PLYMOUTH, Wis. — Bill Balog certainly knows his way around Plymouth Dirt Track at Sheboygan County Fairgrounds.
Saturday night the “North Pole Nightmare” won his second Tezos All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1 and IRA Outlaw Sprint Series feature in as many tries at the Wisconsin bullring.
Balog led all 30 laps from the pole and earned $6,000.
The victory capped what was basically a perfect evening for Balog with heat race and dash victories padding his preliminary effort. It was his third career All Star victory.
Wisconsin’s Danny Schlafer, a regular contender with the Bumper to Bumper IRA Outlaw Sprint Series, finished second, followed by Scotty Thiel, Parker Price-Miller and Kyle Reinhardt.
“It feels really good to get a win in front of these Wisconsin fans, as well as get a win for all of our great partners. They are the reason we get to do this and it feels good to be standing up here for them,” Balog said. “I wish we had the opportunity to race in Wisconsin a little more often.”
Starting from the pole position via dash victory, Balog’s campaign at the front of the field was relatively unchallenged, outdueling not only the competitors who were battling behind him, but simultaneously conquering waves of lapped traffic, all while maintaining control on a quick and narrow racing surface.
A caution on lap 10 helped alleviate an early run in with slower cars, but a long stretch of green from that point forward would eventually lead to additional roadblocks. A big move on lap 17 that allowed Balog to clear two lappers at once all but sealed the deal for Balog.
“We were so good here tonight. I wish we could translate our speed here to other short tracks that we visit throughout the season,” Balog continued. “I was so focused on hitting my marks, especially in traffic. I wanted to make sure I was exiting every corner on the top of the race track. That allowed me to carry my momentum through the straights and use that momentum to pick off lapped cars. Regardless, we got it done and I’m proud of everyone involved. Hopefully we can repeat tomorrow at Angell Park.”
The finish:
Feature (30 Laps): 1. 17B-Bill Balog [1]; 2. 25-Danny Schlafer [2]; 3. 73-Scotty Thiel [3]; 4. 11-Parker Price Miller [4]; 5. 91-Kyle Reinhardt [7]; 6. 55-Hunter Schuerenberg [12]; 7. 10-Zeb Wise [9]; 8. 13-Justin Peck [21]; 9. 26-Cory Eliason [13]; 10. 7BC-Tyler Courtney [8]; 11. 4-Cap Henry [5]; 12. 9K-Kevin Thomas Jr. [16]; 13. 21-Carson Short [18]; 14. 65-Jordan Goldesberry [6]; 15. 79-Blake Nimee [15]; 16. 39-Jake Blackhurst [22]; 17. 3N-Jake Neuman [10]; 18. 7-Scott Bogucki [23]; 19. 19-Chris Windom [17]; 20. 23-Russel Borland [20]; 21. 9KK-Kyle Schuett [11]; 22. 14-Sean Rayhall [19]; 23. 2W-Scotty Neitzel [24]; 24. 28-Brandon Spithaler [14] Lap Leaders: Bill Balog (1-30)