Hartford's Bill Balog drove the Wayne Modjeski Midwest Sprint Association(MSA) 360-sprint car to victory in the 20-lap Challenge between the MSA 360s and Wilmot's Interstate Racing Association(IRA) WingLESS sprint cars. Balog, 7-time IRA winged sprint car series champion who won his 100th IRA main event at Route 66 Raceway on September 13, showed his ability to drive just about anything with four wheels and a steering wheel.
"I have to thank Wayne, the crew, and everyone associated with the team for allowing me to drive the car," said Balog, who swept the IRA winged mains during the Kenosha County Fair in August giving him three Wilmot wins within a month. The Wilmot wingLESS win followed a victory the night before in a United Midwest Sprint Series(UMSS) 360-winged main in Spencer, Iowa.
"I'm starting to get a little nervous," admitted Balog, originally from Alaska, regarding his closing in on a eighth IRA championship with five events remaining on the schedule as the next stop for the winged tour is Saturday, September 23 at Beaver Dam Raceway. "We'll have to wait and see."
Craig Campton of Madison took the early lead in the wingLESS main, until a red flag on lap nine for a multi-car tangle in turn three resulted in Randolph's Andy Hunt flipping and landing upside down. Hunt was uninjured. On the restart, Balog challenged Campton as the two charged side by side into turn one. On the next circuit at the midway point, Balog took top spot and checked out on the field. Campton took second. Tim Cox of Park City, Illinois took third in a tight battle with Cottage Grove's Doug Schenck who finished fourth. Milwaukee's Jordan Mattson, 2017 Wilmot WingLESS champion, drove Jim Melis MSA 360 car to a fifth place finish.
- Kim Tennyson on Sep 19, 2017
- Article Date: 9/19/2017 by Mike Babicz