Walter Ballard

Walter Ballard
Walter Ballard
Born	Walter Harvey Ballard Sr.; January 12, 1933 (age 91); Foley, Alabama, U.S.
Awards	1971 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Rookie of the Year
NASCAR Cup Series career
	176 races run over 9 years
Best finish	6th (1972)
First race	1966 Rebel 400 (Darlington)
Last race	1977 Wilkes 400 (North Wilkesboro)

Walter Harvey Ballard Sr. (born January 12, 1933) is a former

NASCAR Winston Cup Grand National Series (known as the NASCAR Cup Series as of 2021), in its first year under Winston

's sponsorship.

NASCAR Winston Cup Series

Ballard made his first start in the Winston Cup Series (then known as the Grand National Series) in 1966, but did not race in the series again until 1971.

In 1971, Ballard ran a nearly-full season in a car owned by his father^[citation needed] Vic, capturing 11 top-tens, a tenth-place finish in points, and the Rookie of the Year Award.^[1]

In the 1972 Daytona 500, Ballard's car flipped in the race. On lap 19 of the race, his car ramped over Buddy Baker's car on the front stretch wall and flipped over where it flipped another two times in the grass before landing on all four wheels. Ballard and Baker were both ok from the wreck.^[2] Despite the flip, Ballard had an even better season in 1972, collecting 7 top-tens and a sixth-place finish in points. He continued to race full-time with his family-owned team until 1975, and competed part-time in the 1976 and 1977 seasons before retiring from the series after 1977.

Ballard's best result in the Winston Cup Series was a third-place finish in the

Houston, Texas

.

Other NASCAR series

Ballard also drove six races in the

NASCAR Winston West Series in 1971 and 1976, failing to qualify for both.^[4]

Personal life

In 1979, Ballard started an automotive repair business with his sons Daniel, Stoney and Clint, retiring in November 2005.^[citation needed] As of 2007, he resides in Charlotte, North Carolina. His wife Katy died in 2019.^[5]

Motorsports Career Results

NASCAR

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Grand National Series

NASCAR Grand National Series results
Year	Team	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36	37	38	39	40	41	42	43	44	45	46	47	48	49	NGNC	Pts	Ref
1966	Ballard Racing	30	Ford	AUG	RSD	DAY	DAY	DAY	CAR	BRI	ATL	HCY	CLB	GPS	BGS	NWS	MAR	DAR 20	LGY	MGR	MON	RCH	CLT	DTS	ASH	PIF	SMR	AWS	BLV	GPS	DAY	ODS	BRR	OXF	FON	ISP	BRI	SMR	NSV	ATL	CLB	AWS	BLV	BGS	DAR	HCY	RCH	HBO	MAR	NWS	CLT	CAR	84th	560	^[6]
1971	Ballard Racing	30	Ford	RSD	DAY	DAY 23	DAY DNQ	ONT DNQ	RCH 30	CAR	HCY	BRI 25	ATL 39	CLB 13	GPS 11	SMR 12	NWS 17	MAR 25	DAR 16	SBO 4	TAL 22	ASH 13	KPT 7	CLT 40	DOV 10	MCH 17	RSD	HOU 3	GPS 5	DAY 32	BRI 11	AST 13	ISP 10	TRN 12	NSV 6	ATL 18	BGS 10	ONA 8	MCH 20	TAL 22	CLB 8	HCY 21	DAR 29	MAR 16	CLT 20	DOV 9	CAR 22	MGR 12	RCH 11	NWS 13	TWS 39		10th	2633	^[7]

Winston Cup Series

NASCAR Grand National Series results
Year	Team	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	NWCC	Pts	Ref
1972	Ballard Racing	30	Ford	RSD 14	DAY 36			CAR DNQ	ATL 26	BRI 11																									6th	6781.45	^[8]
	Ballard Racing	30	Plymouth			RCH 21	ONT 47
	Joe Phipps	65	Chevy					CAR 32
	Ballard Racing	30	Mercury								DAR 18	NWS 9	MAR 9	TAL 19	CLT 15	DOV 16	MCH 12	RSD 25	TWS 33	DAY 23	BRI 9	TRN 10	ATL 10	TAL 15	MCH 11	NSV 9	DAR 12	RCH 12	DOV 8	MAR 20	NWS 19	CLT 19	CAR 15	TWS 18
1973			Plymouth	RSD 19																															8th	5955.7	^[9]
			Chevy		DAY 19
			Mercury			RCH 11	CAR 39	BRI 17	ATL 14	NWS 18	DAR 25	MAR 8	TAL 48	NSV 22	CLT 18	DOV 28	TWS 16	RSD 15	MCH 30	DAY 26	BRI 14	ATL 15	TAL 9	NSV 7	DAR 17	RCH 6	DOV 17	NWS 13	MAR 18	CLT 23	CAR 22
1974			Chevy	RSD	DAY 10	RCH 19	CAR 6	BRI 14	ATL	DAR 40	NWS 12	MAR 11	TAL 24	NSV 21	DOV 22	CLT 12	RSD	MCH 35	DAY 20	BRI 10	NSV 26	ATL 13		TAL 48	MCH 24	DAR 16	RCH 5	DOV 10	NWS 9	MAR 25	CLT 12	CAR 15	ONT 16		15th	748.44	^[10]
1974	Ed Hawks	75	Chevy																				POC 29												15th	748.44	^[10]
1975	Ballard Racing	30	Chevy	RSD 31	DAY 25		CAR 17	BRI 18	ATL 24	NWS 10	DAR 18	MAR 15	TAL 12	NSV 10	DOV 25	CLT 10	RSD 24	MCH 11		NSV 18		TAL 48	MCH 11	DAR 25	DOV 14	NWS 25	MAR 14	CLT 41	RCH 15	CAR 11	BRI 12	ATL 17	ONT 20		11th	3151	^[11]
	Champion Racing	10	Ford			RCH 19
	Tom Williams	38	Chevy																DAY 31
	Dalton Racing	7	Ford																		POC 13
1976	Ballard Racing	30	Chevy	RSD	DAY	CAR 25	RCH 14	BRI 19		NWS 10	DAR	MAR 9	TAL	NSV 8	DOV 16																		ONT DNQ		26th	1554	^[12]
	Ballard Racing	29							ATL 24
	Hollar Racing	29														CLT 22	RSD	MCH 31	DAY	NSV
	Negre Racing	82	Dodge																		POC 37	TAL	MCH
	Price Racing	45	Chevy																					BRI 26	DAR	RCH 22	DOV 16	MAR	NWS	CLT	CAR	ATL
1977	Ballard Racing	03	Chevy	RSD	DAY 19																														55th	318	^[13]
	Price Racing	45	Chevy			RCH 22	CAR	ATL	NWS	DAR	BRI	MAR	TAL	NSV	DOV	CLT	RSD	MCH	DAY	NSV	POC	TAL	MCH	BRI	DAR	RCH	DOV	MAR
	Ballard Racing	30	Chevy																										NWS 16	CLT	CAR	ATL	ONT
1978	Ballard Racing	30	Chevy	RSD	DAY	RCH	CAR	ATL	BRI	DAR	NWS	MAR QL^†	TAL	DOV	CLT	NSV	RSD	MCH	DAY																NA	-	^[14]
1978	Hylton Motorsports	48	Chevy																	NSV 30	POC	TAL	MCH	BRI	DAR	RCH	DOV	MAR	NWS	CLT	CAR	ATL	ONT		NA	-	^[14]
^† – Replaced by Tighe Scott

References

^ "Walter Ballard Named Top NASCAR Rookie". Lakeland Ledger. October 21, 1971. Retrieved 16 November 2012.
^ "Walter Ballard goes for a wild ride during the 1972 Daytona 500".
^ "Driver Walter Ballard's Grand National East Series races - Racing-Reference.info". www.racing-reference.info. Retrieved 2018-10-03.
^ "Driver Walter Ballard NASCAR K&N Pro Series West DNQs or WDs - Racing-Reference.info". www.racing-reference.info. Retrieved 2018-10-03.
^ "Katy Ballard - View Obituary & Service Information".
^ "Walter Ballard – 1966 NASCAR Grand National Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved June 28, 2020.
^ "Walter Ballard – 1971 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved June 28, 2020.
^ "Walter Ballard – 1972 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved June 28, 2020.
^ "Walter Ballard – 1973 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved June 28, 2020.
^ "Walter Ballard – 1974 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved June 28, 2020.
^ "Walter Ballard – 1975 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved June 28, 2020.
^ "Walter Ballard – 1976 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved June 28, 2020.
^ "Walter Ballard – 1977 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved June 28, 2020.
^ "Walter Ballard – 1978 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved June 28, 2020.

External links

Walter Ballard driver statistics at Racing-Reference

[1] "Walter Ballard Named Top NASCAR Rookie". Lakeland Ledger. October 21, 1971. Retrieved 16 November 2012.

[2] "Walter Ballard goes for a wild ride during the 1972 Daytona 500".

[3] "Driver Walter Ballard's Grand National East Series races - Racing-Reference.info". www.racing-reference.info. Retrieved 2018-10-03.

[4] "Driver Walter Ballard NASCAR K&N Pro Series West DNQs or WDs - Racing-Reference.info". www.racing-reference.info. Retrieved 2018-10-03.

[5] "Katy Ballard - View Obituary & Service Information".

[6] "Walter Ballard – 1966 NASCAR Grand National Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved June 28, 2020.

[7] "Walter Ballard – 1971 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved June 28, 2020.

[8] "Walter Ballard – 1972 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved June 28, 2020.

[9] "Walter Ballard – 1973 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved June 28, 2020.

[10] "Walter Ballard – 1974 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved June 28, 2020.

[11] "Walter Ballard – 1975 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved June 28, 2020.

[12] "Walter Ballard – 1976 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved June 28, 2020.

[13] "Walter Ballard – 1977 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved June 28, 2020.

[14] "Walter Ballard – 1978 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved June 28, 2020.

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v t e NASCAR Rookies of the Year
NASCAR Cup Series	1954: Pitt 1957: Rush 1958: Rollins 1959: Petty 1960: Pearson 1961: Wilson 1962: Cox 1963: Wade 1964: Cooper 1965: McQuagg 1966: Hylton 1967: Do. Allison 1968: P. Hamilton 1969: Brooks 1970: Dennis 1971: Ballard 1972: L. Smith 1973: Pond 1974: Ross 1975: B. Hill 1976: Manning 1977: Rudd 1978: Thomas 1979: Earnhardt 1980: Ridley 1981: R. Bouchard 1982: Bodine 1983: Marlin 1984: R. Wallace 1985: Schrader 1986: Kulwicki 1987: Da. Allison 1988: K. Bouchard 1989: Trickle 1990: Moroso 1991: B. Hamilton 1992: Hensley 1993: Gordon 1994: J. Burton 1995: Craven 1996: Benson 1997: Skinner 1998: Irwin 1999: Stewart 2000: Kenseth 2001: Harvick 2002: Newman 2003: McMurray 2004: Kahne 2005: Ky. Busch 2006: Hamlin 2007: Montoya 2008: R. Smith 2009: Logano 2010: Conway 2011: Lally 2012: Leicht 2013: Stenhouse Jr. 2014: Larson 2015: B. Moffitt 2016: Elliott 2017: Jones 2018: Byron 2019: Hemric 2020: Custer 2021: Briscoe 2022: Cindric 2023: Gibbs
NASCAR Xfinity Series	1989: K. Wallace 1990: Nemechek 1991: Gordon 1992: Craven 1993: Sadler 1994: Benson 1995: Fuller 1996: Allen Jr. 1997: Park 1998: Santerre 1999: Raines 2000: Harvick 2001: Biffle 2002: Riggs 2003: Stremme 2004: Ky. Busch 2005: Edwards 2006: O'Quinn Jr. 2007: Ragan 2008: Cassill 2009: Allgaier 2010: Stenhouse Jr. 2011: T. Hill 2012: A. Dillon 2013: Larson 2014: Elliott 2015: Suárez 2016: Jones 2017: Byron 2018: Reddick 2019: Briscoe 2020: H. Burton 2021: Gibbs 2022: A. Hill 2023: S. Smith
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series	1996: Reffner 1997: Irwin 1998: Biffle 1999: Stefanik 2000: Ku. Busch 2001: Kvapil 2002: Gaughan 2003: Edwards 2004: Reutimann 2005: Kluever 2006: Darnell 2007: Allen 2008: Braun 2009: Sauter 2010: A. Dillon 2011: Coulter 2012: T. Dillon 2013: Blaney 2014: Kennedy 2015: Jones 2016: Byron 2017: Briscoe 2018: Snider 2019: Ankrum 2020: Z. Smith 2021: C. Smith 2022: Heim 2023: Sanchez