Balog: ‘We Did What We Were Supposed To Do’

NEW RICHMOND, Wis. — Amid the avalanche of encouraging social comments that came Bill Balog’s way over the weekend, one of the very few negative replies stuck out to him.

It was from a commenter who tossed out the accusation that Balog was complaining about his lack of funding compared to some other teams, after a successful week at Huset’s Speedway’s BillionAuto.com Huset’s High Bank Nationals presented by Menards.

But that couldn’t be farther from the truth. The “North Pole Nightmare” wants his story to be one of inspiration. A glimmer of hope to race teams that may think it’s impossible to someday compete with the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series every weekend.

“I feel like we’re doing a lot with a little,” Balog remarked after finishing second to Michael “Buddy” Kofoid in Thursday’s Huset’s Hustle.

“Maybe this can give other teams some kind of hope, too,” he said. “That’s the thing. You only have the four tires and the motor, and the driver at a time on the race track, so sometimes it doesn’t matter how much money you have. It just maybe gives those smaller teams a little bit of hope, and I think that’s cool. Or just someone who wants to race that thinks the World of Outlaws is too far out of sight for them. It isn’t.”

The four-night run Balog had at Huset’s can give other teams a reason to believe. The 45-year-old is team owner, crew chief and driver. He must help with all the responsibilities that come with team ownership, including ordering parts, overseeing finances and more. Aside from trusted team member Dennis Gregg, he doesn’t have a crew traveling with him to every race to work on the car. On top of all this, he competes against the country’s best sprint car drivers every week.

Even with all the challenges, Balog’s week at Huset’s, during one of the biggest events of the year, saw him finish runner-up twice and win a prelim night. The calculator showed he banked nearly $100,000 after the final checkered flag flew. If it wasn’t for Buddy Kofoid, Balog might’ve been looking at almost a $400,000 work week.

“We did what we were supposed to do, and it was awesome and ended up paying off really good,” Balog said. “Obviously, we had a good car, probably equal to Buddy’s and maybe even better, I don’t know. We definitely had a good race car. I think that’s kind of what it boils down to there a little bit.”

Balog has been racing sprint cars for more than two decades. He’s racked up more than 100 victories with the Interstate Racing Association and 10 championships. His résumé wasn’t lacking from his time before joining The Greatest Show on Dirt, but was this the biggest week of Balog’s career so far?

“Definitely the most money I’ve made (in a week),” Balog said. “Yeah, we definitely had a successful week. With that type of purse, that was a good week to kind of be fast. We were definitely fast. I would say it was the biggest weekend for sure.”

There will be no lavish purchases for Balog with his nearly six-figure earnings. All that cash is going toward the financial security of the team and taking a little concern out of Balog’s mind.

“We’ve had some parts on order and some stuff for the engines,” Balog said. “And I think it’s just going to make all that a lot easier to just kind of get that stuff and not worry about it too much.”

As luck would have it for Balog, next on the schedule is a trip to home territory. This weekend takes the tour to Wisconsin’s Cedar Lake Speedway for the Independence Spectacular. Balog is a five-time IRA winner at the “Badger State” track.

Masses of supporters await Balog’s return. He built a substantial fanbase during his many years competing primarily in Wisconsin, and they continue to be loyal as he navigates his second year with the World of Outlaws.

“The big thing is Anderson’s (Maple Syrup) is like 40 minutes away from Cedar Lake, so we have an event there on Saturday morning where we bring the car and have a big cookout with fans,” Balog said. “We’ve won a couple races and had some decent runs there. Yeah, just looking forward to seeing everybody, a bunch of family and a bunch of my friends.”