Forum: HoseHeads Sprint Car General Forum (go)
Moderators: dirtonly  /  dmantx  /  hosehead

Well I think your full of shit.

A Bad Day Of Sprint Car Racing Is 10 Times Better Than 
A Good Day At Work!

I take it this is just an ignorant post looking for replys. I will just say I don't think he will get spanked. Knoxville will be a struggle, as he has always struggled there. But most other places he will be in contention for top 5's every night out. Here is his schedule for 2015:

http://www.billbalog.com/schedule/

Real race cars don't have fenders...

I live near Wilmot so I have been Balog alot. He is head and shoulders ahead of the rest of IRA as his record indicates. The IRA doesn't race on many high speed 1/2 mile tracks. Most of the IRA races are 1/4 - 3/8 mile tracks so that's where he's comfortable. Yes, he has struggled when he goes to Knoxville but he doesn't have much experience on big tracks. I don't think he'll get spanked on the smaller tracks and I think he'll get better the more he races on big 1/2 mile tracks. It's a learning experience and I do believe he does have the talent to be competetive in the NSL.

I have to give him credit for stepping up and going outside his "comfort" zone. Hope he does well.

The Cedar Lake Triple on May 30 is an IRA race (Knoxville runs that night so NSL won't touch) and it looks like there are other IRA races in the mix.  From what I have gathered an NSL driver would not have to run Knoxville weekly but only those nights when they're on the card. 

Bill runs strong on the shorter tracks I have seen him race on.  He'll be alright regardless of what the online world thinks. 

Stan Meissner

PS, know him a bit from my reporting gig.  Our conversations start out with Sprint Cars and usually morph over to guitars after a few sentences.  He told me on time that when he was younger he wanted to be either a Sprint Car driver or a rock star.  Fortunately for the HH's crowd Sprints won out.  LOL

Stan Meissner

Balog had good equipment and will get better at 1/2 mile tracks. It always looks like he scrubs off too much speed in the corners. Once he gets that figured out look out. He will be fine. Now the interesting thing will be this season in the IRA. The championship battle this year will be fun to keep an eye on.

I tell it like I see it.

He doesn't run that many half miles with IRA and the competition generally isn't anywhere near the level it is at Knoxville.  They'll get better on the big tracks with Knoxville, Jackson and Fairmont on the NSL schedule. 

Stan Meissner

He should be competitive as well as a lot of guys running with NSL. It should be a great year for sprint cars inb the midwest.

Bring back Santa Fe, and LaSalle .

Balog will win 2 NSL races finish 5th in points.

Balog was in the top 3 or 4 with the outlaws in Burlington last year (30+ car field too). I dont see him getting "spanked" on short tracks. As for Knoxville and some other halfs... hes came a little ways but still has some work to do. If he runs the full NSL tour he will surely get better but most people on the NSL list wont be running the series full time so I wouldnt be surprised if he still mainly runs IRA.

All Balog knows is winning. So if he doesn't run like he thinks he can with NSL he will be back running and winning IRA races for easier money.

He was competitive at World Finals last Novemeber.

He was in the B last year at Nationals. That's more than respectable considering how 'terrible' he is on half-mile tracks. Everyone calls him overrated, but personally I think he's fairly underrated.  He's showed that in years past he can run well with the WoO, especially last year at 34 Raceway I believe? 

Is he better on shorter tracks? Absolutely. I'm interested to see how he does against the stiff compeition of the NSL. 

Sharp looking car year in and year out as well. 

Of course most of this is sour milk over Balog pretty well whipping up on the rest of the IRA regulars year after year.  Never been to an IRA show but I watch most videos on Dirt Racing Report and that car never can be counted out.

You are only as good as your competition so I give him kudos for running with the NSL, which win or lose will improve their program and only make him more dominant when he returns to the local tracks. 

So be careful for what you wish for.

I'll buy the "whipping up on the rest of the IRA regulars year after year" part, up until the last year and a half. I dont think he was ever in fear of losing a title, but the gap in competion was/is starting to close. I think he will be a contender in NSL, and pull a few W's. This years IRA series will be a fun one to watch. Anyone hear what Rose will be doing this year?

I find it intersting that a guy like Bill can travel from Alaska to lower 48 with nothing but the shirt on his back towing an old Sprint Car, eventually end up in Wisconsin and work his way into a quality ride, win a ton of IRA championships and still get flak on this board.  He's having fun, living his dream and he worked his butt off to get where he's at today.  He was living in western Wisconsin when he first arrived in our area and I saw some of the cars he coaxed to good finishes to elevate himself to where he is today.  Great guy, hard worker and at this point anything he accomplishes is icing on the cake. 

Stan Meissner