Robert Ballou Gets 2025 Kicked off In Florida
Rich Forman Photo
PETERSEN MEDIA: 2025 came to life for Robert Ballou last week, as he and his team made the trip to sunny Florida to take part in the USAC National Sprint Car Series’ traditional opening stretch- the Dirt Car Nationals and The Winter Dirt Games which took part at Volusia Speedway Park as well as at Ocala Speedway.
“We had a mix of some good and some bad over the course of the week in Florida, but it was nice to get our season underway,” Robert Ballou said. “We had pretty good speed each night, we just needed to be a little better with our car but it was a good starting point for the season.”
Kicking the festivities off one week ago at Volusia Speedway Park, the Rocklin, CA driver timed in 12th fastest in time trials before flexing his muscles in heat race competition, and charging the win.
In the feature event, Ballou wasn’t able to quite going forward as he battled hard amongst the top-10 on the highspeed half-mile just outside of Daytona, FL.
Finishing 11th, Ballou and company knew they had a fast car, but continued to work as they prepared for Tuesday night’s DIRTCar Nationals finale.
Timing in 15th fastest on Tuesday night, Ballou was again able to tally another heat race win as he punched his ticket directly into the 30-lap feature event.
Having another strong run, Ballou ran much of the night in the Top-10 until a shredded right rear tire forced him to slow on the speedway. Going to the work area with just 10-laps left in the feature, Ballou’s team bolted on a fresh tire and restarted from the tail end of the field.
Doing what he could in limited laps, Ballou was able to salvage a 13th place finish.
Changing scenery on Wednesday night, the Winter Dirt Games kicked off at Ocala, FL’s Ocala Speedway. Timing in eighth fastest to open the four-race stretch up, Ballou’s fourth place finish in his heat race moved him into the feature event where he lined up in the middle of the field after narrowly missing the feature event inversion.
Having a strong opening night, Ballou was able to carve his way forward as he worked towards the Top-5. Battling with the likes of Logan Seavey, and Jake Swanson over the course of the race, the Rocklin, CA native turned in a sixth place finish.
Thursday night was a bit of an eventful night for ‘The Mad Man’. After timing in 15th, a mechanical issues on the opening lap of the heat race saw him slow to a stop and head back to the pit area.
Making an engine swap, Ballou returned for the ‘B’ and had his work cut out for himself to transfer into the ‘A’. Racing to a third place finish, Ballou kept his night alive as it netted him a transfer into the feature event, but he took the green flag from the rear of the field.
Continuing to climb out of the whole that he was put in with the heat race issues, Ballou was able to race his way forward. Carving his way around the Ocala Speedway, Ballou finished 12th.
Timing in 13th fastest on Friday night, Ballou was running solidly in a transfer spot until rear-end issues late in the heat race saw him forfeit a transfer on the race’s final lap.
Able to make repairs and score the win in the Friday night ‘B’, Ballou moved into the feature event and secured a Top-10 finish as he finished ninth and found himself in a good spot for Saturday night qualifiers.
Racing to the win in his Winter Games Finale qualifier, Ballou locked into the Dash where he started seventh and finished seventh which ultimately lined him up in the fourth row for the 35-lap feature event.
Keeping the Ballou Motorsports No. 12 entry inside the Top-10 for the duration of the race, Ballou worked hard as he searched around the Ocala Speedway and dealt with slower traffic at times.
When the busy week of racing came to a close, Ballou took the final checkered flag in Florida in the ninth spot.
“I am super thankful to everyone who made the trip down to Florida and especially thankful to the good partners we have to make it all possible,” Ballou said. “We have some work to do before we get back out racing, but like I said, I am happy with the speed just need to clean a few things up.”
Robert Ballou would like to thank Suburban Subaru, Deaton’s Waterfront Service, Berks Western Telecom, Inc., CORinstallation, Amy Gardner Roofing, Hinchman Indy, Don Ott Racing Engines, Manvel Motorsports, Walker Performance Filtration, Amsoil Inc, Murray’s Body Shop, Konnected Clothing, Hooker Harness, Indy Race Parts, Hoosier Tire, Schoenfeld Headers, Chalk Racing Products, Keizer Aluminum Wheels, Saldana Racing Products, Moose Blocks, Inc., AO Designs, and Arai Helmets for their support.
ON TAP: Robert Ballou will return to action on April 4th and 5th when the USAC National Sprint Car Series roars back to life.
BY THE NUMBERS: Starts-5, Wins- 0, Top 5’s- 0, Top-10’s- 3
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.
PETERSEN MEDIA: Petersen Media is a promotional company that can handle your public relations, marketing, and any other promotional needs. Petersen Media utilizes multiple tactics to help you reach your intended audience, and boost awareness.
For more information contact [email protected], by phone at 916-342-3424,visit http://www.petersenmediainc.com, http://www.facebook.com/PetersenMedia, or follow http://www.twitter.com/petersen_media.
###
