| Walter Ballard | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | Walter Harvey Ballard Sr. (1933-01-12)January 12, 1933 Foley, Alabama, U.S. | ||||||
| Died | October 26, 2024(2024-10-26) (aged 91) Kingwood, Texas, U.S. | ||||||
| Awards | 1971 NASCAR Winston Cup SeriesRookie of the Year | ||||||
| NASCARCup 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. (January 12, 1933 – October 26, 2024) was an AmericanNASCAR driver fromHouston, Texas. In 1971, he won theRookie of the Year Award in theNASCAR Winston Cup Grand National Series (known as the NASCAR Cup Series as of 2021), in its first year underWinston's sponsorship.
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, Vic,[citation needed] capturing 11 top-tens, a tenth-place finish in points, and theRookie of the Year Award.[1]
In the1972 Daytona 500, Ballard's car flipped in the race. On lap 19 of the race, his car ramped overBuddy 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 unscathed.[2] Despite the flip, Ballard had an even better season in 1972, collecting seven 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 the1971 Space City 300 atMeyer Speedway inHouston, Texas.
Ballard also drove six races in theNASCAR Grand National East Series from 1972–1973, collecting one top-ten in 1972,[3] and attempted two races in theNASCAR Winston West Series in 1971 and 1976, failing to qualify for both.[4]
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 resided inCharlotte, North Carolina. His wife Katy died in 2019.[5]
Ballard died inKingwood, Texas, on October 26, 2024, at the age of 91.[6]
(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time.Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)
| 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 | [7] |
| 1971 | 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 | [8] | ||||