Dirty Money Racing leads tight Super Cat title race after wild Cocoa Beach round

Florida's Space Coast delivered everything the darkest rumours about the Atlantic off Cocoa Beach had promised. More than 80 boats arrived for Round 3 of the 2026 IHRA Offshore Series National Championship only to be met by four-to-six-foot walls of water, a punishing sea state that transformed the Thunder on Cocoa Beach event into something closer to a survival exercise than a conventional race. By the time the final hull made it home, leaderboards across the top divisions had been turned upside down entirely.

The conditions extracted a heavy toll across the fleet, with notable outfits including Raymarine and Team Bad Decisions among the prominent names unable to reach the finish. For those who did make it through, the weekend left its mark on both the championship standings and the memories of everyone who competed.

*PADDOCK REACTIONS*

Few people felt the brutality of those Cocoa Beach conditions more directly than the competitors themselves, and the paddock buzzed with accounts of battles won and lost out on the Atlantic.

Steven Bridges, throttleman aboard class-winning Team Bermuda (S-25) in the Super Stock fleet, spoke to The Royal Gazette about what reaching the podium had required:

"Feels great to get the win. It took a lot of hard work today, a few slams and a couple of 'oh no' moments along the way, but we kept pushing and it paid off." Steven Bridges, Throttleman — Team Bermuda (S-25)

Over in the Super Cat division, the crew of Dirty Money Racing (#3) turned to social media after their victory to put words to the physical punishment the ocean had handed them:

"One of the roughest races we've ever been a part of... and we'll remember this one for a long time. Brutal seas, heavy chop, nonstop impact... nothing came easy this weekend in Cocoa Beach. Every lap pushed both the boats and the crew to the limit." Dirty Money Racing (#3) — Super Cat Winners

The most dramatic individual story of the weekend came from Class 4, where Shocker (#421) staged a comeback that had the paddock talking. Competitor Luke Bossert, known in offshore circles as Captain Luke, laid out exactly how it unfolded:

"I would say we had some true 5-6 footers with no rhythm to them at all in a 21 ft boat! Shocker hit a big wave while in first place, lost power, dropped to last place, and then fought back up to finish first." Luke Bossert — Class 4 Competitor

*ROOKIE*

Of all the storylines the rough water produced, none was more striking than the arrival of Howe To Live (#10) on the Super Cat stage. The brand-new team brought internet personality Mike Howe to the throttles and Cade Wilson, the new owner of Sterling Engines, to the wheel. Neither had anything to prove in terms of headlines, but both had plenty to prove once the Atlantic swell started running.

Rather than being swallowed by the severe conditions, the rookie pairing showed a patience that sat at odds with their newness to the class, read the water carefully, and guided their Skater catamaran across the line in third place. It was the first offshore racing podium in the operation's short history, and it sent a clear message to the established Super Cat field that Howe To Live is no passenger in this championship.

*RESULTS*

Below are the official top-three finishers across the major classes from Thunder on Cocoa Beach, Florida.

Pro & Spec Classes

Divisional Bracket Standings

*CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS*

The points picture after Cocoa Beach looks markedly different from where things stood heading into the weekend, with gaps opening at the top of several divisions.

In Super Cat, the championship remains extraordinarily tight, with just 22 points covering the top four teams in the series. Dirty Money Racing claimed the full 105-point haul from the event victory and in doing so climbed to the top of the overall standings. The Howe2Live Offshore team holds fourth place following their podium result.

Team Bermuda has turned the Super Stock title race into something approaching a personal project. David Selley and the crew collected 100 base points from the win and an additional 15 boat-count bonus points, bringing their round tally to 115 and their season total to 331 points. That result broke open what had been a tight contest with rival hull Wozencraft (S-8), who took third place and 96 points to sit on 304 for the season. Team Bermuda's cushion at the head of the leaderboard now stands at 27 points with four rounds of the regular season still to run.

The Pro Class 1 standings tell a story of a lead being defended under pressure. Monster Energy / M-CON held onto their overall championship advantage despite conditions that regularly launched boats completely clear of the water. Outta Pocket Racing produced a strong finish to the event and pocketed 99 fresh points, closing the gap on the leaders.

Cocoa Beach rewarded consistency over outright speed in the Modified Vee division, and it was Clouatre Cartel Offshore Racing who benefited most. Their 106-point haul from the weekend extended their advantage over NMB RV Resort, a team that had looked dominant at the St. Pete opener but found replicating that form in the Atlantic chop a far harder task.

*ON THE HORIZON*

The calendar moves quickly from here, with two contrasting events on deck in the coming weeks, one from IHRA and one from Race World Offshore.

The IHRA fleet heads inland for Round 4, the Shootout Offshore at Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri, running 12 to 14 June 2026. Freshwater racing on a busy lake brings its own particular challenges. Gone are the ocean rollers, replaced by dense, unpredictable boat wakes that demand setups focused on high-speed manoeuvrability rather than raw wave-punching ability.

Hard behind that, Race World Offshore takes the field back to salt water for the Atlantic City Offshore Grand Prix in Atlantic City, New Jersey, from 26 to 28 June 2026. The northeast coastline brings tricky littoral currents and the same premium on hull durability and prop selection that made Cocoa Beach such an unforgiving test.

*MARKET FEATURE*

For anyone whose appetite for offshore performance has been sharpened by the weekend's racing, a turn-key option has recently entered the market. Marine Technology Inc is offering an MTI 440X catamaran, described as a well-maintained example built for both blistering performance and dependable reliability. It sits on a custom tilt trailer.

Listing details supplied by vendor. Boating NZ has not independently verified specifications or pricing. Contact the vendor directly for full details.