rusty_krusty Posted December 8, 2005 Report Share Posted December 8, 2005 PHOTO 2 DRAWING DIAGRAM; CAN'T GET ENOUGH: [Mike Majhess], left, and [Gary Ballough] of Boca Raton will be in Mapei. Of defending their titles, Ballough says, "Believe me, there's guys in our class who are really, really gunning for us. ... The bar has been raised." Staff photos/[steve Waters] THAT'S MOVING: Mapei is a 32-foot catamaran that can hit speeds up to 120 mph. A ... this is a quotefrom a southern florida newspaper is this the same gary ballough that used to race around here and every where else? I thought he was arrested for drug trafficking? The story was written apr. 28 for the sun sentinel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
txtom Posted December 8, 2005 Report Share Posted December 8, 2005 Different guy. Balough the doper, uh, I mean the ex racer, spells his with one l. The boat racer is a younger guy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speedracer Posted December 11, 2005 Report Share Posted December 11, 2005 Gary B raced last year at Mobile speedway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vir Posted December 14, 2005 Report Share Posted December 14, 2005 Speedracer, I went to just about every race at MIS last year, and Gary did not race in any of them. When he was driving, I was a big fan of his. It is too bad what happened to him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speedracer Posted December 14, 2005 Report Share Posted December 14, 2005 vir Gary did run a race at mobile either last year or the year before last. Almost positive it was last year. He ran one of Ronnie Sanders cars. obviously you did not go to one of the races or you were lost at the races Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vir Posted December 15, 2005 Report Share Posted December 15, 2005 Speedracer, by all reports I am getting from racing enthusiasts, Gary Balough was incarcerated in Florida last year and is not due to get out until 2010. Year before last, Sanders drove for Tracy Goodson and did not bring his car to MIS. I think you must have Gary Balough confused with someone else or you are thinking about several years ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speedracer Posted December 15, 2005 Report Share Posted December 15, 2005 vir I don't have Gary confused. Ronnie did not start driving for Goodson until last year. Gary Did drive one of Ronnie cars. Ronnie ran a 4 barrel car and Gary ran a 2 barrel car with the #112 on it that was one of ronnie's cars Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vir Posted December 15, 2005 Report Share Posted December 15, 2005 Speedracer, I have talked to several MIS fans, and not one of them remembers Gary Balough racing at MIS during the last two years. A couple have told me that he was a guest of the State of Florida during this time. Maybe you have your dates mixed up or even the wrong track. I am not going to say any more on this subject. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bandit Posted December 15, 2005 Report Share Posted December 15, 2005 It was the year before last or maybe the year before that, pro late model. Like most drug dealers he probably went under an allias (sp?). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speedracer Posted December 15, 2005 Report Share Posted December 15, 2005 Thank you Bandit, I did not start racing late models until 2 years ago. So it had to be around that time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
racerpete2 Posted December 15, 2005 Report Share Posted December 15, 2005 Here is some info that I found on the net: Dennis 08/09/05 Here is an update that I found off the Federal Prison database. He's in a minimum security prison in Pennsacola Florida with a scheduled release date of 2010. Randy Sands 11/15/04 He (Gary) was at Hialeah Speedway last weekend looking at my outlaw modified and talking to my dad. Wish I knew it was gary, would have been great to talk to a racing legend that I grew up watching race around Fla. short tracks........ From 3-Wide 08/01/04 (Todd Lewis emailed me on 8/1/04? that Gary had just recentely been arrested again on drug charges and was expected to be facing jail time as a result of the current troubles combined with his previous arrest. I chose not to post it at the time as I wasn't sure if it had been confirmed. Unfortunately, Todd was on the mark as the info has been confirmed. What a shame...) Jim Murrow: 06/29/03: I don’t know exactly what he’s doing right now, but, he raced down south in the 80s, and got into Winston Cup. Then, he was convicted of drug charges and sent to prison. As Balough tells the story, when the arrest happened, he’d been signed to drive the #28 car for Harry Ranier. Waddell Wilson was the crew chief, and Robert Yates built the motors. - Benny Parsons ended up in it. I guess that was about 1981. Gary had won a national championship with NASCAR’s All-Pro circuit, where he won 14 out of 22 races, but that was after the conviction, and he was awaiting sentencing. He came to Syracuse in 2000, and didn’t run well. In an interview he gave at the time, he said he had served 45½ months in jail, and it had cost him his marriage, and his career in Winston Cup. He said when he got out of jail, he took his 7-year-old car and went to Summerville, South Carolina, for a 200-lap All-Pro race, sat on the pole, and won the race, and he also said that in 1996 he drove Pee Wee Griffin’s Late Model, and won 67 out of 79 races in it. I heard he was working with some late model, ARCA, and Busch teams over the last few years, as a consultant, crew chief, or whatever. I imagine he still drives a bit, too. Jim Murrow: 07/01/03 One other thing I didn't mention, and probably should have is that, as far as I know, Gary didn't take any drugs. He was involved with several others in racing, in, as I understand it, importing the stuff. He said he did it to fund his racing. Damn shame. He was a great talent, at the top of his game, and just about to get his big break. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vir Posted December 16, 2005 Report Share Posted December 16, 2005 Just asked Nancy@mis about Gary racing at MIS, and she said they would have known if he did. She also said he has not raced there for several years. The internet will tell you when Gary gets out, but it don't tell when he was incarcerated. At the age of 58 now, he will be in his 60's when he is freed. Still plenty of time to do some racing. Hope to see the 112 on the track again someday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowball Posted December 16, 2005 Report Share Posted December 16, 2005 I bet the 2 barrell car that Speedracer is referring to was Augie Grill. That would have been right about the time that Augie flipped off of turn 2. He hasn't been back to MIS since. I haven't been to Mobile much over the last few years, but I do keep up with things through message boards and racing buddies, and that would have been some big news. I would bet good money that Balough did not race at Mobile over the last few years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speedracer Posted December 16, 2005 Report Share Posted December 16, 2005 Vir, I'm telling you Gary ran at Mobile. I don't have my tracks or drivers mixed up. so thats all i'm saying. I know im right and i'm not saying any more about it. Snowball, no It was not Augie I know who augie is. Me and my dad were surprised to see Gary running that night Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeilTPS Posted December 16, 2005 Report Share Posted December 16, 2005 Gary Balough Since there has been a long discussion in this forum about Gary Balough, I have posted a story of my memories regarding Gary on the Texas Racing History Forum. I hope you enjoy it. Neil Upchurch Former Race Director Texas Race of Champions at TWS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vir Posted December 16, 2005 Report Share Posted December 16, 2005 Nancy and Ida Fields, owner of MIS, both say Balough has not raced at MIS in years. (Mobilespeedway.com forums page). I in no way believe a driver as famous as Gary could fly under the radar and not be recognized by the other drivers or people in the pits. If you supposedly recognized him, don't you think others would have also, especially the promoter? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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