NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

Funny Car rookie Tim Gibbons will make his 2016 debut at the Toyota NHRA Sonoma Nationals, the first of five races in which the Anderson, Calif.-based driver will compete this season.

 

Gibbons will return to the driver's seat of Steve Plueger's Funny Car, in which he made his Professional debut at the last two events of the 2015 season.

 

The car, which also will compete in Seattle, Indy, Dallas, and the Auto Club NHRA Finals in Pomona, will again be sponsored by Gibbons’ business, Castle Rock Trucks, which builds and customizes commercial semis and paints heavy equipment. Associate sponsorship will be provided by Jason Pedrotti Trucking, Mach 1 Machinery, and Truckers Mall.

 

“We are looking forward to competing at the next level this year,” said Gibbons. “The Funny Car class is breaking records almost every weekend, and the crew chiefs have really set the bar pretty high, and it almost seems the days of the weekend warriors that come out for a handful of races each year are just that far behind.

 

“But Steve Plueger and Paul Trabue are very talented and have been at this for decades, and I will tell you what they worked all winter and most of this summer to bring the car up to speed,” he added. “I feel we have a car that can compete and run some numbers as our car has all the latest and greatest with the help of some of the top crew chiefs in the business. The only thing we lack is the almighty cubic dollar. We run the car hard, just not on kill, but we’re going to run hard and keep our opponents honest if they slip up a little, will be there hopefully to take the win light. The bottom line we are there to have a great time and just keep making laps and get better every time we go down the track.

 

“I also want to thank RCD Engineering as well as CEBE Inc., DJ Safety, and Legends of Nitro for their loyalty and dedication for many years to Steve Plueger Racing.”