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Photo ID # G09.29.10_112_BAL_SYR_0081_1
Car #: #112
Driver (s) : Gary Balough
Location: Syracuse, NY
Date: 1980's
Photographer: Rick Sweeten
Photo provided by: Rick Sweeten
Comments:

Probably the best photo of the #112 that I've seen.... (Thanks Rick Sweeten)....

Where do we start?.....  Called the Batmobile, and I think also referred to as "The Continental", this one was a game changer fellas... 

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10.01.10 racerfran Thanks Joe for post this one.   I loved this car, many didn't  - I did.   The dude driving this very special car the "The hot shoe" Gary Balough - one of the best there ever was or will be in my very humble opinion.
10.01.10 3Wide Some people say that this car ruined racing.  I don't.  My opinion is that change is inevitable... Coupes and Sedans to Gremlins and Pintos... to eventually flat metal and aluminum...  55 Chevy frame rails to Tobias and Profile....  What this car did was caused the "change needle" to bounce...  The #112 was so advanced that it did expedite change, but it would of happened "eventually... 

If one of the things we all like about this sport is the ingenuity of those behind the scenes and the ability of those behind the wheel, I don't see how its possible to not appreciate the #112 and what it did 30 years ago at Syracuse.

Something to think about:  If this car was never built, would today's dirt modifieds look much different than they do now (and as they've looked for the last 20 years or so?)
10.02.10 Lenny Swider I've talked to Tony a few times about breaking this car out of the Museum and take it on tour from track to track. I can almost guarantee it would fill the stands for that weekend. Could you imagine putting it on the track for some easy hot laps with a current star behind the wheel or even Gary Balough.  I know a lot of the new racing fans don't know this car, but a lot of of us old geezer could fill them in on it and we could talk for an hour..
Recently talked to Tony's son at the Hunterdon County 4H fair show and I hope I planted the bug in his ear. Crossing my fingers.
10.02.10 3Wide You are 100% right Lenny...  It'd be something to talk about and I think it'd turn a few of those people who "almost go to the races" to I'm definitely going to see the Batmobile.  I think those who saw it race would like to see it, and those like myself who have only heard about it and seen pictures would go out of my way to see it in person.  You got good instincts there Lenny.... 
10.13.10 Brian C. Loutrel I understand why people say that this car ruined the sport. I don't think it ruined the sport, but I don't like that the evolution lead to the anonymous, oversized bodies on today's cars. They are too long, too wide and don't look like the car they are supposed to represent. The Batmobile looks more like a Continental than today's cars look like whatever they are supposed to represent.

I agree that changes in the car bodies would have taken place even without the Batmobile. Look at Doug Hoffman's #125 Dodge Daytona, Brett Hearn's #20 Merkur, or Tom Mayberry's #16 Monte Carlo from the 1988 season. You could tell what kind of car they represent. And they looked good, too. This is the kind of body styling that I think modifieds should go back to.
05.26.11 CHIP Did a bunch of Guys Know about this car weeks before Super Dirt Week??  There were a few Guys that had sheet metal on there car looking like the Batmobile.  The reason I ask is how did they get the extra body work painted in such detail with in a few days?? UH!! Couple of all Nighters!!!
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     

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