Joe Guertin got his feet wet in heads-up racing as one of the charter members of the NMRA‘s Coyote Stock class – he was one of only two competitors at the very first race for the now-exploding class. But all along, he had visions of running quicker than the mid-ten-second elapsed times that Coyote Stock is putting down, and to that end he’s pulled the car back apart and is readying a combination to compete in the NMRA’s new Coyote Modified class.

The one image that exists of Joe’s original ProCharger system that was never used – but hooked him on the idea of boosted horsepower.

“Long before Coyote Stock was invented, when I had a nitroused 302 engine in the car, I always wanted to have a ProCharger. I found a system for sale on Yellowbullet, purchased it prior to NMRA Atlanta a few years ago and brought it home. Decided to go to the track and make one more nitrous hit with  the car before I made the big change. I had a nitrous fire, bent three valves, and everything fell apart. Long story short, I fitted the ProCharger system up onto the car, took a really cool picture, put it back in the box, and sold it. I never even heard it run,” says Guertin.

“So I’ve been fantasizing about that ProCharger on my car for a while now. I’ve always told myself, if Coyote Stock was this much fun, and they come out with something where I can use a Coyote engine with a blower on it, I was going to do it. Here we are two years later, the NMRA creates Coyote Modified, and it didn’t take me half a second to make the decision to jump. Coyote Stock allowed me to grow and mature and learn how to be a heads-up racer. Here we are starting over again, but I’m very excited about it. We’ll be observing and building for the majority of the season and should be tested and ready for Bowling Green,” he says.

Guertin was on-site in Bradenton shaking hands and kissing babies – and watching the other competitors in his new class very closely. He’s the analytical type, so having an up-close view of how things are done in this brand-new class will be helpful as he progresses through his build. And since the new class is approximately two seconds quicker in he quarter-mile, he’s got a lot of analyzing to do.

The new ProCharger F-1D that has Joe chomping at the bit to get his Coyote Modified program together.

With the help of championship-winning crew chief Chet Caminita of CRE Performance and the engine-building skills of Tim Eichhorn at MPR Racing Engines, Guertin has invested in a brand-new ProCharger F-1D and 5.0L Coyote engine out of a wrecked F-150 to use as a base.

The sealed Coyote Stock engine that was in the car is up for sale – if you’re interested in hopping into the class and are looking for an engine, get in touch with Joe here.

In a nod to increased safety and obtaining the skills required to run with the Coyote Modified pack since he’s never run a car at those speeds before, Guertin’s invested in a trip to the Frank Hawley Drag Racing School later on this summer. Interestingly enough, Hawley’s program is run at Gainesville – which is the same track where Guertin remembers climbing under the bleachers as a child – and now he’ll be getting his competition license there. Talk about coming full-circle!

The Florida resident will be taking on the majority of the build in his home garage with assistance from CRE Performance where necessary.

At the first NMRA event in Bradenton a few weeks ago, Coyote Modified event winner Frank Varela was putting down 8.70 elapsed times at nearly 160 MPH , so we have to believe that the increased performance expected from the new combination will satisfy Joe’s need for speed.