Opportunity can come when someone least expects it.
That was definitely the case for Jeff Arend on April 11.
The veteran nitro Funny Car driver was sitting at home in La Verne, Calif., just down the road from the Winternationals in Pomona.
“I live a mile from the track. I didn’t even go to the track on Friday because I’m a lousy spectator. So, I might have gone on Saturday to see a couple of buddies, but I had no real intention of going there,” Arend said.
That changed out of the blue when he received an unexpected phone call.
“Well, around 9:45, 10 o’clock on Saturday morning, which was three hours before qualifying, Jon (Dunn) called me and asked if I wanted to drive their car. And I said, ‘Sure, no problem, but all my driving stuff is up in Northern California in the Nostalgia trailer.’”
With time of the essence, Jon set his plan in motion to get Arend in his team’s Funny Car.
“Jon whipped over, picked me up, and we went to his shop because he’s got some helmets and driving suits there,” Arend said. “All the stuff that Jon’s drivers wear, Jon owns it all. So, he’ll buy the suits for all drivers, but then he keeps them. So, we were able to put a helmet and a fire suit together, and I borrowed a hybrid from JR Todd and a couple of other little things. And like I said, we did it really, really fast. We managed to put everything together, all the driving equipment, get fitted in the car, and warm it up in two hours.”
Arend, who was asked to replace Todd Lesenko behind the wheel of the Dunn Funny Car, didn’t have much luck on his first pass.
“The pan pressure switch shut it off at 150 feet or something, so we kind of figured some stuff out,” Arend said. “And then we made the second run where we actually got in the show (with a 4.160 elapsed time, the team’s quickest time of the season), and then the last car that could have bumped us out did.”
Blake Alexander clocked a 4.143-second elapsed time at 316.97 mph to get in the field in the No. 16 spot.
The two runs did leave the Dunns — especially Big Jim Dunn — optimistic about what their team could accomplish moving forward.
Arend said as of right now he is signed up to drive three more races for the Dunns — Charlotte, N.C. — the Four-Wide Nationals April 23-26 — the Southern Nationals at South Georgia Motorsports Park, May 1-3 — and Chicago May 14-17.
The Dunns will have Mooneyes as the primary sponsor on their Funny Car for Charlotte and Chicago, and a sponsor will be announced for the Southern Nationals in the near future.
Arend was no stranger to the Dunn family. He drove their nitro Funny Car in the NHRA ranks in 2013 and 2014. He also served as a consultant for the team in 2019 and 2020.
Arend made his Funny Car debut in 1995 and has a pair of Top 10 finishes to his credit. During his two previous seasons with Jim Dunn Racing, he compiled a 10-44 elimination-round record.
In his Funny Car career, Arend has four wins and five runner-up finishes. His last win came in July 2012, when he beat Courtney Force in the final of the Route 66 NHRA Nationals in Chicago. He has also started twice from the No. 1 qualifying position.
“I mean, it’s one of those things where I’ve really got nothing to prove,” said Arend about competing in NHRA’s Big Show.
“I’ve won a bunch of races and stuff like that. And the last-minute call to get in a car you hadn’t ever sat in before and go out there and try and do something, it worked out well. I think I had the best reaction time in Q3 and one of the best ones in Q4.
“It just kind of came back all together. And honestly, I’ve known Big Jim and the Dunns and Jon and the whole family for years and years and years. And I really respect him (Big Jim). We have a good working relationship where if I tell him, ‘Hey, we should change this or that,’ all he wants is an explanation.
“And if you do that, he’s okay with it. I don’t think there’s a lot of people who can do that with Big Jim and we have respect for each other as a driver and tuner.”
Arend acknowledged his relationship with Big Jim made his quick decision to drive for the family again an easy choice.
“So that’s what makes it fun for me. Obviously, they’ve had their struggles and all we want to do is get (Big Jim) back to where we were before, a car that can run 3.95 (seconds) to 4.05 kind of at will, which it should be able to do,” Arend said.
“Couple that with some good reaction times and stuff like that, especially at Charlotte where it’s a little more confusing to the drivers. I’m not going to say we’re going to win or anything, but I’d say we have a real chance there.”
“Everybody on the team, they’re all optimistic about going into the next race. And that’s good because, like I said, Jim and Diane, they fly red-eye flights.
“He’s standing up in the non-air-conditioned lounge or sitting down and building racks. I mean, he deserves better.”
Arend has stayed active in the drag racing scene by driving and winning races in the 1977 Firebird Nostalgia Funny Car for Bynum-Lucchetti Motorsports.
“I’ve been driving for Bynum-Lucchetti Motorsports. So, I started driving for them in 2024. At the time, I don’t think they had a lot of success with the car. I’m not sure they even won a round.
“And we went and tested on a Saturday, and then we went to four races, and we went to four finals and won the Hot Rod Reunion,” Arend said.
“It’s a really cool car to drive. It’s old-school. I really enjoy driving that car. It’s a great team that Randy and Jody Todd have. And Matt Bynum tunes it. And it’s just a great all-around team. I really enjoy doing that.”
Now, Arend’s focus is getting Big Jim’s Funny Car headed in the right direction.
“The opportunity to hop in Big Jim’s car, who I have a relationship with, and kind of get it back on track and running well is kind of appealing for me,” Arend said.
“I haven’t driven a Big Show car in two years (when I did some testing in Alexis DeJoria‘s car in April of 2024), but it all kind of comes back again.
“I always tell people, when you get back in a Big Show car and you hit the throttle, you’re like, ‘Holy (expletive). It’s so violent.’ But then after half a second, I was like, ‘Yeah, I got it.’”
“And then all of a sudden, the car shut off. So, then we went up there for the last one. And of course, all that was gone now. No big deal.
“And it was whipping down there. I could tell it put a hole out because it was trying to run towards the wall. I had the steering wheel turn pretty good.
“Then, about 900 feet, because it had a cylinder out from 200 feet to 900 feet, it started to hurt some parts. And the pan pressure switch shut off at 900 feet.
“If that didn’t happen, I think we would have qualified. I’m usually not happy, or I don’t think Jim is, when you don’t qualify.
“But considering what we did, I mean, in that short amount of time, I call it successful. And now we have a good game plan for Charlotte.
“I got to look at a bunch of their runs and stuff, and Jim and I discussed changing a couple of things. And it’s nice to see him and the crew all excited again.”
“I wouldn’t do it unless it was Big Jim. He’s 92 years old. He’s in the trailer, building racks.
“He works so hard as well as the rest of the team. So, I’m really looking forward to it.”
