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Art can be something more than just a picture hanging on a wall or a sculpture in a museum — it can also come in the form of a Pro Mod screaming down the track at over 200 mph.
Pro Mod young-gun Jerico Balduf and father, Ron, commissioned Andy McCoy Race Cars [2] to build a stunning piece of blown art in the form of a 1969 Chevelle that is covered in Balduf’s signature Batman theme. This Picasso of the drag strip is going to be making its debut this weekend at the PDRA World Finals [3], and if it runs as half as good as it looks, the Pro Boost field is in some serious trouble.
The racing career for Balduf began when he was just 15 years old in his home state of Florida. Blower cars have always been his weapon of choice and going fast has always been at the top of his agenda. The 1963 split window Corvette he started in was a great looking ride, but it just couldn’t handle the power the team was putting down. To alleviate the struggle, the team decided to build a Willys that better coped with the power the horsepower, but its performance still wasn’t where the team wanted to be.
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“With the Willys, we started getting competitive, running as quick as a 3.78, and it would go 3.84 consistently as if it were a bracket car. However, we were stuck in that ET range for a while. Sure, the car would go 3.84 every run, but that isn’t quite enough to keep up with the fastest teams and a Willy’s isn’t very aerodynamic. So we decided to call Andy McCoy and after talking to him many times, he started building the new Chevelle,” Balduf explains.
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The new car is a custom Andy McCoy-built chassis cloaked in one of McCoy’s 1969 Chevelle bodies that’s fully removable. This particular car has several additional chassis braces that McCoy added, some of which are even removable. The four-link brackets are also a custom design that will allow for hundreds of combinations to be at the disposal of the team based on track conditions. JRi Shocks [8], Strange Engineering [9] carbon brakes, and a Strange Engineering center section round out the chassis.
A 526 cubic-inch Hemi that uses an Alan Johnson Racing [40] billet block and NRE [41] cylinder heads will be the base of the power. Boost comes from a 14-71 blower that was modified by HAMR with a billet case and internals. The fuel system is compliments of Rage Fuel Systems [42] and it will be feeding the motor a healthy dose of methanol each time it makes a trip down the track. A Liberty [43]five-speed with a quick drive and Neal Chance Racing Converters [44] lock-up torque converter will put the power down. The car will use Racepak [45] electronics to monitor everything and a Profiler from Davis Technologies [46] to keep it glued to the track.
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According to Balduf, 2018 is going to be a very busy season for the Batman team.
“We will run some local events like we always do, but our main focus is the 2018 PDRA tour in the Pro Boost category. Our goal is to win some races and I intend to smash my personal record of 3.78 to the eighth-mile. Our goal is to be the baddest car on the planet.”
Getting a car of this caliber to make quick laps down the track takes a solid team and Balduf is quick to acknowledge those who are part of that process.
“Our racing team typically consists of three people; myself, my dad Ron Balduf, and good friend Denny Steward. And we couldn’t have made this car what it is without the tremendous help from Andy McCoy and Mike at Rage Fuel Systems,”
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The bat signal has gone up and Balduf plans on making his first laps in the car this weekend at the PDRA World Finals at Virginia Motorsports Park. You can see this car make its debut LIVE on SpeedVideo [52] starting this Thursday!
Photo Credit: Josh Balduf and Andy McCoy Race Cars