By Alex Nieten
CONCORD, NC (January 21, 2026) – The “North Pole Nightmare” is back for more with the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series, feeling more prepared than ever before.
After a stellar sophomore season, Bill Balog will hit the road with The Greatest Show on Dirt for a third consecutive year in 2026.
The 2025 campaign brought plenty of highlights for the 46-year-old. Following a winless 2024, Balog got a victory out of the way early by topping the season’s seventh race at Talladega Short Track. He also won at Huset’s Speedway in June, part of a nearly $100,000 week for the Hartland, WI driver. Leading flag-to-flag at Perris Auto Speedway in September made it a trio of triumphs for Balog.
The statistics improved across the board for Balog on his way to a seventh-place result in the standings, a one-spot climb over his rookie year.
“Definitely better than I thought,” Balog said of his 2025 season. “We had a good year. It was pretty rewarding to make it that far. Didn’t expect to run that good at some of those races. Definitely happy with how all of that went, just getting to reflect on it a little bit over the winter here. Didn’t get to think about it too much at the time during those weeks. You just stay so busy.”
Little time remains to reflect on last year as the 2026 campaign is on the horizon. The off-season wraps up in two weeks, and it’ll be time for Balog to fire off his third year. He feels more prepared than ever.
“We can start off now with Dennis (Gregg) and Kevin (Ingle), so we’ve got an extra guy than we normally would with Kevin so that’s nice,” Balog said. “Hopefully we can just hammer away and get out of Volusia clean, leave there decent in points. Then we’ve just got to do a few things to get rid of some of those bad finishes. We’re going to keep doing what we’re doing and keep plugging away at it.”
Balog begins the 2026 World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car campaign at Volusia Speedway Park’s Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals on Feb. 4-7 in Barberville, FL. For tickets, CLICK HERE.
Where can you see the World of Outlaws in 2026? Click to see the full schedule.
Where can you watch every World of Outlaws race? Live on DIRTVision.
The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink® Sprint Car Series is brought to fans across the country by many important sponsors and partners. Official partners include, NOS Energy Drink (Official Energy Product), DIRTVision (Official Live Broadcast Partner), Federated Auto Parts, Hoosier Racing Tire (Official Tire), iRacing (Official Online Racing Game), Milton Hershey School (Official Education Partner), Racing Electronics (Official Radio Supplier), Simpson Performance Products (Preferred Safety Gear Partner), SIS Insurance (Official Insurance Provider), Toyota (Official Vehicle), and VP Racing (Official Racing Fuel). Also supported by : AMKUS, ARP (Automotive Racing Products), CASM Safety Products, Cometic Gasket, COMP Cams, Evolve Transporters, FIREBULL, Honest Abe Roofing, Intercomp, J&J Auto Racing, KSE Racing Products (Hard Charger Award), Lifeline USA, Micro-Lite LLC, MSD, Smith Titanium Brake Systems, SPA Technique, WEDG High Performance Karts, WELD Racing, and WIX Filters.
Founded in 1978, the World of Outlaws®, based in Concord, NC, is the premier national touring series for dirt track racing in North America, featuring the most powerful cars on dirt, the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series and the World of Outlaws Late Model Series. Annually, the two series race nearly 140 times at tracks across the United States and Canada. CBS Sports Network is the official broadcast partner of the World of Outlaws. DIRTVision® also broadcasts all World of Outlaws events over the Internet to fans around the world. Learn more about the World of Outlaws.