PETERSEN MEDIA
When the dust settled on a grueling Indiana Sprint Week, Robert Ballou stood stall as he claimed the final event of the week on Saturday night at Tri-State Speedway in Haubstadt, IN.
“We had pretty good speed all week, and to finally get one of these ISW wins is huge for us going into a gap in the schedule,” Robert Ballou said. “Kyle Cummins is one of the best to ever do it at Tri-State Speedway so to have him on my rear bumper on that last restart was a little nerve racking.”
Kicking the week off on July 22nd night with a fourth-place finish, Ballou would then pick up a ninth place finish at Circle City on Monday night after Saturday’s scheduled event at Kokomo Speedway was postponed to rain, and Sunday’s race at Lawrenceburg Speedway was washed out.
The rescheduled Kokomo Speedway event was one of the races of the week as Ballou went toe-to-toe with Justin Grant. Leading the first 10-laps, Grant would get by Ballou but the race would be far from over. In one of the most talked about events of the week, Ballou and Grant would then swap the top a total eight times before Ballou finally settled for third as Kyle Cummins snuck by in the waning laps.
More rain on Wednesday night saw officials cancel the scheduled event at Terre Haute Action Track, and the was proceeded by two tough nights at Bloomington Speedway and Lincoln Park Speedway.
Thursday night at Lincoln Park Speedway, Ballou started deep in the field and was able to get rolling in the right direction in the feature. Unfortunately, a chain reaction incident left Ballou with nowhere to go and ended up finishing 19th.
As the week continued, Ballou continued to have a fast Suburban Subaru/Deaton’s Waterfront Service/Rossie Feed and Grain entry, however he still chased after his first win of the week. Lining up 16th in the ‘A’, Ballou had his elbows up on the bullring as he carved his way forward.
Working into fifth late in the race, Ballou would get upside down amidst his charge and with a flat right rear, his night would be over as he ended up 17th on the final run down officially.
Haubstadt, IN’s Tri-State Speedway marked the final event for Indian Sprint Week, and ‘The Mad Man’ saved his best for last. After timing in fifth fastest in qualifying time trials, Ballou had his elbows up as he powered his way to a heat race win.
Lining up second in the feature event, Ballou was hard on the methanol as he jumped out to the early lead, though would feel pressure in the name of Justin Grant as the duo waged war for a better part of the race.
A couple of stoppages bunched the field up, and on this night restarts were kind to Ballou as he continued to lead the way. One final restart put the winningest driver at Tri-State Speedway, Kyle Cummins, on his rear bumper but as he did all night long, Ballou nailed the final restart and raced his way to a win during the ISW finale.
“We made some changes for the last few nights, and it made me wish I would have pulled the trigger earlier in the week,” Ballou said. “We had a few sponsors in the house on Saturday night, so to grab a win and send a trophy home with them was really great.”
Robert Ballou would like to thank Suburban Subaru, Deaton’s Waterfront Service, Rossie Feed and Grain, Berks Western Telecom, Inc., Dan Roberts Motorsports, Dragonfly Aviation, Hinchman Indy, Don Ott Racing Engines, Manvel Motorsports, CSI Shocks, Walker Performance Filtration, Amsoil Inc, Murray’s Body Shop, Pacific Grass and Turf, MPHG Promotions Inc, Team Jack Foundation, Olson Custom Design, Konnected Clothing, Hooker Harness, Indy Race Parts, Hoosier Tire, Schoenfeld Headers, ISC Racers Tape, Chalk Racing Products, Keizer Aluminum Wheels, Saldana Racing Products, Moose Blocks, Inc., AO Designs, and Arai Helmets for their support.
ON TAP: Robert Ballou is TBD when his next event will be at this time with the next USAC event slated for late August.
BY THE NUMBERS: Starts-31, Wins- 6, Top 5’s- 18, Top-10’s- 24
STAY CONNECTED: Stay up to speed with ‘The Mad Man’ by following him on Twitter @RoberBallou81, liking https://www.facebook.com/robertballoumotorsports/, or by clicking over to www.balloumotorsports.com.