6/6/2012
Bill Balog
Bill Balog and B2 Motorsports: Fast Starts and Bent Racecars
Bill Balog and B2 Motorsports: Fast Starts and Bent Racecars
Union Grove, WI – May 29, 2012. Bill Balog and the B2 Motorsports Team headed down to the Illinois border this last Saturday for the Wayne Daun/Al and Marie Winker Memorial at the Wilmot Raceway in Wilmot, WI. With the overnight rain and the rain showers in the morning, the track looked more like an off-road track upon arrival, but the track crew worked their tails off to get the show in. Bill would be the 10th car out to qualify and would lay down a lap of 12.609 on the blistering fast track which would be good for quick time which would also be a new track record that was set back in 2008 by Becca Anderson. Bill would line up in the 6th starting position in the 1st heat race and would work his way up to 2nd, but slipped back to a 3rd place finish in the heat race behind Tommy Sexton and Mike Reinke transferring him into the feature. Bill would draw the #4 pill for the feature which would line him up in the 8th starting position for the feature. Bill would gain a couple of positions on the opening lap, but would be done for the night on lap 2. Bill had a good run going into turn 3, but Scotty Neitzel had an issue in middle of turns 3 and 4 and Bill would slam into him ending both of their nights prematurely. The team got the car loaded up and headed back to the shop to put together a game plan for Sunday night’s races at 141 Speedway.
With 2 - 17B sprinters in pieces after wrecks the past 2 – weeks, the team had to find a car to use at the 141 Speedway. A call was made to the Rhine Auto #35 team, who Bill raced for once last year at Plymouth in a MSA event, and they stepped up to the plate to keep the 17B on track to stay in the hunt for a 5th straight championship. A huge thanks goes out to them, which includes Mike Urner, Craig Urner, Brett Gutschow, and Ben Schmidt for allowing this to happen. The thrash was on to get the car ready for the event, and with the hard work of both teams, the B2 Motorsports team rolled into the pit area a little after 4:00 p.m. ready to go. The track had a lot of moisture in it from overnight rain showers so it was shaping up to be a fast track. Bill would go out 6th and lay down a lap of 11.000 which would be 2nd quick. Bill would line up in the 6th starting position in the 2nd heat race. Bill gained 2 positions on the start, but would be caught up in a 4 – car wreck 3 laps in and would have to restart at the rear of the field. Bill would charge to a 2nd place finish behind Phillip Mock from the rear transferring him into the feature. Quick qualifier Mike Kertscher would pull a #2 pill which would line the 17B sprinter up in the 3rd starting position. The first start would be negated at a wreck would occur on the start. The second start would stay green as Bill would charge to the lead. Bill soon entered lap traffic and would put some cars between him and second. Traffic got thick and on lap 14 was passed by Mike Kertscher, but Bill would power back by in the next corner and set sail. A caution would come out with 3 laps to go setting up a crucial restart. There were 5 – cars between Bill and Kertscher when the caution came out, but under IRA rules the lap cars go to the back when there under 5 – laps remaining which would put Kertscher right on Bill’s bumper for the restart. On the restart, Bill knew he had to have a flawless restart. Bill would take off with Kertscher in tow. Bill went to the top of the speedway and Kertscher would attempt the slide job. Going through turn 2, Bill could see that Kertscher was going for it, but was going to be short so Bill hammered the brakes to avoid contact which made the car tight putting him in the wall, but contact was still made by Kertscher sending Bill into a series of flips ending the night 3 – laps shorts.
After the 2 – DNF’s this weekend, Bill now sits 3rd in the points standings, 31 – points behind the point leader heading into this week’s triple header. Friday, June 1st Bill and the B2 Motorsports team will head across Interstate 90 to the Jackson Speedway in Jackson, MN for the Biggame Treestands Shootout. Saturday, June 2nd the team will make the trek over to the Cedar Lake Speedway in New Richmond, WI for the Triple Crown Race. And rounding out the weekend on Sunday, June 3rd, the team will make the short trip east to the Eagle Valley Speedway in Jim Falls, WI. The following weekend on Saturday, June 12th, the team will head back to Wilmot Raceway in Wilmot, WI for their 3rd appearance of the 2012 season.
Bill and the B2 Motorsports Team would also like to thank our continued supporters/sponsors including: Buesser Concrete, Hoeft Builders, Rhine Auto, Maxim Chassis, Hepfner Racing Products, Keizer Aluminum Wheels, K&N Filters, Gleason Equipment, FK Rod Ends, Auto Meter, Saldana Racing Products, Astro Titanium, DMI, Fibrestar Industries, Super Shox, Stumble Inn Bar and Grill, Xtreme Stainless, Allstar Performance, Competition Driveline Service, BLZ, XYZ Machining, Outerwears, and Racer Gear X.
For more information on Bill Balog and the B2 Motorsports Team visit www.billbalog.com.
Submitted By: Bill Balog