SUN PRAIRIE, Wis. — It took Bill Balog 38 tries to score a first victory with the FloRacing All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1, but less than 24 hours later he won his second feature with the series at Angell Park Speedway.
Earning a $6,000 top prize for his efforts, the All Stars versus IRA challenge victory not only doubled Balog’s All Star career win total to two, but it also bumped his all-time IRA Outlaw Sprint Series win total to 130 in the series where he is a 10-time champion.
“It was great to get it done last night, but I can’t believe we did it again,” Balog said. “This team has a lot of confidence right now. We’ve always had confidence, even during some of the ‘DNFs’ we had earlier in the year. We’re working hard and the speed is there. My mom, my sister, my brother-in-law, my nephews; they are all here in the stands down from Alaska, so it’s great to have them here celebrating with us.”
Utilizing the pole by way of dash victory, Rico Abreu earned the initial lead and maintained the point position for the first nine circuits, becoming acquainted with slower traffic along the way. Refusing to allow Abreu to disappear, Balog, who joined Abreu on the front row, kept the Rowdy Energy No. 24 in sight, creeping to his back bumper by lap nine before making his first official bid for the lead the following circuit.
After his failed attempt to get by Abreu on lap 10, losing in a drag race out of turn four, Balog redeemed himself and did one move better the following lap, eventually catapulting around Abreu at the exit of turn four before completing lap 11.
Balog’s slingshot move was initiated when Abreu attempted to get through the corner on the bottom, ultimately missing the moisture and allowing Balog to drive past.
From that point forward, it was all Balog at the front of the field, withstanding one final slide job attempt by Abreu after a restart on lap 19. Abreu’s move did not stick and Balog drove on to score the $6,000 payday.
“Our car is really good when it’s slick to a curb like this,” Balog continued. “A lot of the tracks next week get like that, so I think we’ll be in pretty good shape for Ohio Sprint Speedweek. I just gotta keep this thing in one piece because it’s really good right now.”
Ian Madsen, who worked beyond Abreu with two to go to secure a third consecutive runner-up finish, crossed the line behind Balog, followed by Abreu, Cap Henry and Cory Eliason.
The finish:
Feature (30 Laps): 1. 17B-Bill Balog [2]; 2. 11-Ian Madsen [5]; 3. 24-Rico Abreu [1]; 4. 4-Cap Henry [13]; 5. 26-Cory Eliason [7]; 6. 7BC-Tyler Courtney [12]; 7. 13-Spencer Bayston [6]; 8. 55-Hunter Schuerenberg [15]; 9. 2W-Scotty Neitzel [3]; 10. 5-Paul McMahan [16]; 11. 5J-Jeremy Schultz [4]; 12. 19-Parker Price-Miller [9]; 13. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr. [11]; 14. 10-Zeb Wise [21]; 15. 23-Russel Borland [17]; 16. 65-Jordan Goldesberry [18]; 17. 21-Carson Short [8]; 18. 9K-Kyle Schuett [10]; 19. 91-Kyle Reinhardt [20]; 20. O7-Skylar Gee [14]; 21. 39-Jake Blackhurst [19]; 22. 8M-TJ Michael [22]; 23. 68-Dave Uttech [24]; 24. 4K-Kris Spitz [23] Lap Leaders: Rico Abreu (1-10), Bill Balog (11-30)