Healed Bill Balog Eager to Continue Encouraging Start in 2025
Photo by Trent Gower
BARBERVILLE, Fla. — Questions and fear swirled in Bill Balog’s mind as he sat upside down in his Sprint Car.
He’d just flipped while running fourth at Volusia Speedway Park’s DIRTcar Nationals. Pain burned in his right ankle. He feared the worst. But like most racers, his thoughts were only on the next race.
“When I was in the car kind of upside down, I was trying to think if I could run the throttle pedal with my left foot on the next race because I thought my foot got ripped off, honestly,” Balog explained. “Or I wondered who am I going to hire to drive this thing?”
World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car officials carefully removed Balog from the No. 17B, and the “North Pole Nightmare” headed to the hospital. He expected his foot to be broken at the very least, but good news came from the doctor. Tissue damage and swelling was the extent of the injuries.
“They did all the x-rays, and it wasn’t broken,” Balog said. “It looked like a softball, and it’s still big. I mean, I’m walking around fine on it and working. It’s just a little bit sore.”
It was a rapid, positive turn of events for the Hartland, WI resident. From thinking his foot was gone to learning there were no breaks. Fortunately for Balog, the only break was in the World of Outlaws calendar following the night of his crash. Three weeks off have allowed him enough time to rest and heal. Now, the season is set to resume, and Balog is ready to roll.
The Greatest Show on Dirt heads back to Volusia for the Bike Week Jamboree, Sunday-Monday, March 2-3. Before his flip, the “World’s Fastest Half Mile” gave Balog and his team ample reason for encouragement.
Balog qualified second quickest in his flight during the first full points night of the season. That led to a Heat win and a personal best Volusia result of sixth in the Feature. The following evening, he timed in seventh quickest before securing another top 10 in the main event. Saturday’s finale looked as if it may be the highlight of his week. Despite drawing the very last pill for Qualifying, Balog managed to qualify second quickest in the flight. He won his Heat with a thrilling last lap pass and finished third in the Dash to line him up on row two of the Feature. Then the crash ended a potential top five.
“I feel like we learned a lot last year on the practice night, basically everything not to do,” Balog said. “We basically just rolled that setup into this new car with what we learned at Volusia, and it was really good. The car that we started with was a brand new Triple X, and it scaled out really nice. Everything measured really good. We had some confidence that way.”
The focus is fully back on Florida this week. Four-wheel and two-wheel worlds will collide as the country’s best Sprint Car drivers invade Bike Week at Volusia, kicking off a stretch of 17 consecutive weeks of racing for the World of Outlaws.
Balog had the window to heal. Now it’s time to hit the road again as he takes on his sophomore season with The Greatest Show on Dirt.
“I’m really looking forward to it,” Balog said. “I feel confident with what we’re doing with the car, definitely going in the right direction, and we want to carry that on to the other tracks.”
Balog and his team continue the 2025 World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car season at Barberville, FL’s Volusia Speedway Park, Sunday-Monday, March 2-3, before heading to Eastaboga, AL’s Talladega Short Track on Friday, March 7, and Columbus, MS’s Magnolia Motor Speedway on Saturday, March 8.
TICKETS FOR THE EVENTS ARE AVAILABLE NOW
For the entire 2025 schedule, CLICK HERE.
If you can’t make it to the track, catch every lap live on DIRTVision.
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