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SHORT TRACK MODELS by MR NASCAR

Gary Balough's 1984 All-Pro Camaro - All American 400 Winner

decals by BULLRING GRAPHIX!


"I can't believe they let it run" said Butch Miller of this car, after tech and practice for the 1984 All American 400.

"The nose is 10 inches longer, and the spoiler is back further" said Junior Hanley.

Balough was adamant: "I don't believe it is illegal - My car fits the ALLPRO templates where it is supposed to fit."

This was on the eve of the All American 400 in Nashville in 1984; an annual coming together of the Northern-based ASA, and the Southern-based All-Pro series, guaranteeing all the heavy hitters in short track racing in the USA and Canada would be there. The ASA technical chief, Leo Parrish, was non-commital: "He's a smart racer. Our templates fit everywhere they should - believe it or not."

I need to thank Bob Kennedy of London, Ontario, who led me to this car, while researching a project for him. I came across a couple pics in the March and April 1985 issues of Circle Track and Stock Car Racing, clear enough to let me proceed with this with some level of confidence. The starting kit for this model was the Senneker ASA Camaro kit issued by Revell in the late 1980's, around the same time they were ramping up their NASCAR series.

While working on the graphics I began to play around with the body, to modify it according to references and comments in the articles.

First order of business was to lengthen the nose by 9 millimeters (approx 10 inches in 1/25th scale), based on info in the SCR issue of the race back then. I did this by carefully cutting away the nose, leaving the trailing edge adjacent to the front of the hood, to ensure it would fit properly. I then pushed it forward 9 millimeters, and used plastic strips on the inside to hold it in position, while I cut and shaped new pieces for the top and the sides to fill the gaps (white in the picture to the laft). A few days of putty/sand/putty, and I was happy with it, considering it would be painted flat black...

I also reshaped the top of the rear fender above the whell wells, based on the photos, to make it less angular and more rounded in profile.

Actually at this point I was surpised to note that the modified body in side profile looked more like a Fiero on steroids than a Camaro... but I pushed on...

While all this was going on, I worked on the graphics, and on the chassis. Now the particular kit I used for this build, the Senneker Camaro, was one that had been sitting on my shelf for at least 20 years, as I bought it new when it first came out. It had never been opened, as I got totally caught up in the NASCAR kits of the day. So it wasn't until 20 years or more later that I discovered how detailed and intricate these kits were. Certainly as well done as their NASCAR offerings of the day! As I had never built one of these before, I just built the chassis box stock, to get a feel for how it went together.

In general it fit quite well, but if/when I do another, I'll shorten the springs a bit, to get it to sit lower all round. The other issue I could not resolve was getting the hood to close tightly when the air cleaner box was in place, so I left it off...

Other than these minor niggles, this turned out to be a successful build, altho I wonder if all my efforts on the nose were really needed...

Gary Balough is a bit of a character it would seem. His most famous ride was the "Batmobile" Modified which was supposedly a Lincoln Continental, at a time most others were running Cavalier and Sunbird-bodied modifieds. (I'd give my eye-teeth to build a model of that car! Too bad no one has done it in resin...) Balough was beginning to show promise and had piqued the interest of some owners on the Winston Cup circuit. But just as he was about to move to a big-time ride, his world fell apart. He was convicted of drug charges and sent to prison.

(Note: I recently recieved some info from jimmymack1, which corrects a couple of items above. I'm no expert on these, so I have decided to add his comments here, rather than revise my original write-up.. It's good to know SOMEONE reads these!!) Comments from Jimmy:

"I watched a LOT of Balough, as I grew up on the short tracks of Florida at a time when Balough was fast. Just wanted to correct a little something in your later notes on Balough. As you stated, Balough is probably most famous for the Batmobile D.I.R.T. Modified at Syracuse in 1980. But you state it was "at a time when most Modifieds were Cavaliers and Sunbirds". Two quick notes:

Balough's Batmobile car was a dirt Modified. At that time (late '70s - early '80s), the dirt Modifieds were mostly Gremlins and Pintos. Look at Kenny Brightbill, Buzzie, Treichler, and a lot of them other guys running Syracuse that year.

The second thing is, the Cavalier- and Sunbird-bodied cars were pavement (i.e., NASCAR Tour-type) Modifieds, but didn't get those body styles until 1982. Greg Sacks was the first one that I saw at New Smyrna at the World Series that year, as even Richie Evans and Maynard Troyer still had the Pinto-bodied cars at New Smyrna. By the time the points season started (later in 1982), Evans had his first Cavalier ready to roll. Just thought I'd let ya know ;)"

Thanks, Jimmy - now back to the original:
According to Balough, when he was arrested in 1986(?), he'd been signed to drive the #28 car for Harry Ranier. Waddell Wilson was the crew chief, and Robert Yates built the motors. Benny Parsons ended up in it, and as we all know, was extremely successful. At the time of his arrest, Balough had been at the top of his game, winning a national championship with the All-Pro circuit, winning 14 out of 22 races, leading the most laps, and winning the most poles. but that was after the conviction, and he was awaiting sentencing.

Plans had been made to sign Domino's in 1986 for three quarters of a million dollars for 25 All-Pro races, but Balough had to do his time... The banquet was on Saturday night, and he had to report to prison Monday morning. That put a stopper on his career for four years. Balough claimed he'd gotten into risky deals in the late '70s to get enough race funding, because there weren't enough major corporations around then - he "made some mistakes". After doing his time, he went to Syracuse in 2000, and didn’t run well. In an interview he gave at the time, he said he had served 45½ months in jail, and it had cost him his marriage, and his career in Winston Cup.

Unfortunately, Gary didn't seem to learn much from this experience. Details are a bit hazy, but I gather he is back in the slammer again - serving a 30-year sentence in a Tallahassee, Fla. prison after being found guilty in a $300 million marijuana and cocaine smuggling operation. According to authorities, in at least one instance a racecar was filled with smuggled marijuana, loaded aboard a trailer and towed across a state line. The ring reportedly smuggled at least one million pounds of marijuana into the country each year after beginning its operation in 1976.

But enough of that - after all, he's not the first to resort to questionable means to finance his chosen profession. The car in question was a definate winner that day. As predicted by the Northern contingent, it pretty well dominated the event, and ended up in victory lane. Likely one of the most satisfying wins in Balough's career. One wonders if he was already beginning to feel things were closing in on him...

Once again, I need to thank Bob Kennedy for steering me to this one. He is currently working an a different version of this car, and we hope to soon offer those decals as well, and there are a couple other Balough cars we are looking at.

These decals are now available from BULLRING GRAPHIX - Click Here!"

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