BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Last season, Robert Ballou endured an accident at Bloomington Speedway that left him with a broken back and wound up costing him the remainder of the season.
On Friday, just one day shy of a full year since the accident, Ballou returned to the scene and conquered the red clay quarter-mile, winning the 35th running of the Sheldon Kinser Memorial after race leader Gavin Miller ran out of fuel on the back straightaway on the final lap, ending his bid for a first career USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship victory.
Meanwhile, Ballou bolted by Miller to the roar of the crowd for his first USAC National Sprint Car victory since the Lincoln Park round of USAC NOS Energy Drink Indiana Sprint Week Presented by K & N Filters in July 2025, 39 feature starts ago.
For Ballou, his $10,000 score was the seventh of his Indiana Sprint Week career and was his first USAC victory at Bloomington in what was his 30th career series start at the track aboard his Ballou Motorsports/Suburban Subaru – Deaton’s Waterfront Services/DRC/Ott Chevy.
“This is a place that I tend to struggle at and I’ve worked really hard to try and get it,” Ballou explained. “I’ve watched videos and do what my racecar is asking of me. Tonight, we were on a gamble because of the humidity and the cloud cover and the sprinkles and we were still just a tick too tight. A quarter of a turn would have made my racecar better, and I would have won by a straightaway, but I didn’t do that. I’m the mechanic and I had no choice but to sit up in the seat and get up to the top and hold it to the mat for the last few laps. Unfortunately, he ran out of fuel, but fortunately for us, we finally got the monkey off our back.”
On this night, it seemed fitting that Ballou drove the No. 12 to the win, as he became just the 12th driver in USAC National Sprint Car history to reach the 40-win mark. His 40th series win tied him for 11th place all-time alongside 1969 and 1971 champion Gary Bettenhausen.
Aside from winning after injury, it was also redemption for Ballou from what transpired 24 hours earlier at the Terre Haute Action Track. Ballou led with just a few laps to go when his engine expired, nixing his long awaited return to victory lane. However, he only needed to wait 24 hours later when the tables turned and he was able to capitalize on Miller’s empty fuel tank on the 30th and final lap.
“Last night was heartbreak, and at this race last year, I broke my back,” Ballou reflected. “We needed this win. I started the week behind the eight ball and last night was a huge blow to my race team. It’s just one of those deals that you have to crawl before you walk and walk before you run, and after a few nights, I finally got my bearings and got my racecar better so that I could drive it.”
Ballou began his race from the pole position and proceeded to lead the initial six laps. But Miller flexed his muscles early, rising from his sixth starting spot to third on the opening lap, then shooting into second past Max Adams for second on lap three. On the seventh go around, Miller fired a shot under Ballou in the third turn to stick the lead and appeared to be the class of the field throughout the balance of the race.
Just past midway on lap 17, Indiana Sprint Week point leader Kyle Cummins was involved in an incident that also entangled Kevin Thomas Jr., Trey Osborne and Hayden Reinbold. Cummins, Osborne, and Reinbold all came to a stop while Thomas performed a 360-degree spin, which by rule, necessitated him to restart at the tail of the field.
Jake Swanson also became snarled in the incident, but his 360 spin came after the yellow light and flag was displayed, allowing him to maintain his position moving forward, which was eighth at the time. Cummins, meanwhile, came back to finish 10th but his ISW point lead had been sliced from 30 to seven entering Saturday’s Tri-State Speedway finale.
On lap 19, Ballou’s race nearly came to an end as he half spun in turn two, right into the path of third place running Brady Bacon who nosed into the rear bumper of Ballou’s car, then spun backwards to a stop. Ballou kept on rolling but was apologetic about the ordeal.
“I need to say sorry to Brady and (crew chief) Sean Michael,” Ballou stated. “I hit the grease, since it was raining, and I busted sideways and was gathering the car. Obviously, he couldn’t have lifted or else he would have got tight. It’s super unfortunate. I hate that for those guys. They’re one of the best guys around.”
Eli Wilhelmus, who won his first career USAC heat race earlier in the evening, flipped over the turns three and four banking while running 11th on the 24th lap.
Under the caution, precipitation continued to get a bit stronger, and drivers were asked to buzz the race track to keep the surface alive. The process continued for roughly eight minutes as the rain subsided and the track was deemed race worthy to complete the final six circuits.
It was Miller versus Ballou for the next four laps as the duel between the two intensified, and Ballou found a path to his liking on the high side. But upon the completion of lap 28, Logan Seavey spun to a stop in turn four to bring out the caution, setting up a two-lap dash for the win between Miller and Seavey.
On the ensuing restart, Miller gapped Ballou to the tune of about four to five car lengths. But off turn two on the final lap, Miller’s car suddenly slowed to a crawl around the bottom. Ballou ripped by Miller around the top to scored a “look what I’ve found” victory as Miller coasted across the line as the one in the field to run short on fuel.
Ballou’s final margin of victory was 0.468 seconds over Mitchel Moles who charged from 13th to the runner-up spot. Justin Grant crossed the line in third with Jake Swanson fourth and Hunter Schuerenberg rounding out the top five.
“I knew that when it started raining and it cleaned up, the top was going to be the best situation because it was greasy down low and he didn’t know,” Ballou detailed. “They played a fuel game, but obviously, we didn’t plan on trying to keep the cars out there and spinning the racetrack and keeping it good. Otherwise, this wouldn’t have happened. Last year, I ran out of fuel running second at Tri-State. It’s a game of chess and he who puts his best hand forward every once in a while gets lucky. Tonight, I was lucky and we’ll take it to the bank.”
USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship, Bloomington Speedway, Bloomington, Indiana, July 31, 2026
LEARNLAB QUALIFYING: 1. Hayden Reinbold, 19, Reinbold/Underwood-11.337; 2. Gavin Miller, 21AZ, Team AZ/Curb-Agajanian-11.343; 3. Mitchel Moles, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-11.395; 4. Logan Seavey, 57, Abacus-11.470; 5. Trey Osborne, 6T, Osborne-11.472; 6. Brady Bacon, 20, Dyson-11.525; 7. Kevin Thomas Jr., 15, BBI-11.529; 8. Max Adams, 24p, Paul-11.562; 9. Robert Ballou, 12, Ballou-11.578; 10. Kyle Cummins, 3p, Petty-11.587; 11. Thomas Meseraull, 2E, Epperson-11.626; 12. Jake Swanson, 5T, Daming Swanson-11.628; 13. Cody Trammell, 34T, Trammell-11.635; 14. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-11.645; 15. Hunter Schuerenberg, 3R, Rock Steady-11.689; 16. Charles Davis Jr., 47, Davis-11.689; 17. C.J. Leary, 53, Fox-11.699; 18. Jordan Kinser, 75, Tate-11.722; 19. Jadon Rogers, 14, Rogers-11.729; 20. Gabriel Gilbert, 10G, GGR-11.739; 21. Ricky Lewis, 6, Calderwood-11.774; 22. Harley Burns, 16, Britt Aero-11.777; 23. Chance Crum, 83c, Crum-11.798; 24. Colin Parker, 16K, Knight-11.815; 25. Chase Stockon, 92, Sertich-11.848; 26. Jake Scott, 33, Miller-11.856; 27. Dalton Stevens, 2B, 2B Racing-11.894; 28. Gunnar Setser, G5, Setser-11.912; 29. Cale Coons, 63, Dooling/Curb-Agajanian-11.931; 30. Eli Wilhelmus, 55, Wilhelmus-11.935; 31. Briggs Danner, 39, Hogue-11.936; 32. Travis Oldfield, 38, Oldfield-12.012; 33. Aric Gentry, 10, Gentry-12.017; 34. Parker Frederickson, 76s, Samson-12.058; 35. Brandon Mattox, 28, Mattox-12.122; 36. David Gasper, 77s, Sturgeon-12.149; 37. Troy Carey, 45N, Carey-12.160; 38. Daylan Chambers, 4c, Chambers-12.164; 39. Kobe Simpson, 21K, Simpson-12.173; 40. Jim Tribby, 9, Tribby-12.299; 41. Collin Jackson, 64c, Jackson-NT.
K1 RACEGEAR FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, top 5 transfer to the feature, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Hunter Schuerenberg (3), 2. Brady Bacon (5), 3. Briggs Danner (7), 4. Thomas Meseraull (4), 5. Ricky Lewis (2), 6. Hayden Reinbold (6), 7. David Gasper (8), 8. Jake Scott (1). 2:01.409
TJ FORGED SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, top 5 transfer to the feature, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Harley Burns (2), 2. Jake Swanson (4), 3. Kevin Thomas Jr. (5), 4. Gavin Miller (6), 5. Dalton Stevens (1), 6. C.J. Leary (3), 7. Travis Oldfield (7), 8. Troy Carey (8). NT
K & N FILTERS THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, top 5 transfer to the feature, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Chance Crum (2), 2. Gunnar Setser (1), 3. Max Adams (5), 4. Jordan Kinser (3), 5. Aric Gentry (7), 6. Cody Trammell (4), 7. Mitchel Moles (6), 8. Daylan Chambers (8). NT
INDY POWERSPORTS FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps, top 5 transfer to the feature, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Justin Grant (4), 2. Robert Ballou (5), 3. Colin Parker (2), 4. Jadon Rogers (3), 5. Logan Seavey (6), 6. Cale Coons (1), 7. Kobe Simpson (8), 8. Parker Frederickson (7). 2:00.122
K1 RACEGEAR FIFTH HEAT: (10 laps, top 5 transfer to the feature, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Eli Wilhelmus (1), 2. Chase Stockon (2), 3. Kyle Cummins (5), 4. Trey Osborne (6), 5. Gabriel Gilbert (3), 6. Charles Davis Jr. (4), 7. Brandon Mattox (7), 8. Jim Tribby (8). 2:01.000
FIVE STAR BODIES SEMI: (12 laps, top 4 transfer to the feature, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Hayden Reinbold (1), 2. Ricky Lewis (5), 3. Mitchel Moles (2), 4. Logan Seavey (3), 5. Cody Trammell (8), 6. Gabriel Gilbert (4), 7. C.J. Leary (10), 8. Cale Coons (11), 9. Dalton Stevens (6), 10. Brandon Mattox (13), 11. Aric Gentry (7), 12. Travis Oldfield (12), 13. Parker Frederickson (15), 14. Kobe Simpson (14), 15. Charles Davis Jr. (9), 16. Jim Tribby (18), 17. Daylan Chambers (17), 18. Troy Carey (16). NT
FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Robert Ballou (1), 2. Mitchel Moles (13), 3. Justin Grant (7), 4. Jake Swanson (17), 5. Hunter Schuerenberg (8), 6. Max Adams (2), 7. Cale Coons (25-P), 8. Briggs Danner (24), 9. Gavin Miller (6), 10. Kyle Cummins (15), 11. Harley Burns (9), 12. Chance Crum (10), 13. C.J. Leary (26-P), 14. Kevin Thomas Jr. (3), 15. Brady Bacon (4), 16. Jadon Rogers (19), 17. Chase Stockon (22), 18. Hayden Reinbold (12), 19. Logan Seavey (14), 20. Ricky Lewis (20), 21. Eli Wilhelmus (11), 22. Trey Osborne (5), 23. Colin Parker (21), 24. Thomas Meseraull (16), 25. Gunnar Setser (23), 26. Jordan Kinser (18).
