Buddy Hull stuck to his plan no matter how badly he wanted to do otherwise.

Hull, after running two events in the first part of the season, parked his Top Fuel dragster until this weekend, when he will return to competition at the Menards Nationals presented by Pet Armor at Heartland Motorsports Park in Topeka, Kansas.

"It has been an awesome summer, but I am tired of looking at my race car in the shop," said Hull during an interview on the CompetitionPlus.com Power Hour podcast. "I want to see the race car sitting next to the trailer in the pits. I want to see my race car being towed to the staging lanes."

Hull has qualified for each event he has entered in 2022, including the season-opening Winternationals in Pomona, California, and the Spring Nationals in Houston, Texas. This weekend's event will be Hull's sixteenth professional start in Top Fuel.

Though Hull's Top Fuel dragster has been idle since May, the likable driver has been anything but sitting still. He's been hard at work with his people skills, developing his marketing relationships and team management skills. He's also built several successful businesses along the way with both his Vertex Roofing and General Contractor's brands.

"I became very good at being on the phone with tracking down race car parts and making sure the team has everything we need to get the car back together. I am very hands-on," said Hull. "We don't have any full-time help here at the shop. We spent our summer acquiring a bunch of new parts. Tim Wilkerson's guys built us a few new sets of heads. The chase to get parts is the real deal. We have a lot of friends, and they have stepped up and helped us out. I am thankful to all those people, and there are too many to thank. It has been a blessing to know there are people that want to see me back out there racing. Without their help, we wouldn't be able to do it. We have no junk in our inventory."

Despite having only two races under his belt, Hull has made the most of the opportunities to cultivate a fan following. His show-first mentality has made him a hit among a section of NHRA's fans.

"It is all about the show," Hull explained. "In the end, we are out there to entertain people. It is the race cars but also our personalities as drivers and entertainers. I want to get out there with the fans and have fun. I want to let them know yes, we go over 320 mph, but we are just people too.

"If you want to do this too, there is a way for you to do it if you work hard enough. I hope to inspire many people to do what I am doing. That is my life's goal to show people if I can do it, you can do it. I truly believe if you want something bad enough, you can do it."

Hull will compete with backing from Vertex Roofing and General Contractors and support from associate sponsors DFW RV Center, Lucky's Diesel Shop, CamperLife Superstore, Roof 4 Vets, and 1st Class Graphics.

While some of the teams Hull will face in Topeka will seemingly have countless numbers of crewmembers, he relies on a handful of dedicated part-time crew members. This is just one of the many hurdles he's had to overcome in keeping his program afloat.

"I am overly thankful for the sponsors that are on my race car," said Hull. "Without them, that is one more thing I would have to be concerned about in terms of providing for my team. I want to do this the very best way I can and I want to win. That is why I get out of bed every day because I want to win.

"Racing five or six times every year in Top Fuel isn't going to cut it for me. My plan is to learn how to be a team owner and continue to improve as a driver, and grow my team. We have some big irons in the fire. I am not going anywhere. You will see us out there fully funded. I am not quitting."