Bruce Nunnally looking to make Brucebilt Performance a major force in dirt racing

Bruce Nunnally’s history in Dirt Late Model racing is an extensive one. The Indiana native and current east Tennessee resident has worked with some the most well known companies and drivers in the sport during the almost 25 years he has been involved in the sport. And now, the veteran car builder has taken the major step of placing his own name on the cars he builds.

Nunnally’s Brucebilt Performance runs out of a shop in north Knoxville near where his partners, Tom and Rocky Smith, headquarter their Smithbilt Homes business. From that garage, a Rocket Chassis distribution and repair operation serves as the centerpiece of what the owners hope will become a flourishing enterprise.

Nunnally and his partners opened Brucebilt Performance this past January and quickly formed an alliance with Mark Richards’ Rocket Chassis company to serve as a distributor for that brand. Rocket customers can also have a variety of services performed on their cars as well as purchase virtually any part or accessory needed for Dirt Late Model racing.

Prior to this endeavor, Nunnally had built an impressive resume working for famed C.J. Rayburn from 1983 to 1990, then Knoxville based Warrior Race Cars from 1990 to 2002, and finally with Bloomquist Race Cars of Mooresburg from 2002 to this past January.

“Racing always interested me,” Nunnally said of his reason for getting involved in the sport. “Of course being around Indianapolis and going to Indianapolis Raceway Park as a kid drew me. I was always interested in making things, and race cars are especially good to make.”

 

So what memories stand out most to a man who has worked closely with the likes of Scott Bloomquist, Freddy Smith, Dale McDowell and Marshall Green?

“Just building cars that win, cars that won at Eldora was definitely a bright spot,” Nunnally recalled. “We can go to Eldora and look at the list and we have cars that have won a little bit of everything. I have to say it was pretty rewarding when we built Marshall’s cars as he wasn’t real well known at the time, and he went and won a lot of races.”

Although Nunnally has never driven a race car himself, he believes Brucebilt Performance can provide everything the modern day racer needs. The company is a Rocket Chassis distributor and certified repair shop for that brand. They also provide updates to older frames and car assembly.

“One of the things we were looking at doing was updating some of the older Rocket cars in the South,” he declared. “You can get all of your parts to replace stuff here as well.”

Further, expanding the West Virginia based Rocket brand was one of the goals Richards likely had in  mind when pairing with Brucebilt. “I believe so. Mark was pretty fired up about this deal and we are too. They’ve got all they can do up there. Those guys work hard and work long hours so to expand, I think they need people to help out.”

The car builder says that he has noticed a change in the wants and needs of today’s race teams as opposed to those of years gone by. In the past, bare chassis’ were sold more often than complete cars. “That number is changing quick,” he explained. “At one time most guys put the cars together. They bought frames and components and put them together. But it’s getting to where I guess 75% of the people now want a rolling car, and a pretty good percentage want a complete car.

“It’s a lot harder to finish a car than it is just to build a frame,” Nunnally added. “You can build a lot of frames, but to actually finish a car and get it done right is a lot harder.”

Among Brucebilt’s earliest customers are World of Outlaws Late Models regular Eric Wells and east Tennessee veteran Mark Vineyard.

Nunnally says there have been so many drivers switching brands of race cars of late for a reason. And he believes that his company can provide what drivers are looking for. “It’s guys trying to find an edge. It’s guys trying to find the best service they can find because service is very important nowadays. When I first started it wasn’t as big of an issue because everybody was a mechanic, everybody could work on stuff. You don’t have a whole lot of mechanics left now, and on top of that, everything is so much more technical. These companies are hiring engineers now where that was pretty much unheard of back in the day.”

Nunnally says that the brand of chassis matters.

“I think there’s a difference,” he said. “A lot of it has to do with the material they’re made out of. Some of them are pretty good out of the box but fade away pretty quick while some of the better material cars get better after a few races and you can keep them around for a long time. And the car’s got to suit the driver. Nowadays, so much of that has to do with shocks and springs so it’s a lot more difficult to get a car working for a driver.”

And further, technology will continue to add to the intrigue of dirt racing.

“The changes will keep coming,” Nunnally went on. “I don’t know how many times in history I’ve thought they were done then something else would come. The only thing that would slow down technology would be rules. You hate to stop technology because that’s what made Dirt Late Model racing what it is, not being controlled. C.J. said that back in the beginning that you got to engineer and do what you want other than just a few body rules.”

But Brucebilt’s offerings do not end with Late Models.

“We’re gearing up to do our new modified car, which will be the M1,” Nunnally pointed out. “We’re working with Lucas Lee right now and we’re still selling cars as well. We do want to take our modified business to a national level. I like the modified thing. I just like the aura around it.”

Ultimately, Nunnally has one goal when he sets out to build a race car his customers.

“It’s always rewarding when you build a guy a car and something good comes out of it.”