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

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and hi ...

driver from

Houston, Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

. In 1971, he won the

Rookie of the Year Award A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience and expertise, a rookie is usually inexperienced ...

in the 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 Vic, capturing 11 top-tens, a tenth-place finish in points, and the

. In the 1972 Daytona 500, Ballard's car flipped in the race. On lap 19 of the race, his car ramped over

Buddy Baker Elzie Wylie "Buddy" Baker Jr. (January 25, 1941 – August 10, 2015) was an American professional stock car racing driver and commentator. Over the course of his 33-year racing career, he won 19 races in the NASCAR Cup Series, including the 198 ...

'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. 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 1971 Space City 300 at

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Other NASCAR series

Ballard also drove six races in the

NASCAR Grand National East Series The NASCAR Grand National East Series was a short-lived racing series created by NASCAR in 1972 to provide a second-tier series, below the Winston Cup Series, to provide races at tracks that had been removed from the former Grand National Series' ...

from 1972–1973, collecting one top-ten in 1972, and attempted two races in the

NASCAR Winston West Series The ARCA Menards Series West, formerly the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West, NASCAR AutoZone West Series, NASCAR Winston West Series and NASCAR Camping World West Series, is a regional stock car racing series owned and operated by the Automobile Racin ...

in 1971 and 1976, failing to qualify for both.

Personal life

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

Motorsports Career Results

NASCAR

(

key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

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

Grand National Series

Winston Cup Series

References

External links

Stats from Racing-Reference.info
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ballard, Walter 1933 births Living people NASCAR drivers NASCAR team owners Racing drivers from Houston People from Foley, Alabama Racing drivers from Texas Racing drivers from Alabama