The 2015 season for Paul Gibbs and the Cuda Beast team got off to this neat start, courtesy of the PDRA featuring the Beast in its promotion for its opening race of the year in Texas. The pic is early in the 2014 season, maybe from the PDRA event in Memphis (looks like his huge holeshot race against Joe Baker; you can go back a few posts and see pictures from that event), as the car has its double wheelie bar setup.
The Texas event is a long shot, basically a couple of days on the road each way; Paul said the team is pursuing possible monetary sponsorship from a source that has connections that go back to the racing days of his father, Reece Gibbs. Should that materialize, the Texas race would be in play. Still, it's a kick to see the Beast get national notice. Hard to go wrong with one of the best-looking PM cars out there.
There is a real first race on the calendar -- the Southern Shootout opener at Montgomery Motorsports Park March 13-14. The series is the South's prime screw-blower hangout; Paul didn't run the Beast in that series last year for that reason, preferring the PDRA's popular Pro Boost class and some EOPM events. He says he's certainly ready to race at Montgomery, but is really viewing the weekend as a test session for the team's first PDRA race, in April at Rockingham (unless the Texas longshot comes through). Hope its a warm weekend for a change. A brine solution could be part of track prep.
As far as the car goes, Paul says DJ Safety (see this page's masthead) has updated all of his equipment, including a state-of-the-art engine containment "diaper" (which we hope will never see use). Paul is promising a picture, which we'll post when it arrives.
We'll be back to set up the Montgomery race/test session.
