By Tyler Altmeyer
PLYMOUTH, Wis. (May 21, 2022) – Bill Balog certainly knows his way around Plymouth Dirt Track at Sheboygan County Fairgrounds, and for the second time in as many tries, the “North Pole Nightmare” is a Tezos All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1 and IRA Outlaw Sprint Series main event winner at the Plymouth, Wisconsin, bullring, this time leading all 30 circuits from the front row for a $6,000 payday. The victory, capping what was basically a perfect evening for Balog with heat race and dash victories padding his preliminary effort, bumped his All Star career win total to three, two of which at Plymouth Dirt Track.
Gibson, Wisconsin’s Danny Schlafer, a regular contender with the Bumper to Bumper IRA Outlaw Sprint Series, finished second on Saturday night at Plymouth, 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,” Bill Balog said, a ten-time IRA champion and driver of the Anderson’s Pure Maple Syrup/Wayne Corini CPA/No. 17B sprint car. “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 ten would help 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 the North Pole Nightmare.
“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 All Star Circuit of Champions and IRA Outlaw Sprint Series will conclude their three-race turned two-race sweep through the southern half of The Badger State with a stop at Angell Park Speedway in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, on Sunday, May 22. Matching Wilmot and Plymouth, Sunday’s weekend cap will award $6,000.
For those who can not witness the All Star Circuit of Champions live and in person, FloRacing.com, the official media partner and broadcast provider of the All Stars, has you covered. To access live and on-demand racing action from the All Star Circuit of Champions, visit FloRacing.com and become an annual PRO subscriber. Race fans can see all the USAC and dirt late-model action they want in addition to Eldora Speedway’s slate of races and those of the All Star Circuit of Champions. The subscription unlocks access to premium content across the entire FloSports network. Watch the events across all screens by downloading the FloSports app on iOS, Android, Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire and Chromecast.
Contingency Awards/Results: Plymouth Dirt Track | May 21, 2022:
Event: All Star vs. IRA Outlaw Sprint Series
Kistler Racing Products Pill Draw | Entries: 36
Nunzi’s Advertising Hot Laps: Justin Peck | 11.144
Dixie Vodka Fast Qualifier: Parker Price-Miller | 10.895
Hunt Brothers Pizza Heat #1 Winner: Cap Henry
Competition Suspension Inc Heat #2 Winner: Danny Schlafer
All Pro Aluminum Cylinder Heads Heat #3 Winner: Tyler Courtney
Mobil 1 Heat #4 Winner: Bill Balog
Elliott’s Custom Trailers and Carts Dash Winner: Bill Balog
Classic Ink USA B-Main Winner: Justin Peck
Rayce Rudeen Foundation First Non-Transfer: Steve Meyer
Tezos A-Main Winner: Bill Balog
Hercules Tires A-Main Hard Charger: Justin Peck (+13)
Carquest Perseverance Award: Russ Borland
Qualifying
Group (A)
73-Scotty Thiel, 10.941; 2. 3N-Jake Neuman, 11.162; 3. 4-Cap Henry, 11.238; 4. 26-Cory Eliason, 11.295; 5. 14-Sean Rayhall, 11.536; 6. 4K-Kris Spitz, 11.584; 7. 43-Jereme Schroeder, 11.729; 8. 4B-Scott Biertzer, 11.747; 9. 24-Scott Conger, 11.993
Group (B)
11-Parker Price Miller, 10.895; 2. 10-Zeb Wise, 10.960; 3. 25-Danny Schlafer, 11.163; 4. 7-Scott Bogucki, 11.258; 5. 55-Hunter Schuerenberg, 11.272; 6. 85M-Steve Meyer, 11.318; 7. 21-Carson Short, 11.368; 8. 29-Hunter Custer, 11.490; 9. 19CW-Ion Stear, 11.993
Group (C)
65-Jordan Goldesberry, 11.332; 2. 9KK-Kyle Schuett, 11.348; 3. 7BC-Tyler Courtney, 11.360; 4. 28-Brandon Spithaler, 11.360; 5. 39-Jake Blackhurst, 11.367; 6. 2W-Scotty Neitzel, 11.381; 7. 9K-Kevin Thomas Jr., 11.404; 8. 87A-Austin Hartmann, 11.560; 9. 68-Dave Uttech, 11.565
Group (D)
13-Justin Peck, 11.108; 2. 17B-Bill Balog, 11.199; 3. 91-Kyle Reinhardt, 11.277; 4. 14M-Jack Rouston, 11.360; 5. 5J-Jeremy Schultz, 11.383; 6. 26T-Tyler Tischendorf, 11.475; 7. 19-Chris Windom, 11.483; 8. 79-Blake Nimee, 11.561; 9. 23-Russel Borland, 11.574
Heat 1 (8 Laps) – Top 5 Transfer
4-Cap Henry [2]; 2. 3N-Jake Neuman [1]; 3. 26-Cory Eliason [3]; 4. 73-Scotty Thiel [4]; 5. 14-Sean Rayhall [5]; 6. 4B-Scott Biertzer [8]; 7. 43-Jereme Schroeder [7]; 8. 24-Scott Conger [9]; 9. 4K-Kris Spitz [6]
Heat 2 (8 Laps) – Top 5 Transfer
25-Danny Schlafer [2]; 2. 10-Zeb Wise [1]; 3. 55-Hunter Schuerenberg [5]; 4. 11-Parker Price Miller [4]; 5. 21-Carson Short [7]; 6. 85M-Steve Meyer [6]; 7. 7-Scott Bogucki [3]; 8. 29-Hunter Custer [8]; 9. 19CW-Ion Stear [9]
Heat 3 (8 Laps) – Top 5 Transfer
7BC-Tyler Courtney [2]; 2. 9KK-Kyle Schuett [1]; 3. 28-Brandon Spithaler [3]; 4. 9K-Kevin Thomas Jr. [7]; 5. 65-Jordan Goldesberry [4]; 6. 2W-Scotty Neitzel [6]; 7. 39-Jake Blackhurst [5]; 8. 68-Dave Uttech [9]; 9. 87A-Austin Hartmann [8]
Heat 4 (8 Laps) – Top 5 Transfer
17B-Bill Balog [1]; 2. 91-Kyle Reinhardt [2]; 3. 79-Blake Nimee [8]; 4. 19-Chris Windom [7]; 5. 23-Russel Borland [9]; 6. 13-Justin Peck [4]; 7. 14M-Jack Rouston [3]; 8. 5J-Jeremy Schultz [5]; 9. 26T-Tyler Tischendorf [6]
Dash (6 Laps)
17B-Bill Balog [2]; 2. 25-Danny Schlafer [1]; 3. 73-Scotty Thiel [7]; 4. 11-Parker Price Miller [5]; 5. 4-Cap Henry [3]; 6. 65-Jordan Goldesberry [8]; 7. 91-Kyle Reinhardt [4]; 8. 7BC-Tyler Courtney [6]
B-main (12 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer
13-Justin Peck [1]; 2. 39-Jake Blackhurst [7]; 3. 7-Scott Bogucki [2]; 4. 2W-Scotty Neitzel [4]; 5. 85M-Steve Meyer [3]; 6. 5J-Jeremy Schultz [9]; 7. 68-Dave Uttech [11]; 8. 4B-Scott Biertzer [5]; 9. 14M-Jack Rouston [6]; 10. 43-Jereme Schroeder [8]; 11. 29-Hunter Custer [10]; 12. 4K-Kris Spitz [15]; 13. 24-Scott Conger [12]; 14. 87A-Austin Hartmann [14]; 15. 26T-Tyler Tischendorf [13]
A-main (30 Laps)
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)
2022 All Star Circuit of Champions Winners:
East Bay Raceway Park, FL (February 14): Tyler Courtney
East Bay Raceway Park, FL (February 15): Cory Eliason
Attica Raceway Park, OH (April 15): Tyler Courtney (2)
Attica Raceway Park, OH (April 16): Tyler Courtney (3)
Bloomsburg, PA (April 21): Anthony Macri
Williams Grove, PA (April 22): Brent Marks
Port Royal, PA (April 23): Anthony Macri (2)
Lernerville, PA (April 29): Hunter Schuerenberg
Sharon, OH (April 30): Cap Henry
I-96 Speedway, MI (May 13): Justin Peck
Wayne County, OH (May 14): Hunter Schuerenberg (2)
Waynesfield, OH (May 15): Justin Peck (2)
Plymouth, WI (May 21): Bill Balog
2022 All Star Dixie Fast Timers:
East Bay Raceway Park, FL (February 14): Alex Bowman | 12.932
East Bay Raceway Park, FL (February 15): Danny Dietrich | 12.747
Attica Raceway Park, OH (April 15): Brady Bacon | 13.239
Attica Raceway Park, OH (April 16): Cole Macedo | 13.961
Bloomsburg, PA (April 21): Parker Price-Miller | 13.249
Williams Grove, PA (April 22): Anthony Macri | 16.902
Port Royal, PA (April 23): Mike Wagner | 15.416
Lernerville, PA (April 29): Logan Wagner | 13.373
Sharon, OH (April 30): Tyler Courtney | 14.683
I-96 Speedway, MI (May 13): Hunter Schuerenberg | 13.377
Wayne County, OH (May 14): Zeb Wise | 14.625
Waynesfield, OH (May 15): Scott Bogucki | 10.040
Plymouth, WI (May 21): Parker Price-Miller | 10.895
2022 All Star Hercules Hard Chargers:
East Bay Raceway Park, FL (February 14): Terry McCarl (+12)
East Bay Raceway Park, FL (February 15): Tanner Thorson (+14)
Attica Raceway Park, OH (April 15): Bill Balog (+16)
Attica Raceway Park, OH (April 16): Greg Wilson (+13)
Bloomsburg, PA (April 21): Dominic Scelzi (+8)
Williams Grove, PA (April 22): Lucas Wolfe (+12)
Port Royal, PA (April 23): Danny Dietrich (+14)
Lernerville, PA (April 29): Logan Wagner (+16)
Sharon, OH (April 30): Kevin Thomas Jr. (+10)
I-96 Speedway, MI (May 13): Scott Bogucki (+11)
Wayne County, OH (May 14): Tyler Courtney (+11)
Waynesfield, OH (May 15): Cole Duncan (+16)
Plymouth, WI (May 21): Justin Peck (+13)
2022 All Star Circuit of Champions Driver Standings (as of May 21):
Tyler Courtney – 1634
Parker Price-Miller – 1586
Justin Peck – 1582
Hunter Schuerenberg – 1552
Cap Henry – 1528
Bill Balog – 1520
Zeb Wise – 1518
Cory Eliason – 1478
Kyle Reinhardt – 1418
Chris Windom – 1346