn didn’t give up; he strung together solid finishes and looked better and better over the last couple weeks, even if he didn’t end up in victory lane on those nights.

But last Friday night belonged to Dunn. He was quick in the qualifying heat races and looked like a solid competitor going into the feature. The track had some wrinkles in it though. They don’t call it the Nasty Track of the North for nothing. Through turns three and four, as the night progressed, potholes, or perhaps more appropriately, moguls developed that, if navigated improperly, could launch a car airborne, toss it hard to the right, perhaps knock a couple of cars together unexpectedly. It meant that passing through those corners was going to be tricky, nigh on impossible. And if he was going to win the night, Dunn was going to need to pass, as he was slotted to start in 10th position.

From the drop of the green, Dunn was out and up, slipping by competitors on his way to the front. He was in fifth position by the time the first and only caution came out in lap five. On the restart, he charged up to third, and by lap eight, Dunn had captured the lead. This is Dunn’s track, once he had the lead, he wasn’t giving it back.

Billy Dunn grew up in Watertown, NY and raced just about everything you could race. BMX bikes, karts, racecars; you name it, he raced it. Can-Am has been his home track from the beginning. When you watch Dunn race, at Can-Am, you can see he knows every inch of the track and how to use it. He starts his cornering a bit earlier than just about every other driver. He’s able to carry his speed through the corners and burst out along the straightaways. He has a feel for the sweet spots on restarts out of turn four and uses any caution to his advantage to gain position or distance himself from the pack. Dunn is a competitor and extremely difficult to beat on his home turf.

This year, Tim Fuller, also from Watertown, has given him a run for his money. They’ve been racing against each other for years, and between the competitive ribbing they give each other, you can tell they respect one another as competitors and drivers. When they go toe to toe, they race each other cleanly, and it makes for some of the best racing in DIRTcar across the entire country right now.

Going into Friday night’s race, Dunn was trailing Fuller in the standings. As Dunn crossed the finish line with the victory Friday night, those numbers retabulated, and Billy Dunn now sits atop the points race, albeit by just two points.

“I really don’t think about points too much,” Dunn said after the victory. Something he’s said, year in and year out. “It’s going to come down to who has the bad luck. I’m not sure where Fuller finished tonight, but we broke a motor a few weeks ago. When it comes to points if you win some and run at the front, the points work themselves out.”

Fuller has said just about the same thing when he has won. They are both focused on the race in front of them and coming out on top. Consistently good finishes over a long period of time is the mark of a great racer and the Can-Am crowd is audience to several excellent racers this season.

Dunn wasn’t paying attention to points in the Bob Johnson Victory Lane at Can-Am on Friday night. But another accomplishment was on his mind.

Dunn said, “Actually this was our hundredth modified win here, so it was really cool to get it here at the home track. We’ll worry about points the last week.”

As he spoke from victory lane, you could not help but hear the emotion in his voice as the gravity of his accomplishment sank in. Dunn, a usually stoic interview, gave up about as much emotion as he ever has and with good reason. Some competitors never taste the satisfaction of ending a night in victory lane. Dunn has been there an astounding 100 times in a modified racecar. It’s an impressive feat.

But it’s not over. Nothing is over.

The season stretches on and Billy Dunn has races to win and a championship to chase. It won’t be easy. With drivers like Tim Fuller, Ryan Bartlett, Jordan McCreadie, Lance Willix and Jackson Gill all racing in top form this season, anything could happen.

Do the fans at Can-Am realize how lucky they really are?