BRONSON DUNNE
At just 22 years old , Bronson Dunne has worked on blown Pro Mods , alcohol Funny Cars , A / Fuel dragsters , and Top Fuel dragsters . It ’ s an impressive resume , made even more admirable by the fact that his quest to work on the baddest machines in drag racing has been spread out across the United States , Australia , and his native New Zealand .
Dunne began his racing career in Junior Dragsters at age six , sharing driving duties with his sister before switching his focus to working alongside his stepfather , Tony Marsh , who raced a small block Ford-powered dragster at the time . Dunne joined his stepfather and stepbrother as they moved up to A / Fuel dragster , then Top Fuel . Dom Lagana was flown in to tune the Top Fuel car , and shortly after he offered Dunne a position on Billy Torrence ’ s Capco Contractors Top Fueler for the last six races of the 2015 season .
Dunne jumped at the opportunity to live in Brownsburg , Ind ., the Mecca of nitro racing , and work with Bobby and Dom Lagana and Alan Johnson . The international crew member also worked on Jonnie Lindberg ’ s alcohol Funny Car during his stateside visits in 2015 and 2016 . Obviously hooked , Dunne might soon find himself racing in the U . S . on a more permanent basis .
“ I would move to America pretty much tomorrow if the right opportunity came along ,” said from his home in New Zealand . “ The sport is so big over there . There ’ s a lot of potential for me to learn . The hardest part is a visa , but I ’ ve been working on that so I can make the move at some stage when possible .”
While Dunne is correct about the broad scope of opportunities available stateside , he has a good thing going in his part of the world . In addition to working on the Marsh dragsters , Dunne serves as the crew chief on a Pro Mod Ford Falcon in New Zealand , and he recently started working on the Darren Mayer-tuned Pro Alcohol Funny Car of Australian Scott Maclean . He ’ s well on his way to a long and successful career in drag racing , no matter what class or country he settles on .
– NATE VAN WAGNEN DI
PHOTOS : IAN TOCHER , DRAG ILLUSTRATED ARCHIVES
JASON HAMSTRA
A decade ago , a young Jason Hamstra shot to the forefront of Pro Mod , back when the class was still primarily contested in IHRA . He was a groundbreaker as one of the first to utilize a torque converter with a blown application . Not only did he and his team venture into uncharted territory , they did so successfully , paving the way for what is now considered a go-to combination by top teams in the industry . In 2009 , Hamstra was named the ADRL Pro Rookie of the Year and then in 2011 , Hamstra clinched an impressive ADRL Pro Extreme World Championship . He was one of the youngest to ever win an ADRL title at just 24 years old . In recent years , Hamstra has stepped back from chasing Pro Mod series points , but maintained a presence across IHRA and NMCA .
Now at 29 years old , Hamstra has been the talk of Chip King ’ s comeback . He teamed up with the veteran Pro Mod racer halfway through last season and has almost singlehandedly orchestrated one of the most successful seasons of King ’ s career .
“ I ’ ve known Chip since I started racing Pro Mod ,” Hamstra explained . “ We ran IHRA together , back in the mid-2000s . And then he was kind of looking for somebody and I was available at the same time so we just kind of hooked up and it worked out .”
The humble Indiana native tuned King to an
impressive victory at the U . S . Street Nationals in Bradenton and a 16 th -place finish in the NHRA Pro Mod series , despite missing the last event of the year .
For Hamstra , it ’ s tough to pick one over the other when it comes to driving and tuning . He
enjoys both and has proven his proficiency behind the wheel and behind the car . For the past few years he ’ s run a 2010 Mustang , but this season he purchased a ‘ 69 Camaro built by Alan Pittman . In the six races he drove in his own Pro Mod machine this year , he went to five finals , winning three .
“ They ’ ve got 12 NHRA races now , so we ’ re planning on hitting them with Chip ’ s car . We ’ ll probably hit a couple of races over the winter down south , in Florida , and then maybe a couple PDRA races during the year , but mainly the NHRA race schedule with his car and then I ’ ll run at the IHRA races with my car and then local Quick 8 stuff . We run that car a lot so whatever I can have time to run mine is what I ’ ll do .”
Still under 30 years old , Hamstra already has over a decade of experience in one of the toughest categories in drag racing – experience that has led to accomplishments many only dream of throughout a lifetime racing career . This November , Hamstra added another major accomplishment to his growing list when he married wife Patsy . Congratulations to this newlywed and newly crowned 30 Under 30 recipient .
– LISA COLLIER DI
November 2016 DragIllustrated . com | Drag Illustrated | 81