Dubbin Motorsports is ready to compete in the Lucas Oil Nationals this weekend after a month-long break. Returning to competition at their home track, Dubbin Motorsports knows it will be a busy and hopefully a long weekend for the Minnesota-based team.
Frustrating has been the theme so far in 2024 for Dean Dubbin and the Dubbin Motorsports A/Fuel Dragster. Matching car performance to track conditions has been a struggle at times for the DMP Awnings/Kentex Roofing backed team.
“We’ve had great performances and a very fast car this season which gives us a lot of confidence heading into Brainerd,” explained team owner and driver Dean Dubbin. “We’ve been working hard, and that hard work is paying off, but we’ve also run into some struggles along the way. I’m confident that our hard work and focus will pay off this weekend with a competitive car that can run with anyone.”
The Dubbin Team had a difficult weekend at the Brainerd Lucas Oil Series Regional Event, leaving with a first-round loss after difficult qualifying sessions. But Dubbin and the team are turning their focus on this week’s race and fighting for better qualifying and race results.
“It was a rough few days for us at the Regional Event,” said Dubbin. “This car wants to make power and turning it down for tricky track conditions is where we are working hard to get better. But, if having too much power is a problem, I will take that any day over not having enough.”
It’s not lost on the team that Brainerd International Raceway is the home track for Dubbin Motorsports and success here with family and friends in attendance is always a priority.
“I’m looking forward to getting back in the car at my favorite track with friends and family here,” said Dubbin. “I look forward to this race every year, and I think we have a car that can compete for the win.”
The Brainerd Track has been good to Dubbin and the team with several late-round appearances including a 2018 Lucas Oil Nationals final-round matchup with perennial powerhouse Jackie Fricke . Dubbin’s amazing .009 reaction time was not enough to get the win that day, as Fricke in the John Finke prepared car drove around him down track for the win.
2023 would once again see Dubbin doing well in the later rounds of the Brainerd National Event. A semi-final matchup with Mike Lewis would provide more excitement than planned for Dubbin. Dubbin’s car powered into a wheel-stand early in the run causing Dubbin to lift and lose the round. The incident would also cause enough damage to the car that a complete front-half chassis replacement was required.
Dubbin commented on the 2023 semi-final run, “The Car left really hard and I could feel the front-end dancing a little bit. But then I lost sight of the track and could feel the car moving to the right and I knew this could get bad if I didn’t lift. I tried to ease the car down but knew I was headed into the other lane if I didn’t get the front end on the ground quickly. So the car came down harder than I would have liked and bent some of the front-end pieces. It’s good to have one of the best chassis builders in the nation, Chase Copeland, as one of the tuners on your team. Chase had the car fixed and back on track in just a couple of weeks and it’s been great ever since.”
The weekend will kick off with two qualifying sessions on Friday. A third qualifying session is planned for Saturday morning with the first round of eliminations scheduled for late Saturday afternoon. The weekend will wrap up with eliminations continuing throughout the day on Sunday.
Stay tuned to the DMP Awnings social media channels for an event schedule, where to watch, and results for the Dubbin Team throughout the weekend.
Dubbin Motorsports Is:
Dean Dubbin & Karen Dubbin – Team Owners and Driver (Dean)
Kenny Woods – Owner Of KENTEX Roofing Systems
Clay Copeland (with wife Lisa Copeland) – Co-Crew Chief
Chase Copeland (with wife Brittney Copeland) – Co-Crew Chief
Kirk Wolf – Driver
Trevor Jelinski
Scott Jelinski
Don Nolan
Brad Hiatt
Stay in touch with the Dean Dubbin & the DMP Awnings Team:
Facebook – @DMPAwnings
Instagram – @DMPAwnings_
Twitter – @DMPAwnings
Racer.media – @DMPAwnings
Stay in touch with Driver Kirk Wolf:
Facebook – @KirkWolfRacing
Instagram- @KirkWolf
Team Support:
DMP Awnings | Kentex Roofing Systems | Central McGowan | Noonan | NGK Spark Plugs | Goodson | Copeland Race Cars | Wright Brothers Consulting | Aluminum Cabinet Company | Mile High Crankshafts
Motorsports Media | Dubbin Motorsports
