So now the repairs to the car are coming off the back burner, and Paul has a lot to do in the next couple of days to get the car ready for Saturday night. The new front bodywork from Larry Jeffers Race Cars is being primed and painted by crew member Gregg Cash of C&C Collision in Cumming, Ga., and Paul has to install the new one-wheel wheelie bar and replace a steering arm that was bent in the collision, in addition to all the necessary bits of maintenance the engine needs to be ready. Paul said the shop will be a "madhouse."
Saturday's race will be the second under the Scenic City Thunder banner, a series initially envisioned as six races. The first one, in April, was won by Rick Murray, who tamed a decent field and some awful track conditions. Paul was still recovering from a broken back he suffered on the job, so the Beast did not race. In the ensuing months, for various reasons, the series was idle, so Paul ran a PDRA event in Memphis and an EOPM event in Atlanta, where the Beast got hit.
Paul said he has been told the Brainerd track is scraped and ready, which should mean a better racing surface. A September race was on the initial SCT calendar, but its status is not known. The schedule for Saturday will be a bit different, pushed back and compressed to avoid as much of the daytime heat as possible -- two rounds of qualifying, 6 p.m. and 7 or 7:30, and then racing. There probably won't be any coverage from the track, as there is a big race in Alabama that includes screw-blower cars, which will get most of the attention online.
A PDRA race is set for the following week in Rockingham, N.C. Paul has his eye on it and would like to go, as he enjoyed the Memphis event, but isn't sure at this point.
I'll pass on anything I might hear, and it wouldn't hurt to check the message board at promodifieds.us.
