Walter Harvey Ballard Sr. (January 12, 1933 – October 26, 2024) was an American

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. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...

driver from

Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

. In 1971, he won the

Rookie of the Year Award A Rookie of the Year award or ROY is given by a number of sports leagues to the top-performing athlete in his or her first season within the league. Athletes competing for the first time in any given league are also known as "rookies". Principal ...

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 19 ...

'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. 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 the 1971 Space City 300 at Meyer Speedway in

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, NASCAR Winston Transcontinental Series and NASCAR Camping World West Series, is a regional stock car racing series ow ...

in 1971 and 1976, failing to qualify for both.

Personal life and death

In 1979, Ballard started an automotive repair business with his sons Daniel, Stoney and Clint, retiring in November 2005. As of 2007, he resided in

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 United ...

. His wife Katy died in 2019. Ballard died in

Kingwood, Texas Kingwood is a master-planned community located in northeast Houston, Texas, United States. The majority of the community is located in Harris County with a small portion in Montgomery County. Known as the "Livable Forest," it is the large ...

, on October 26, 2024, at the age of 91.

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

Winston Cup Series

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ballard, Walter 1933 births 2024 deaths NASCAR drivers NASCAR team owners Racing drivers from Houston Sportspeople from Foley, Alabama Racing drivers from Alabama