It's 2016, and almost time for racing

          It has been a long time away from the track, but Paul and the Cuda Beast team are getting fired up for their return after a 2015 season that was a tough one away from the racing. Crew member Keith Dockery, who spent most of last year in various hospitals, is getting better, "more like himself every day," Paul said.  This weekend, the team had a party at the shop to get things kicked off.
         The season will start next weekend with a test session at Montgomery Motorsports Park. Last year,  Paul had a conversation with a top pro-mod tuner who had run sub-4s with the same engine and setup that's in the Beast. The tuneup was radically different from what the team had been using, so Paul decided to tear down the motor and get the transmission refurbished so the car would be at peak readiness for the new tuneup. He didn't get to try it before the season ended, but will finally at MMP next weekend.
        It's a much more aggressive tuneup, which sounds counterintuitive for a car that's had problems getting launched. More power when you're blowing off the tires?  That's it. Paul said if they blow off the tires, they'll back down on the tuneup until the car launches. He said if the tuneup works out, he's expecting even better results than his tuner source got because the Beast is a couple of hundred pounds lighter.
       The MMP session will be followed the next weekend with more testing at U.S. 43 Dragway in Etheridge, Tenn.  The first weekend in April is the first big racing weekend, with the PDRA at Rockingham and a Southern Shootout event at the Memphis Super Chevy Show. Also that weekend, just 90 minutes or so down the road, will be a pro-mod event at the NMRA NMCA All-Star Nationals, and that's where Paul said he's planning to take the Beast.
      As far as the rest of the season is shaping up, PDRA events are definite possibilities. I'll post any test session results I learn. Round up your earplugs. The big noise is ready to return.