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Gary Balough

Gary Balough (born September 16, 1947)[3] is a retired American stock car racing driver who competed from 1962 to 2001.[4] Balough has won more than 1000 races throughout his short-track career and has accumulated more than 20 wins in the All-Pro division.

Gary Balough
Born (1947-09-16) September 16, 1947 (age 77)
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Retired2001
Previous series
1962-2001
1973-1983		Late models
Modified racing
Championship titles
1986
1968		ALL PRO Super Series Champion
Florida Governor's Cup
Awards
2015 Northeast Dirt Modified Hall of Fame.[1]
2016 Eastern Motorsports Press Association Hall of Fame[2]
Achievements1984, 1986 All American 400
1980, 1986 Snowball Derby
1984 World Crown 300
1981 Miller High Life 300 (Charlotte Motor Speedway)
1981 Cracker 200
1976, 1977, 1978, 1980 Super Dirt Week
1979 Orange Blossom 100
NASCAR Cup Series career
22 races run over 6 years
Best finish40th (1981)
First race1979 Daytona 500 (Daytona)
Last race1992 Coca-Cola 600 (Charlotte)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 2 0
NASCAR Xfinity Series career
4 races run over 2 years
Best finish68th (1990)
First race1982 Goody's 300 (Daytona)
Last race1990 AC-Delco 200 (Rockingham)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 1 0

Racing career

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Throughout the 1970s, Balough expanded his racing across the entire East Coast. He moved from Late Models in the Southeast to Dirt Modifieds in the Northeast. Between 1976 and 1978, Gary won the prestigious Syracuse 200 for modifieds.[5] Balough led one lap in his NASCAR Cup career, at the 1981 Talladega 500 where he came from 41st to 1st, only to suffer from an overheating engine and resulting DNF. In addition to his many short-track wins, Balough also won the 1981 Miller High Life 300 NASCAR Late Model Sportsman race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Balough beat Dale Earnhardt and Jody Ridley to win the race. Bob Rahilly of RahMoc Racing owned and built the cars and engines for both of these races.[6]

He started an average of 21st place and finished an average of 25th while bringing home a career total of $90,900 ($197,363.15 when adjusted for inflation).[3][7]

Personal life

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Balough served a sentence of 45½ months in jail for drug trafficking; which ended his career along with his marriage.[3][7] A ride with Harry Ranier's team was in the works along with a sponsorship from Domino's Pizza that would have paid him $750,000 ($2,084,699.45 when adjusted for inflation) for having their name appear on his car for 25 races.[7] Balough used many car owners, engine builders and car builders to help Balough become on top of his game.[7]

After his jail sentence expired, Balough still had access to his children and could still practice his hobby of fishing.[7] His first racing event after the end of his jail sentence was a 200-lap "All-Pro" race in Summerville, South Carolina where he earned the pole position and won the race.[7]

Balough later wrote an autobiography and was also the subject of a documentary film.[8]

List of achievements

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  • 1968 Florida's Governor's Cup 200 Winner
  • 1976 Syracuse 200 Winner
  • 1977 Syracuse 200 Winner
  • 1978 Syracuse 200 Winner
  • 1981 Miller High Life 300 Winner
  • 1980 Snowball Derby Winner
  • 1980 Syracuse 200 Winner
  • 1984 All American 400 Winner
  • 1984 World Crown 300 Winner
  • 1986 All American 400 Winner
  • 1986 All-Pro Champion
  • 1986 Snowball Derby Winner


Motorsports career results

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NASCAR

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(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Winston Cup Series

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NASCAR Winston Cup Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 NWCC Pts Ref
1979 Billie Harvey 87 Oldsmobile RSD DAY
35 		CAR RCH ATL NWS BRI DAR MAR TAL NSV DOV CLT TWS RSD MCH DAY
16 		NSV POC
35 		TAL MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR CLT NWS CAR ATL ONT 90th 116 [9]
1980 Chevy RSD DAY RCH CAR ATL BRI DAR NWS MAR TAL NSV DOV CLT TWS RSD MCH DAY NSV POC TAL MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV NWS MAR CLT CAR ATL
39 		108th 46 [10]
Phil Howard 33 ONT
DNQ
1981 RahMoc Enterprises 75 RSD DAY RCH CAR ATL BRI NWS DAR MAR TAL NSV DOV CLT TWS RSD MCH DAY NSV POC
12 		40th 656 [11]
Buick TAL
25 		MCH
18 		BRI DAR
25 		RCH
10 		DOV
17 		MAR NWS CLT
24 		CAR
32 		ATL
34 		RSD
19
1982 Pontiac DAY
11 		38th 564 [12]
Buick RCH
32 		BRI
23 		ATL
7 		CAR
12 		DAR NWS MAR TAL NSV DOV CLT POC RSD MCH DAY NSV POC TAL MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV NWS CLT MAR CAR ATL RSD
1991 Ken Allen 34 Chevy DAY
DNQ 		RCH CAR ATL DAR BRI NWS MAR TAL CLT DOV SON POC MCH DAY 74th 89 [13]
Jim Rosenblum Racing 13 Buick POC
40 		TAL GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR NWS
27 Pontiac CLT
39 		CAR PHO ATL
1992 Chevy DAY CAR RCH ATL DAR BRI NWS MAR TAL CLT
40 		DOV SON POC MCH DAY POC TAL GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT CAR PHO ATL 93rd 43 [14]
Daytona 500
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Year Team Manufacturer Start Finish
1979 Billie Harvey Oldsmobile 27 35
1982 RahMoc Enterprises Pontiac 31 11
1991 Ken Allen Chevrolet DNQ


Busch Series

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NASCAR Busch Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 NBSC Pts Ref
1982 RahMoc Enterprises 75 Pontiac DAY
4 		RCH BRI MAR DAR HCY SBO CRW RCH LGY DOV HCY CLT ASH HCY SBO CAR CRW SBO HCY LGY IRP BRI HCY RCH MAR CLT HCY MAR 106th 160 [15]
1990 Roy Hill 4 Buick DAY RCH CAR MAR HCY DAR BRI LAN SBO NZH HCY CLT DOV ROU VOL MYB OXF NHA SBO DUB IRP ROU BRI DAR
32 		RCH DOV
29 		MAR CLT
DNQ 		NHA CAR
33 		MAR 68th 207 [16]
1991 82 DAY
DNQ 		RCH CAR MAR VOL HCY DAR BRI LAN SBO NZH CLT DOV ROU HCY MYB GLN OXF NHA SBO DUB IRP ROU BRI DAR RCH DOV N/A N/A [17]
CLT
DNQ 		NHA CAR MAR

References

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  1. ^ "Veteran drivers named to Hall of Fame". Albany Times Union. 6 August 2015. Retrieved April 20, 2019.
  2. ^ "Gary Balough". Eastern Motorsports Press Association. Retrieved September 9, 2024.
  3. ^ a b c "Racing information for Gary Balough". Racing Reference. Retrieved 2012-04-23.
  4. ^ Swanson, Buffy (June 15, 2015). "Gary Balough To Be Inducted Into Northeast Modified Hall of Fame" (Press release). Dirt Modified Stock Car Museum.
  5. ^ "Historical Motorsports Stories: Understanding Gary Balough - Racing-Reference.info". www.racing-reference.info. Retrieved 2020-07-22.
  6. ^ "Gary Balough".
  7. ^ a b c d e f "History of Gary Balough". Stock Car Racing. Archived from the original on 2012-04-24. Retrieved 2012-04-23.
  8. ^ "264 - Gary Balough: Racing, Fighting & Smuggling". Player.fm. Dirty Mo Media. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
  9. ^ "Gary Balough – 1979 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
  10. ^ "Gary Balough – 1980 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
  11. ^ "Gary Balough – 1981 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
  12. ^ "Gary Balough – 1982 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
  13. ^ "Gary Balough – 1991 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
  14. ^ "Gary Balough – 1992 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
  15. ^ "Gary Balough – 1982 NASCAR Budweiser Late Model Sportsman Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
  16. ^ "Gary Balough – 1990 NASCAR Busch Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
  17. ^ "Gary Balough – 1991 NASCAR Busch Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
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Achievements
Preceded by Snowball Derby Winner
1986 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Snowball Derby Winner
1980 		Succeeded by
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