PERRIS, Calif. — Nothing was stopping Bill Balog Saturday at Perris Auto Speedway. Not even a hole in his right-rear tire.
The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars rolled into the SoCal oval, and Balog’s No. 17b was on rails right when the green flag flew for the 30-lap feature. The “North Pole Nightmare” drove away from the field in the early stages.
Even when lapped traffic became a factor, Balog didn’t falter. He put cars between himself and runner-up David Gravel and padded his advantage to nearly four seconds at one point. There looked to be no doubt that Balog would cruise to victory lane. But then the closing stages of the race threw a curveball at Balog.
A small hole appeared on Balog’s right rear, and Gravel started to close the gap. The defending Series champion chipped away at Balog’s lead and looked as if he may be able to steal it late as Balog tripped on the Turn 2 cushion. But that mistake prompted Balog to move to the bottom at just the right time and play defense as the final laps clicked away.
With his lane occupied by Balog, Gravel had no answer. He got close in the final set of corners, but Balog held on for his first victory in the state of California.
“I definitely was losing a little bit of drive,” Balog said of the final portion of the race. “Anytime you can beat David for even just a couple laps it’s kind of a win. The car was just operating tremendously… I didn’t want to start making the wrong decisions or anything like that, so we were just kind of working on it and trying to feel what it liked, and obviously the car was just super good.
“It’s just really hard to beat these guys. I’ve said it before. It’s tough. Hats off to the track crew. We’re definitely going to celebrate this one.”
Saturday’s score moved Balog up to three wins in 2025 with The Greatest Show on Dirt to go along with triumphs at Talladega Short Track and Huset’s Speedway. That gives him sole possession of the fourth most among full-time competitors. He became the 13th different driver to win with the World of Outlaws at the “PAS.”
David Gravel rebounded after a flat tire derailed his Friday in Bakersfield by bringing the Big Game Motorsports No. 2 home in the runner-up spot at Perris.
“Bill was awesome early on in lapped traffic. He was the class of the field,” Gravel admitted. “And then there at the end he started getting spinny. It seems like he got a hole in his right rear. When I had the whole bottom to myself, I was definitely gaining on him. Once he kind of moved down my car kind of unhooked. I still had a shot at it though. If I ran the bottom of (Turns) 3 and 4 on the last lap, I think I had a chance to win.”
Michael “Buddy” Kofoid followed up his Friday Bakersfield victory with a third-place run aboard the Roth Motorsports No. 83 at Perris.
“The track shaped up better than I thought,” Kofoid said. “I wish the top would’ve come in. I felt really good on the top at the end. It just gets dirty and dirty from everyone being down there on the bottom. You can only give it so much before you get back down.”
Garet Williamson and D.J. Netto completed the top five.
The finish:
Feature (30 Laps): 1. 17B-Bill Balog[1]; 2. 2-David Gravel[2]; 3. 83-Michael Kofoid[3]; 4. 23-Garet Williamson[5]; 5. 88N-DJ Netto[4]; 6. 1S-Logan Schuchart[9]; 7. 21-Spencer Bayston[8]; 8. 15S-Kerry Madsen[7]; 9. 18-Emerson Axsom[12]; 10. 3-Kaleb Montgomery[15]; 11. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild[16]; 12. 55-Hunter Schuerenberg[11]; 13. W-Donny Schatz[10]; 14. 0-Tim Kaeding[17]; 15. 99-Skylar Gee[13]; 16. 7S-Chris Windom[20]; 17. 41S-Dominic Scelzi[19]; 18. 2C-Cole Macedo[14]; 19. 10-Dominic Gorden[18]; 20. 6-Zach Hampton[21]; 21. 14-Mariah Ede[23]; 22. 41-Carson Macedo[6]; 23. 8-Jake Helsel[24]; 24. 28M-Conner Morrell[22]
