@OSCAARRacing • (November 11, 2015)- If there’s one thing that Kelly Balson proved in his sophomore season is that he is certainly a top-five threat every week and a contender to sneak through to score his first career victory.
On five different occasions over the course of Balson’s season, he was one of the top-five finishers in the events for the OSCAAR Outlaws Presented by London Recreational Racing.
Balson made it known from the beginning of the year that he’d be part of the conversation, in honesty. He came out with one of the strongest cars in the season opener at Sunset Speedway, running up front and leading some laps en route to a second-place finish. He then backed that up with a third place finish in his second Sunset Speedway appearance of the season in June.
The Hampton, Ontario native then proved that he wasn’t going to be a one-track wonder, either, as he took the positive runs on the road. He hit up Delaware Speedway in London, Ontario with a fifth place finish, and then took the momentum to Peterborough Speedway to score a third place finish in front of the home track crowd. Balson would then head back to Sunset Speedway, posting a sixth place finish.
After some of the struggles that Balson went through in his rookie campaign, it was no surprise to find the veteran relieved at the mid-season point of the season by his success.
“It’s a relief to have this program where it is right now,” he commented, per Spencer Lewis, in August. “Last season, we were swinging in the dark at times, trying to find something that would wake this car up. Now, our package is competitive, and all we need to concentrate on is making small adjustments to make it a little bit better.”
Unfortunately, the strong string of consistent finishes would come to an end at the end of August. It wasn’t due to a mishandling car or a wreck on-track, but rather a mechanical failure. During practice at Flamboro Speedway, Balson would blow the motor, resulting in being unable to compete that night. It would also result in Balson missing the series’ next stop at Peterborough.
Balson would return to the tour for the final two events, having another pair of strong runs behind the wheel of the No. b10 London Recreational Racing, Cochrane Automotive, GTA Racing Design, Castrol Edge, Spencer Lewis Promotions and Bennett Chevrolet Cadillac Buick Super Late Model. He would finish fifth at Sunset Speedway, before completing the finish with a fourth at Peterborough.
Being able to get stronger each week, Balson proved that he is certainly someone that will be in the conversation for years to come. Look for Balson to score his first career victory sometime in 2016.
By: Ashley McCubbin
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