2015 season: Ready to race

    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.

     

PDRA Richmond and season wrap

      Richmond's PDRA race was a long, wet weekend and then some, but when the Beast finally hit the track on Sunday for its final pro boost qualifying run, it ran a  4.14 (start of run above) -- best with the new automatic transmission, and (if memory serves) third best in the car's history, after two 4.07s with a clutch setup.
     As good as it was, Paul and the Beast team know how good it could have been. About 200 feet out, Paul said the Beast started to spin the tires and the rear went left. "It started making big power there all at once. I got it corrected really quick. It would have been a 3.98 or .97 if I hadn't had to lift."  It would have taken a 4-flat to get into the super-tough 16-car field.
    With that, the Beast will be parked until next season. "We ended on a note of really knowing where we are now. The converter is right on now, and hats off to Kenny Ford at PTC," Paul said. A couple more races for the Beast were possible this year, but Paul said the team decided to save its money and concentrate on getting the car better for next year -- particularly a continuation of a weight-loss program the Beast has been on for a few months. He said the car is still 70 pounds overweight, and he has some ideas to pare that away.
The engine has been serviced and will be good for the first 2-3 races next year.
    Of course, the next year's races are uncertain at this point, other than big interest in PDRA events, and probably no-screw-blower races in the Carolinas. Along with work on the car, the team will be looking for sponsors to join those on the masthead above who are helping the team. "We're in dire need of sponsors," Paul said.
   We'll be back as developments warrant, up to the start of the 2015 season. 
      

PDRA weekend/ update Saturday

    Saturday update: Paul called from the track while the crews work to dry and re-prep the surface after a lot of rain. He's still hoping for three rounds of qualifying -- at least one shot today, maybe a couple of hours from now. PDRA is committed to getting the race in, going Sunday for sure, and even into Monday if that's what it takes. The best thing is to tune in Motor Mania TV, MMTV 1, which is live-streaming, and it's excellent.
    Happened to catch round 1 of pro boost qualifying Friday, and saw the Beast fail to leave the line. One account said used the word "broke," which usually connotes bad stuff, but Paul said the Beast tossed a blower belt at the hit. He said that's unusual for a roots blower car, unlike the screw cars that go through them like candy, so he decided to look for a cause. The bottom crank pulley was loose, basically held on with bolts at finger-tight, and ready to come off. Anyway, all is well.
    The pro boost class has the biggest field, 27-28 cars, and right now the cutoff at #16 is about 4.05. That's tough; the Beast could run a career best and not get in. Paul said he's not expecting much movement, maybe to a 3.99, so he's going with a 4.0 tuneup for today. The track is being prepped by the best in the business, so it should hold just about anything.
    Tune in Motor Mania TV; it's a great show.
  
     Friday morning: The racers are gathering in Richmond, and Paul and the Beast should be among them. Early tests indicate the track is super fast, so the competition will be great. The team is looking to build on its PDRA experience in Memphis earlier this year.
    Richmond is hours and hundreds of miles away? Not to worry. On the promodifieds.us message board, click on the PDRA championship thread and you will find a link to Motor Mania TV live-streaming all the action. It's excellent, even with an Internet connection as lousy as mine.
    Also, this site

will have info on qualifying and elimination ladders. Let's hope the weather cooperates, and everybody gets down the track swiftly and safely.

PDRA up next

  
     The Beast remained in its garage last weekend, forgoing the race at 710 Dragway in Rowland, N.C., after the team earlier indicated interest in it. Paul was also interested in the PDRA race in Richmond, having enjoyed the Memphis PDRA race earlier this year. So efforts have been directed toward that race, which could be the last one of the season.
    Though the EOPM race in Atlanta a couple of weeks ago was challenging, Paul said they learned a lot. He thinks the torque converter setup is finally where it needs to be, and is planning a fluid change to loosen it up just a bit. Also, the race tuneups have been based on info before the blower was refurbished. The revitalized huffer is really helping to churn out the power, so the team is paying special attention to it. The car is doing well in the first 60 feet, and then blowing the tires. On the back end, the team is running more air in the Mickey Thompsons, and Paul is pleased with the new wheelie bar.
    If the weather stays warm, Paul said he'll look at the calendar for maybe one more race after Richmond. He said the engine rods are getting near their limit.
    Richmond should be a good race.The PDRA Pro Boost class the Beast will run in has proved very popular with racers, so there should be a ton of them vying for one of the 16 slots.

NOPI Nationals / Monday meet wrapup

Here's the first round. Looks like a tough one for the Beast and most of the others. Hope they can pick it up in the later rounds. No other info, but the refitted Beast looks good.Got the pic and qualifying sheet from the Extreme Outlaw Pro Mod facebook page. It's being updated from the track.

    Saturday night update from Paul: Round 2 of qualifying was still tough for most of the field, and was no better for the Beast, with a 6.51. He said it seemed to be a fluke to get down for the few who managed. The Beast has a new set of tires at this race, and the setup was blowing them right off, so Paul said they plan to back the power way down with timing adjustments and change the air pressure to try to make a clean pass, and then build back up for the eliminations. It's a 16-car race and 14 are on hand now, so a huge qualifying run isn't necessary, just a good/decent one to get a baseline and a feel for the track. Paul said he thinks it may be better Sunday.
   That's it. A round of qualifying Sunday and then into the race. Check the EOPM facebook page, and the message board at promodifieds.us is always worth a look.

Sunday noon update from EOPM page: Dialing back the power proved the right strategy for round 3 of qualifying, as the Beast cruised to a 4.22 at 170, good for 11th in what is now a full 16-car field. Paul's first-round opponent looks to be No. 6 qualifier Marcus Birt of Gray, Ga., in a 63 Vette, who ran a 4.04 at 181. He ran a 4.07 Friday night. Check the EOPM page on facebook, and the promodifieds.us message board for more info.

Monday wrapup: Paul went out in the first round against Birt, who got taken out by meet winner Chris Rini in round two.

 More racing this coming weekend may be on hand at the Big Chief Shootout at 710 Dragway in Rowland, N.C. We'll let you know.

Late starter / Sept. 13 update/mea culpa

Sept. 13 update: Oops! Big red light on this one. The race was postponed until Sept 27 because of an unfavorable weather forecast, and I missed that bit of news. So, no racing this weekend, but maybe next weekend at Atlanta and the following weekend at the Big Chief. Sorry for the confusion. I'll get it all sorted out.

And the Atlanta race:

Weekend update: Rained out

   
It was Scenic City Thunder storms (probably an embellishment) Saturday at Brainerd Optimist Drag Strip, washing out what could be the last event of the series. A big screw-blower race at Woodstock, Ala., was also doused.
    Four cars showed -- the Cuda Beast, Jimmy Sandefur, previous SCT winner Rick Murray, and one car that isn't a pure promod. The dismal forecast no doubt kept a lot of Dixie Pro-Mod nitrous racers, who live 4-6 hours away, at home.  It also kept spectators away -- bad for an event that has no sponsors and depends on the gate to fund the purse. Paul said the track was going to cut the already slim purse, so it was probably for the best that the rain came.
    The future of the series next year is murky at best. If the track is truly committed to a promod program, then it will need sponsors to draw racers -- and spectators. Paul said he's willing to hit trade shows to line up sponsors if the commitment is there.
    Otherwise, the Beast is back in top shape, with a new nose and wheelie bar. Paul said he worked until 4 a.m. Saturday to get the car ready. Good thing the tow was not much over an hour away. The team won't make this weekend's PDRA race, but will return to Commerce, Georgia -- scene of this season's bizarre shutdown area collision that necessitated the new front end -- Sept. 19-21 for an Extreme Outlaw Pro Modifieds race as part of the NOPI Nationals. Paul said he's also looking at another four or five races in the fall -- all no-screw events in the Carolinas.
   Stay tuned.