More Than a Speed Shop: Dunn Family Builds a Watertown Business Around Trucks, Racing and Family

# Built on Family and Racing: The Dunns Behind Number One Speed in Watertown

**WATERTOWN, N.Y.** Walk into Number One Speed on Bradley Street in Watertown and you're not just walking into another automotive accessory store.

You're walking into a family business where work, trucks and racing have been intertwined for years.

At the heart of Number One Speed are **Norm Dunn, his brother Tim Dunn, and Norm's son, Billy Dunn**, three members of a North Country racing family who have built their lives around automobiles both at the shop and at the racetrack.

Norm has long been at the center of Number One Speed, but the business is very much a family operation. His brother Tim is an important part of the day-to-day business, while Billy has become one of the most recognizable Modified drivers to come out of Northern New York.

And Tim isn't just involved behind the counter or in the shop.

He races, too.

## Tim Dunn: An Important Part of the Business and the Racing Family

For customers who know Number One Speed, **Tim Dunn** is an important part of the business and one of the familiar faces behind the family operation.

But when race night comes around, Tim has another identity.

He climbs behind the wheel of the **No. 96T four-cylinder race car**.

Tim has competed in four-cylinder racing throughout the region, including at Can-Am, and the 96T has become his recognizable number.

It's an important part of the Number One Speed story because racing isn't simply something the family watches, sponsors or sells parts for.

**The Dunns actually race.**

Tim's involvement also shows that the family's motorsports story extends well beyond Billy's well-known No. 49. Whether it's Billy in a Modified or Tim behind the wheel of the 96T, racing continues to be something the Dunn family does together.

## A Family Business With Racing in Its DNA

Number One Speed operates from **712 Bradley Street in Watertown**, where the company specializes in truck accessories and professional installation.

Customers can find everything from tonneau covers, bed protection and running boards to lift and leveling kits, towing equipment, lighting, floor protection, storage and other accessories.

The family also operates **Number One Speed Oval Track Supply**, serving the racing community that has been part of their lives for decades.

For Norm, Tim and Billy, the connection between business and racing isn't something created for marketing.

It's authentic.

They know the automotive world because they've spent years living in it.

## Norm Dunn and the No. 49

Norm Dunn's influence on the family's racing history goes back decades.

When Billy began establishing himself in dirt Modified racing, it was behind the wheel of a race car closely connected to both his father and the family business.

The No. 49 would eventually become one of the most recognizable race cars associated with a Watertown driver.

But behind the car was always the family.

Norm wasn't simply the father watching from the grandstands. He was part of building the racing program that allowed Billy to compete and succeed.

That father-and-son partnership became an important part of the Number One Speed racing story.

## Billy Dunn Takes the Family Name to Dirt Racing's Biggest Stages

Billy Dunn would ultimately take the Dunn family and Number One Speed name far beyond Watertown.

Over his career, the Watertown driver has earned championships and victories at tracks across New York and the Northeast.

His biggest moment came in 2013 when he won the prestigious Syracuse 200 during Super DIRT Week at the New York State Fairgrounds, one of the signature victories available to a Northeast dirt Modified racer.

More than a decade later, Billy is still one of the drivers to beat.

That longevity says something about the racing program the Dunn family has built.

## Two Brothers, Two Racers, One Family Business

It's easy to focus on Billy because of his success in the Modified ranks.

But the complete Number One Speed story is bigger than one driver.

There's **Norm**, who helped build both the business and the racing operation.

There's **Tim**, Norm's brother and an important part of Number One Speed, who carries on his own racing career behind the wheel of the 96T.

And there's **Billy**, Norm's son, whose No. 49 has carried the Number One Speed name to Victory Lane at some of the biggest events and tracks in Northeast dirt racing.

Together, they're part of a family business where the knowledge of vehicles didn't come from a catalog.

It came from years of working on them, racing them, fixing them and figuring out how to make them better.

## Bringing That Experience Back to the Customer

Today, Number One Speed serves a much broader customer base than racers alone.

A customer may walk through the door looking for a tonneau cover for a new pickup, running boards for a family truck, towing equipment for a trailer, additional lighting, a lift or leveling kit, or accessories to make a work truck more useful.

That customer may have no involvement in racing whatsoever.

But behind the business is a family whose automotive experience runs deep.

For North Country customers, there is also something increasingly uncommon about being able to walk into a locally owned specialty business, explain what they need and deal directly with people whose names are connected to the company.

At Number One Speed, those people are the Dunn family.

## More Than a Storefront on Bradley Street

Family-owned businesses often become part of a community in ways that are difficult to measure.

Customers know the people.

People see each other at the track.

Business relationships become friendships.

And the same names remain connected to the community year after year.

Number One Speed is one of those businesses.

From Norm and Billy's No. 49 Modified program to Tim's 96T four-cylinder, the Dunn family has spent countless nights at racetracks across the region.

Then Monday comes, the doors open on Bradley Street, and they're back to work.

That may be the simplest way to understand Number One Speed.

**It's a family that works together and races together.**

And whether you know Norm from the shop, Tim from behind the counter or the 96T, or Billy from watching the No. 49 battle for another win at Can-Am, all three are part of the story behind a Watertown business that has become deeply connected to North Country automotive and racing culture.

**Number One Speed is located at 712 Bradley Street in Watertown, New York.**

The Dunn family also operates **Number One Speed Oval Track Supply**, serving racers throughout the region.

More information is available at **NumberOneSpeed.com**.

Number One Speed website: https://numberonespeed.com/

Number One Speed on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/officialnumberonespeed/

Number One Speed Oval Track Supply on Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/p/Number-One-Speed-Oval-Track-Supply-100065591255769/