A lot of drivers win races. Fewer win a lot of races. Fewer still rank among the all-time greats for their on-track accomplishments. But Gary Balough is the only driver I know of who started a revolution. Gary was a winner in Florida and across the South, almost exclusively on asphalt tracks, before he ventured North in the early 1970s and began racing on dirt. But once he did, Wow! Over a relatively short span between 1973 and 1980, Gary was a threat to win at any track he ventured to but especially at Orange County Fair Speedway where he won 29 times including the 1977 Eastern States 200 which he led flag-to-flag, the only driver in the race’s long history to accomplish this feat. And at Nazareth Raceway, Gary took the checkered flag 14 times.
But it was on the Mile at Syracuse that Gary showed his real dominance, winning consecutively the Super DIRT Week classic in 1976 through ’78. Following an "off" year in 1979, Gary roared back and set the Modified world reeling when he and the Kenny Weld inspired "Batmobile" blew away the competition to win the 1980 Syracuse 200, the first major Modified race televised nationally by ESPN.
Gary’s dominating performance in the radical for the time Batmobile revolutionized Northeast Modified racing. While the change from the classic pre-war coupes and coaches was nearly complete, cars with newer Gremlin, Pinto, Mustang, and Corvair bodies paid only slight attention to aerodynamics. That changed literally overnight. And when the 1981 season opened, it ushered in a season of experimentation, all with the Batmobile as the impetus for change. The modern dirt Modified was born!
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention some of Gary’s other major race wins. They include the 1968 Florida Governor’s Cup, the 1981 NASCAR Busch Series Miller High Life 300 at Charlotte, the 1984 and ’86 All American 400 at Nashville, the 1984 World Crown 300 at Greshen Motorsports Park in Georgia, and the 1986 All-Pro Championship.
Welcome to the EMPA HoF Gary Balough. |
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