ALGER,
WA - June 17, 2006 - He might be only 17 years old, but he's no rookie.
An 11-year veteran, Robert Ballou, of Rocklin, Calif., has been racing since he was 5 years old. He watched his older sister race when he was 3 and fell in love with the sport. This year is his third year racing Sprint cars on dirt tracks.
This weekend is the first time in his Sprint series career that he has raced in Washington.
"It's just like Tulare (a dirt track in California)," he said of Skagit Speedway. "Only not as [steeply] banked."
Thursday night Ballou finished second in Heat 4, automatically qualifying him for the A Main race. Halfway through the race, his primary motor burned a hole in a piston. He still finished second and is in great position to win in his Dirt Cup debut.
Ballou's racing credentials from this season and past seasons are very impressive. He won dozens of Quarter Midget races earlier in his career and over the past three seasons he has won several Sprint races. But more intriguing are his mannerisms in the pit and also on the track before and in between races.
Most drivers allocate their time in the pit talking race strategy with their crew members. Ballou will sometimes use his time in the pit wandering around by himself with his iPod acting as a mechanism to tune everything else out. Shortly after arriving at the track on Friday afternoon with his father and the rest of his crew, he wandered outside of the pit onto the mud-laden race course.
He said that he doesn't have any routine, favorite song or pre-race superstition. It's just his way of staying focused.
Ballou was home-schooled and earned his high-school diploma two weeks ago. Now that school is over, he can focus on what has been his life since he was a toddler.
"Racing is very time consuming, you're gone a lot," said his father and car owner, John Ballou.
Ballou's goal is to win enough Sprint races to become noticed by NASCAR scouts. Two of his favorite NASCAR drivers, Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart, both started their careers by racing Sprint cars.
Rain delayed the start of the qualifying runs Friday night, which is nothing new for Ballou. He's used to it. There were several occasions earlier this year where unusual spring rain in California delayed races. There's nothing unusual about Ballou driving his red No. 12 car to the top of the Sprint series points list.
His competition had better get used to it.
|
