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<\/p>\nNHRA Funny Car driver and team owner Buddy Hull has announced he will not compete at this weekend\u2019s FMP NHRA Arizona Nationals presented by NGK Spark Plugs, March 20-22, at Firebird Motorsports Park, as his team continues to recover and rebuild following their on-track incident two weeks ago in Gainesville.
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After an explosive mechanical failure during the event, Hull and his team immediately disassembled the Funny Car to assess the damage and determine next steps. While the team has since secured a replacement body, the time required to properly mount and prepare it for competition will prevent them from making the trip to Phoenix.
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\u201cObviously, this isn\u2019t the news we wanted to share this week,\u201d said Hull. \u201cAny time you have to sit out a race, it\u2019s tough, especially this early in the season. But at the end of the day, making sure everything is right with the car and that our team is safe is what matters most. We\u2019re not going to rush that process. Matt Bynum and the guys are working hard to make sure we return better than ever.\u201d
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The team has elaborated on the preparation heading into the Gatornationals. They had the Funny Car fully assembled in November of last season, displayed the Funny Car as part of their FS Performance sponsorship and began finalizing preparations well before the departure for Gainesville.
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Hull also provided an update on his condition following the incident. He suffered minor burns to his back and legs but credited his safety equipment for preventing more serious injuries.
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\u201cMy right hand is healing really well, and I\u2019ve been staying in close contact with the NHRA medical team,\u201d said Hull. \u201cI had some minor burns from the fire, but honestly, my Impact firesuit did its job. It could have been a lot worse, so I\u2019m grateful for that.\u201d
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Looking ahead, Hull and his team are already evaluating options for the upcoming Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals, including the possibility of competing in Top Fuel. With current Top Fuel entry numbers sitting below a full field, Hull noted his desire to support the category while also fulfilling sponsor commitments.
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\u201cWe\u2019re looking at every option for Pomona right now, including maybe running my Top Fuel dragster,\u201d said Hull. \u201cWe\u2019ve got great partners who count on us, and I also want to do my part to help make sure fans are getting full, competitive fields at these events. We\u2019ll make the best decision for everyone involved.\u201d
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Despite being sidelined this weekend, Hull will remain engaged with the action.
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\u201cI\u2019ll be watching every round on NHRA.tv and cheering on all my competitors,\u201d said Hull. \u201cIt sounds like it\u2019s going to be a hot one in Phoenix, so I just hope everyone has a safe weekend out there.\u201d
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Hull also took time to thank the outpouring of support from across the racing community.
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\u201cThe calls, messages, and offers to help from fans, sponsors, and other teams have meant a lot to us,\u201d said Hull. \u201cThis sport is a family, and you really see that in moments like this.\u201d<\/p>\n
Off the track, Hull remained active with fans, appearing at a major customer event last weekend at Sam Pack\u2019s Five Star Ford in Dallas. His signature FS Performance Ford Mustang was on display as he signed autographs and met with attendees. The team is planning additional activations with the dealership throughout the season.<\/p>\n
Hull and his team remain focused on returning to competition as soon as possible, with safety and long-term performance guiding every step of the rebuild process. They will keep the NHRA and their fanbase updated as more decisions are made leading up to the Winternationals. Tickets for the NHRA Arizona Nationals and Winternationals can be purchased at www.nhra.com.<\/p>\n
This story was originally published on March 18, 2026. <\/p>\n
The post Buddy Hull to Sit Out NHRA Arizona Nationals as Team Focuses on Rebuilding<\/a> first appeared on Drag Illustrated<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" NHRA Funny Car driver and team owner Buddy Hull has announced he will not compete at this weekend\u2019s FMP NHRA Arizona Nationals presented by NGK Spark Plugs, March 20-22, at Firebird Motorsports Park, as his team continues to recover and rebuild following their on-track incident two weeks ago in Gainesville.\u00a0After an explosive mechanical failure during […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-103233","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103233","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=103233"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103233\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=103233"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=103233"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=103233"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}