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Sometimes racing brings together special people. And other times special people just happen to race. Meet the Ballard's, a drag racing family full of good people. A longtime racer, family patriarch Mike decided to give his daughters a chance at the family hobby at a young age. Oldest daughter Emma started in a junior dragster and younger sister Arley followed when she became of age to do so.
Meet the Ballard family. They are a drag racing family full of good people.
But the amazing thing about the Ballard's isn't the faith that Mike and his wife have in their daughters driving abilities, or even those abilities themselves. Instead, what makes this family special is their dedication to others. It's that dedication to others that made a relationship with K&N such a perfect fit, and that relationship is paying huge dividends for those in need.
"It truly is amazing what we discover just by listening and talking to people," said Ballard, who helps his daughters collect aluminum cans and recycle them. "Before we would donate half the money to those in need or the local food bank, and the other half would go to the racing budget. Now that K&N has increased their involvement with us, we donate one hundred percent of the money."
The Ballard's also volunteer their time to the food bank, helping with the sorting and bagging of food and donating food to help stock the bank. They also keep an ear out for those in need. The family has been known to help shovel snow at elderly people's houses, donate clothes to those in need, and even donate money to those less fortunate.
The family also lends their time and cars to local parades, and last Memorial Day they were able to put a smile on Arley's classmate Noah's face. Noah has Down's Syndrome, but that hasn't kept the youngest Ballard from making a close friend and helping out where she can.
Last year Arley and Emma split time in the family's junior dragster, and Emma made her debut in a full-sized car, or SUV in this case. The family purchased a 1992 Chevy S-10 Blazer and plan on taking it to some Street Eliminator events in Illinois this season.
"Watching Emma learn to drive a big car down the track, and the excitement she had when she learned how fast she went was awesome," Mike said.
Having your two daughters drive cars in excess of 70 mph can be taxing on parents, but the Ballard's handle it well while keeping an eye on safety.
"My wife and I don't really get nervous because we've been around racing for so long, but we do get anxious before the first round," Mike said. "We just hope they remember what to do if something goes wrong."
This year the team will campaign both the junior dragster and the Blazer, which Emma will drive in a high school program that rewards youngsters with scholarships. The team will also attend numerous car shows and will participate in a pair of parades as well, all while trying to help others who are less fortunate.
Mike provided a few laughs when asked about the degree of difficulty in being a family race team.
"There's nothing hard about it, but trying to remember everything the females need before we go to the track can be a challenge," Mike said.
The Ballard's and K&N have forged a strong relationship, and the team see's the benefits of it every day.
"K&N really puts our minds at ease when it comes to protecting the engines, whether it be the one in the race cars or the support vehicles," Mike said. "Any racer can tell you the fewer things they have to worry about the better they can focus on the task at hand, winning races!"
Meyers' 2011 win at Williams Groove was his second in a row at the speedway.
As a racer you learn real fast to let go of the stuff you can't control and move on, because in racing the amount of stuff you have no say over can be staggering. To have any hope at triumph then, you best tighten-up on things you can manage. Jason Meyers' procedure for keeping on his game is to reduce down time and keep racing.
K&N supported Jason Meyers kicked-off 2012 the same way he has his last two championship seasons, by keeping his skills sharp and winning in Australia.
"I think it is very important to do some racing through the winter in order to keep in proper shape," Meyers told K&N. "You can work in the Gym all winter, but there is no way of replicating the G-forces that your body experiences in the car. We had a good run in Australia this season and we are looking forward to getting to Florida in a few weeks."
Who could argue with his procedure, as the results state all that needs to be said. Meyers and the Elite Racing Team completed 2010 and 2011 with back-to-back World of Outlaw Championships, and only seven days into 2012 Meyers and the team were already celebrating their third win at Sydney Speedway in Australia. Then in the week between races at Sydney Speedway, Meyers took on Archerfield Speedway, to bump any remaining rust off with some of his American rivals.
After doing battle with fellow Californian Rico Abreu in the early rounds of the 35-lap contest at Archerfield, and swapping positions with David Muir in the later laps, Meyers managed to wrestle an edge finishing sixth.
A win is always special remarked Meyers, but flipping, then fixing his car, making it through the B-Main and enduring a tough feature race, makes for a particularly sweet victory.
However, it's his return to Sydney Speedway the following Saturday that best illustrates the state of readiness Meyers and his team are in already. The sweetest road to victory is often the bumpiest and hardiest earned, for Meyers and Elite Racing that first potholed road to reward came during that weekend.
Meyers started the evening by timing in second behind Lynton Jeffery. Then, in one of those moments you have no control over, Meyers flipped with a second car in the heat race, forcing the team to rebuild his car in time to send him to the B-Main.
Each year the races in Australia continue to get more competitive as word gets out and more top American and Australia racers enter the field.
"We tore a lot of stuff up in a heat race down there and it was all we could do to get back out for the B-Main," said Meyers. "We had a lot of help from a lot of other teams in order to get ready in time. That is the impressive thing about sprint car racing, how everyone works together to get a competitors' car back into competition."
After winning the B-Main, Meyers lined up 21st for the main event. The two-time champion sliced and diced his way through the field, outlasting several cautions in the 35-lap A-Main. Once he made his way to the front, the Californian had to endure three more green-white-checkered flag restarts before taking the win at Sydney Speedway. This was Meyers' third victory at the track going into the Scott Darley $50,000 Challenge at Sydney Speedway. (Note: The Scott Darley $50,000 Challenge has been rescheduled and will now run on Friday and Saturday March 16 and 17).
Meyers added, "A win is always special, but to come from the B-Main after crashing, and then racing from the tail of the A-Main to the lead in 17 laps was a great night."
Meyers and the Elite Racing Team will head back to Florida on February 15th for the season opener at Volusia Speedway Park in DeLeon Springs, Florida. "We race two nights with the Allstar's and three nights with the World of Outlaws. Five nights in a row to start," laughs Meyers, "the Outlaws try to separate the men from the boys in the first week."
Beau Baron took the first WORCS Pro win of the season aboard his K&N backed Spark Racing powered Honda TRX450R ATV. Photos by ATVRiders.com
Solid beginnings and endings are key, they're the foundation for a decent story, and for firing-up the sort of confidence needed for a winning season.
David Haagsma pulled the hole-shot in the WORCS Pro ATV Class. Photos by ATVRiders.com
"We feel great following round one. Our goal was to go out and show these guys we are serious about our program and getting both guys on the podium proved that." Those are the words of Jason Reed, H&M Motorsports' Marketing/PR Rep., and the two guys he mentions are Beau Baron and David Haagsma. The two H&M Motorsport ATV combatants kicked-off their season in grand style, with Baron taking the top of the podium and teammate Haagsma joining him on the third tier. Making it sweeter still was that this was Haagsma's first ever pro podium finish. A prodigious beginning indeed.
The World Off-Road Championship Series (WORCS) started their 2012 season at Glen Helen Raceway last weekend. Foul rainy weather throughout Friday and Saturday threatened to put the kibosh on the big show. Fortunately, the weather cleared and the track began to dry out just in time for Sunday's pro main event. Yet, not before the weather sacred the track, which then required some tweaking. The course was changed up a bit, and now included a very malicious section tagged WORCS-X. This amusing sounding addition featured huge tractor tires that proved to be anything but amusing for many riders the first few laps. The errant section was corrected by the fourth lap, which was three laps too late for some riders.
Haagsma aboard his K&N backed Maxxis/H&M Motorsports Honda TRX450R ATV battled hard to earn his first ever pro podium finish. Photos by ATVRiders.com
Off the line, Haagsma grabbed the hole-shot, with Baron close behind in second. In the second lap, Baron was able to take the lead after Haagsma got hung up in the WORCS-X section. "I made it through that section pretty easily when a lot of other people had problems. I was kind of lucky that way because it allowed me to get ahead and relax a little and stay focused," said Baron. Despite intense pressure, Baron held his lead for the final laps to secure the first win of the 2012 WORCS series for his team.
Out of the gate Haagsma was nothing short of impressive as he shot off the line and grabbed the lap-one lead. After his WORCS-X section run-in he remounted a charge and battled his way to the number three spot before crossing the finish line.
H&M Motorsport's Beau Baron took first place, joining him in third place was teammate David Haagsma. Photos by ATVRiders.com
"I got a great start! I really have to thank Curtis Sparks and Maxxis Tires for that. I pulled everyone and got a clean lap in. After I got hung up, I just tried to make up time and kept passing people. It felt awesome to finish on the podium. I wish I could have been up there battling for the win, but I am pretty happy with third right now," remarked Haagsma.
"This is our first year off on our own," Reed told K&N. "Teaming up with MCR Racing last year taught us the infrastructure that we needed to achieve, and the goals we needed to set going into our first full year as a Pro team in a tough series. If we had to change anything from last year, it would be what we have already worked on, and continue to work on, and that's pre-testing with our equipment and trying to keep David and Beau focused. That way they can go out and do their job and win some races."
"We are ready and we are approaching 2012 just liked we approached the first race - we're going out to win. We have a tremendous amount of great sponsors behind us, including K&N Filters who provides the best filters in the business. We've never suffered a DNF with any air related issues, and we can't be happier to have them behind our program."
Round two of the 2012 WORCS series is scheduled for February 11th - 12th at Buffalo Bill's Casino and Resort where H&M Motorsport's Beau Baron and David Haagsma will once again be looking to own the podium.
"We're ready. We got off to a great start and we are going to keep the ball rolling and try and stay up front for points and keep the Championship chase alive. Were going for the 2012 WORCS Pro Championship, plain and simple."
The two-time Knoxville 360 Nationals Champion kicked off his 2012 Australia tour with two wins and a third place.
Australia's love for Sprint Car racing continues to intensify at an accelerated pace. The country's boasts a very well organized Sprint Car scene that is run to the rulebook by a single organizing group - the Sprintcar Control Council. The fans are savvy and their talent pool is beginning to rival ours here in the states. The peak racing season is between Christmas through the end of January, and each year more American racers bent on winning championships, are kick-starting their season with a walkabout downunder.
#77 Sprint car driver Shane Stewart in action down in Australia.
"I think racing in Australia helps keep you in physical and mental shape for the upcoming season in the states," Shane Stewart told K&N. "The racing in Australia has really become more like American racing. The equipment and the drivers have really stepped it up over the last five years. I really do believe that racing over here helps you stay focused."
The K&N sponsored driver opened his 2012 tour downunder with two consecutive wins and a third place podium finish. Stewart has even more hardware to add to his 90 feature wins he has accumulated already over the past 13 years of racing. On his resume Stewart proudly lists wins in all major series in both the U.S. and Australia.
Does one race starting the 2012 season in Australia stand out? "The Classic is a race that always sticks out in my mind," says Stewart. "It would be equivalent to the Knoxville Nationals. I won this race in 2010 and it is always a race that I put on my calendar to win."
Stewart from Bixby, Oklahoma was voted the 2011 "Driver of the Year" by the North American 360 Sprint Car Poll voting panel of media members, promoters, sanctioning officials and manufacturers for the second time. Stewart, the American Sprint Car Series (ASCS) national tour champion and 2009 "Driver of the Year", earned thirteen of the twenty first-place ballots cast in the year-end poll. Stewart's car owner, Paul Silva, earned his second "Team of the Year" award as well.
"I am looking forward to getting back in the Paul Silva owned 57 again," added the two-time Knoxville 360 Nationals Champion. "We are looking forward to getting the season started and hopefully we can keep building on what we have been able to accomplish the last three years."
Stewart will begin his 2012 race calendar in the U.S. racing in the 3G owned car of Joe Gearte and Tim Norman in Florida at the Ronald Laney Memorial race. "After that I will head down to Arizona to start off the ASCS National Tour in the 57 car."
Racing since 1983 Driskell lists being crowned the Division 5 Top Dragster Champion in 2007 near the top of his accomplishments.
It's been said that life is what happens while we're busy making other plans. For multi-time NHRA Division 5 Champion, Matt Driskell, the distraction from his racing plans continues to be building his successful Driskell Enterprises. The line between profession and obsession is a blurry one in Driskell's case though, as his countless runs down the racetrack have helped him to develop into one of the premier engine builders in all motorsports, and he now shares his nearly 30 years of racing experience with all Driskell Enterprises customers.
Matt's Driskell Enterprises has a sterling reputation as a custom engine builder and they take great pride in the fact that they don’t produce "cookie-cutter engines."
"Due to my growing business I am not able to travel to all the NHRA division/national events, but we race every weekend throughout the Midwest supporting our customers," said the Wellsville, Kansas driver.
Still in the allotted time Driskell does manage to set aside for racing, or "company research," he continues to leave his bold mark on the sport. Last year he finished second in the Super Pro points at Kansas City International Raceway (KCIR). He also finished second in the Central Drag Race Association (CDRA) Super Pro points, and was awarded the best appearing car of 2011 in a Topeka National Event.
Driskell began drag racing back in 1983 and he currently owns a 2011 Mullis 4-link dragster that he races in Top Dragster, Super Comp and bracket racing event. "I also have a 1967 Firebird that runs in Super Street and bracket races," he adds. As a multi-time NHRA Division 5 Champion, Driskell reached the pinnacle of NHRA racing when he won the Super Comp World Championship in 1996, and he was crowned the Division 5 Top Dragster Champion in 2007.
Driskell was using K&N filters in his own cars and at Driskell Racing Engines long before he got sponsored.
In summarizing his 2011 season Driskell says, "I won the first two Central Drag Racing Association (CDRA) Super Pro events, which put me in a sizeable lead, but a late season charge by another competitor left me in second place. In 2011 I got a new dragster from Mullis Race Cars which worked out great. One of our first races at the Great Bend NHRA Division 5 race we made it to the semi finals in Top Dragster."
For his most important racing accomplishments to date Driskell list his 1996 Super Comp World Champion, becoming the 1997 TRW All-Star Super Comp winner, and his victory in the1998 Mid-Michigan $100,000 bracket race. Also on that list is his Multi-Division 5 Super Comp Championship in Top Comp and Top Dragster. Then he adds "I'm still racing though."
In explaining how he became associated with K&N Driskell says, "I had been using K&N filters on my own race cars and at Driskell Racing Engines for some time, and I knew Mike Ferder and Steve Williams from the races. So, at the Topeka National Event in 2010, I stopped to talk with him and he was trailering with Steve Williams and Greg Boutte. In talking with Greg I mentioned how I used the K&N oil filters at Driskell Racing Engines and how impressed I was with their product, and that's how our relationship started."
When asked about his plans for the 2012 season Driskell says he's looking forward to his new trailer, which will allow him to haul both his cars to races. "I plan on attending a select number of division races and national events, plus continue to support our customers at various bracket races throughout the Midwest," he continues. "We will also race at Heartland Park in Topeka's weekly events which include Super Pro, Super Street, Super Comp, and the Super Quick series which Driskell Racing Engines helps to sponsor."
