Back to racing

    This Saturday, Paul and the Beast return to action, as does the Scenic City Thunder Pro-Mod Series at the Brainerd Optimist Dragstrip just outside Chattanooga, Tenn. The Beast has been idle for a couple of months, partly because of damage the Beast incurred when it was hit in the shutdown area at Commerce by another driver, but mainly because of a serious medical situation involving Paul's mother. It was touch-and-go for a while, but Paul says she has been out of the hospital for more than a week and is starting to regain her strength.
    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.
   

Crash diet

    Finally caught up with Paul, and he explained the bizarre finish to his first-round qualifying run (above) at Atlanta against Charles Terrell at the EOPM race. As the picture shows, Paul did his usual good job on the starting line. Not long after, he said the car started to haze the tires and went left. "I got out of the throttle, got it squared up and hit it again," Paul said, clearing the traps at 166 mph and a 4.50 et that was good enough for fourth.
     Atlanta has a half-mile shutdown, and Paul was letting the Beast coast on the chutes. Paul said he never saw Terrell and figured he had aborted the run. Terrell's et was a second slower than Paul's, and his trap speed was only 85. There is etiquette for the shutdown area: Paul said the faster car -- in this case, the Beast -- has the right of way. Rolling to a stop, Paul realized he was not going to make it all the way to the last turnoff, so he began easing to the left to indicate he was going to use an intermediate cutoff, about 250-300 feet closer. He was just across the center line, doing about 5 mph, when Terrell hit him going much faster. The header caught the Beast's front clip and did this --

   
    Needless to say, Paul was stunned. "I thought, 'How can he hit me?', Paul said. That led to a second-round qualifying attempt sans front bodywork, and has put racing on hold until August. It will take a couple of weeks to get the new front end from Larry Jeffers, and crew member Gregg Cash, owner of C&C Collision and Rod Shop in Cumming, Ga., will paint the new piece and fit it to the car. Though the car escaped chassis damage, Paul said there is one suspension piece he'll replace.
    Hard to find a silver lining in a costly, unexpected setback, but there is this one: The new front end should shave a good 20 pounds from the car. Paul said the old front end had sustained minor damage in a couple of incidents last year, and each repair has added weight, as the fiberglass needs a lot of reinforcing.
    Since the Memphis PDRA race in May, Paul said he has been trying to put the Beast on a bit of a diet. At Memphis, the car was about 90 pounds above the minimum. One other area of weight saving is expected to have a direct impact on the car's performance. Paul has been getting good video of every run this year, and has found that the wheelie bars aren't doing everything they are supposed to.
    Besides keeping the front end from rising 10 feet in the air, Paul said, the wheelie bars work with the rest of the chassis and suspension to help the car stand up on the tires -- one of the keys to big runs. The bars on the car are a two-piece design that is proving to be weak; the car isn't up on the tires until around 330 feet. Paul said that should happen in 100 feet. So the Beast is getting a new wheelie bar (just one) from Tim McAmis that will be stronger and probably 20 pounds lighter. Coupled with other random bits of weight saving, Paul said the Beast should be at least 50 pounds lighter for the next PDRA race. The Beast's bests -- a couple of 4.07s two or three years ago with a clutch setup -- came when the car was well over 2,600 pounds.
    The Beast's next race is up in the air at this point; it won't be this month's Scenic City Thunder event. Paul said he's still trying to make the series happen, but does plan to run any PDRA events that are close enough, plus a couple of no-screw-blower series in the Carolinas. The team didn't learn much about the new torque converter configuration, some data pointed in the right direction.
    So, no racing until August. Paul said the Farmer's Almanac is forecasting a cooler-than-normal August. If that is the case, Paul said they'll try to race as much as they can.

Weird weekend

           This first-round qualifier at the Extreme Outlaw ProMod race at Atlanta last weekend against Charles Terrell was the start of a strange day for Paul Gibbs and the Cuda Beast team. I haven't been able to talk to Paul yet, but at the end of this run, the cars collided in the shutdown area at the first turnoff  for the return road. It was a left turn for the cars, and the Beast got the worst of it.

I don't know if there are any understandings/unwritten rules that sort of dictate who does what and when in the shutdown area. Anyway, the Beast ran a 4.50, which was fourth quickest in a round when the track was 140 degrees and grip was elusive. It was also the Beast's first run with the reconfigured converter, so it's doubtful the team was able to build on it.
     Apparently, the damage was limited to the bodywork, because the Beast turned out for the second round of qualifying, against Terrell again, but not looking its usual sleek self.

Both had traction problems, and the Beast somehow wound up in the sandpit at the end of the track. The team answered the call for the first round, but was shut off after the burnout.
      A lot to be filled in. I'll update this when I talk to Paul.

Battle of Atlanta

      Friday, June 27 update: The Fantastic Brian C at www.promodifieds.us says he's going to try to make the race, so be sure to check the site's message board for race info, pictures and commentary. If you can't be there, following the race online with Brian C is the next best thing.

      With the June Scenic City Thunder race at Chattanooga canceled, Paul and the Cuda Beast team will be going south to Atlanta Dragway at Commerce, Georgia, this weekend for the "Night of Fire" race. It's an Extreme Outlaw ProMod series event

that promises to be a fast 16-car field. It's a no screw-blowers series, so it mirrors Paul's SCT races. It's an NHRA-sanctioned track, so the racing surface should be conducive to lots of speed.
     It will be the team's second race of the year, after May's PDRA event in Memphis. There, a lot of the pieces seemed to be coming together, but the torque converter appeared to need a different configuration. That has happened, and the car is all buttoned up in its trailer, ready to go. Paul said PTC removed some fins to improve fluid flow.
    It's a one-day race that will likely be a long, hot one, but at least the track is just down the road for the team. There will be three qualifying rounds, and I'm not sure if there will be any online coverage at www.promodifieds.us . I'll try to pass on anything I might find out.
    The SCT is scheduled to return in July, with a big 275 race along with the pro-mods.
    Be fast, and be safe. We'll have a recap next week.

Memphis in the meantime

        The 2014 racing season is officially under way with the Cuda Beast's appearance at the PDRA event in Memphis this past weekend, and the first outing of the year lands on the positive side for the team. Paul and the gang decided to go to West Tennessee after canceling the second Scenic City Thunder race when another track scheduled a race right on top of them at the last minute. It was a good move, and a vastly better outcome than the team's last trip to Memphis in 2009.
       Paul ran the Pro Boost category -- no screw blowers -- and qualified 15th out of 15 entries with a 4.25, put down on Friday. The team had made a bunch of changes right near the end of last season but couldn't get that one last race in to test them. The normal winter hiatus was unfortunately extended a couple of months after Paul's workplace accident that broke his back, so the Beast was idle for about seven months. (Paul's back is healing well -- some stiffness still, but Paul said he survived some nasty tire shake on one run with no ill effects.) A couple of test runs told them that the torque converter still did not have the right configuration, so the team tried some computer tweaks to the various engine controls to compensate, and did pretty well.
      With 15 cars running in a 16-car bracket, Paul drew No. 2 qualifier Joe Baker in the first round. Paul said he expected Baker to go a bit easy on the tree, but the start of the race was a stunner -- I'm embarrassed to admit that I missed snapping a picture of it. Paul cut a good light while Baker was nearly unconscious. Paul still had him at 330 feet, but Baker caught him on the big end, with a difference of .12 at the finish.

     The Beast ran straight and true; one bobble and Baker's day would have ended (he went on to the final, and lost). It was an exciting race, and ended the weekend on an upbeat note.  Now attention will turn to getting the right torque converter setup. The next outing for Paul and the team will be the third race on the SCT schedule, Saturday, June 28.
     The Memphis track is nearby for me, so I got to visit Paul and the team and finally see the car make a full pass. I mentioned the 2009 trip to Memphis; that was an ADRL race and the first time I met Paul. It was a Saturday morning and the Beast was done for the weekend, having made a hard left turn into the wall on a qualifying run the night before. Some nifty driving by Paul kept the damage from being a lot worse. I made a Huntsville race in 2010, but the Beast shook the tires at the start in the first round. Here are a few pictures from Saturday's race; they don't begin to capture all the work the team put in during a long, hot weekend.

    Back from the last qualifying run ---

Time to check the engine ---

Heart of the Beast ---

Doc and Paul talk tuneup, after having analyzed and noted all the computer data ---

Young fans stop by for some Cuda Beast stickers ---

Getting ready to go -- programming the engine control systems and cleaning the windshield ---

Cuda Beast to staging ---

This is after the burnout; at this point in the race, the positions were reversed ---

The finish line ---

Back to the pits ---

"Tell us all about it' ---

Timeslip details ---

Change of plans

       Hey! Isn't the second Scenic City Thunder race this coming weekend? Well, yes, it was supposed to be, staked out for weeks on the southern promod race calendar painstakingly assembled by Brian C. on promodifieds.us. But another track just a week or so ago decided to hold a race right on top of the SCT. That, and some other stuff left Paul no choice but to cancel the event. However, when life presents you with jerks, you make jerky-- something like that -- so Paul and the Cuda Beast team are heading to the PDRA event in Memphis.
     It will be the first 2014 race for Paul and the Beast. The window for healing of his broken back will have passed, so it's time to hit the track. Paul will be running in the Pro Boost class -- down from the Extreme cars -- no screws -- but with plenty of cars and action. Pro Boost drew 22 entries at the last race, at South Georgia Motorsports Park, and a 16-car field spanned 3.89 to about 4.15. "We can get in this," Paul said. "It's a nice track, and it will have the best track prep (the Traction Twins) in the world. We'll be able to throw some horsepower at it."
     At the track, Paul will make a new form-fit carbon-fiber seat. A form is placed in the car, and covered with a bag that is filled with the composite material. Paul, wearing all of his driving gear except his helmet and neck device, will sit in place for 20 minutes or so while the material sets up. Another 4-5 hours later, and it's ready for racing. Paul says the custom-fit seat will be a lot safer because it will serve to better keep him from moving around in the car. As tight as all the safety belts are, movement happens. The more you can reduce it, the safer you'll be. Though he doesn't need his back brace any longer, Paul said he's going to wear it while racing.
     Seems like it has been eons since the Beast has raced. Weather of this writing looks good. We'll keep our fingers crossed. As usual, check promodifieds.us for any coverage. Not sure if Brian C. will be there, or whether there will be online streaming.

Scenic City Thunder -- Race 1

         The inaugural race of the Scenic City Thunder pro-mod series is in the books,  and the winner was Alabama racer Rick Murray. His 1953 Vette was the top qualifier with a 4.23, and made the quickest pass of the day, a 4.19, to beat Keith Baker in a blower v. nitrous final.
       Paul, who is continuing to make good progress recovering from a compression fracture in his back, said he was pleased with the race -- fans turned out, things went smoothly after a slow start, and they got done before the curfew.
       Every new undertaking comes with a learning curve, and the SCT is on one for the next race, on May 24. The next event will go with just two rounds of qualifying, eliminating the morning round and starting the first round at 3 p.m., second at 5 p.m., and racing at 7. Track prep will get attention, too, particularly in seeing that the starting line area is scraped of old rubber a couple of weeks before the race, allowing a couple of meets to put down new rubber on the track.
      Car count was down from expectations. Paul said at least four racers didn't get their cars finished in time to make it. The Dixie Nitrous gang had a good contingent. If his recuperation continues well, Paul expects to have the Cuda Beast on the starting line next month.
     So, a lot was learned on Saturday to make the next race better, and that's everyone's focus. Here's one more shot of Murray's team (sorry, I don't know who took it). Rick Murray is second from right.