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Earl Franklin Balmer (December 13, 1935 – October 25, 2019) was an American racing driver who drove stock cars and motorcycles. Balmer competed in the
ARCA Racing Series The ARCA Menards Series is an American stock car series, the premier division of the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA). It is considered a minor, semi-professional league of stock car racing, used as a feeder series into the three nationa ...
and
NASCAR Grand National Series The name NASCAR Grand National Series refers to former names of the following NASCAR series: *National-level stock car series: **NASCAR Cup Series (the top NASCAR series, known as NASCAR Grand National Series between 1950 and 1970, then the NASCAR ...
, winning a Daytona 500 qualifying race in 1966.


Racing career

He started his career at the Jeffersonville Sportsdrome in
Clarksville, Indiana Clarksville is a town in Clark County, Indiana, United States, along the Ohio River and is a part of the Louisville Metropolitan area. The population was 22,333 at the 2020 census. The town was founded in 1783 by early resident George Rogers Cl ...
. After exiting the NASCAR scene, Balmer returned to local racing, running late models at
Fairgrounds Speedway Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway is a motorsport racetrack located at the Nashville Fairgrounds near downtown Nashville, Tennessee. The track is the second-oldest continually operating track in the United States. The track held NASCAR Grand Nati ...
. Balmer drove in the
ARCA Racing Series The ARCA Menards Series is an American stock car series, the premier division of the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA). It is considered a minor, semi-professional league of stock car racing, used as a feeder series into the three nationa ...
from 1959 to 1973, winning races at tracks like
Salem Speedway Salem Speedway is a long paved oval racetrack in Washington Township, Washington County, near Salem, Indiana, United States, approximately south of Indianapolis. The track has 33° degrees of banking in the corners. Major auto racing series ...
, Pan American Speedway and Corpus Christi Speedway. He also won ARCA's first superspeedway race, a qualifier race for the 1964 250-mile race. During that race, Balmer led 65 of the first 67 laps before falling victim to an oil leak. Balmer's main ride for his ARCA races were
Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...
cars. In 1964 and 1965, Balmer drove for
Bud Moore Engineering Bud Moore Engineering, later Fenley-Moore Racing, was a championship-winning NASCAR team. It was owned and operated by mechanic Bud Moore and ran out of Spartanburg, South Carolina. While the team was a dominant force in the 1960s and 1980s, the ...
, teaming with
David Pearson David or Dave Pearson may refer to: * David Pearson (librarian) (born 1955), British librarian and scholar * David Pearson (racing driver) (1934–2018), American car racing champion * David Pearson (geologist) (born 1942), Canadian scientist, acad ...
in 1964 and Darel Dieringer in 1965. He picked up the nickname "The Mad Bomber" early in his tenure in NASCAR because of the tendency for his car to wind up anywhere on the track. With Moore, he finished second to
Fred Lorenzen Frederick Lorenzen Jr. (December 30, 1934 – December 18, 2024), nicknamed "the Golden Boy", "Fast Freddie", "the Elmhurst Express" and "Fearless Freddy", was an American NASCAR driver from Elmhurst, Illinois. Active from 1958 to 1972, he won ...
in the
1965 World 600 The 1965 World 600, the 6th running of the event, was a NASCAR Grand National Series race held on May 23, 1965 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Charlotte, North Carolina. Contested over 400 laps on the 1.5 mile (2.4 km) speedway, it was the ...
. In 1966, Balmer switched to a new ride, driving for
Ray Fox Raymond Lee Fox, Sr. (May 28, 1916 – June 15, 2014) was an American engine builder, NASCAR car owner and NASCAR engine inspector. His cars won fourteen NASCAR Grand National Series events and sixteen pole positions. He was the patriarch ...
. Balmer acquired the ride after he heard that Fox's previous driver, Lee Roy Yarbrough, had left the team. Balmer called Fox and the two agreed to a drive. By this time, Balmer had also acquired another moniker, "The Ice Man". In his first race with Fox, he won a
Daytona 500 qualifying race The Duel at Daytona, formerly known as the Twin 125s, is a NASCAR Cup Series preliminary event to the Daytona 500 held annually in February at Daytona International Speedway. It consists of two races, which both serve as a qualifying race for the ...
, his first and only premier series victory. A last-lap pass on
Fred Hutchinson Frederick Charles Hutchinson (August 12, 1919 – November 12, 1964) was an American professional baseball pitcher and manager. He played for the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball (MLB) in 1939 and 1940, then took a five-season hiatus to ...
secured the win for Balmer. The win was the first NASCAR win for the
Dodge Charger The Dodge Charger is a model of automobile marketed by Dodge in various forms over eight generations since 1966. The first Charger was a show car in 1964. A 1965 Charger II concept car resembled the 1966 production version. In the United Sta ...
. Later in 1966, Balmer drove for
Smokey Yunick Henry "Smokey" Yunick (May 25, 1923 – May 9, 2001) was an American professional stock car racing crew chief, owner, driver, engineer, engine builder, and car designer. He also served as a pilot in the United States Army Air Corps in World ...
and also drove a car previously driven by
Gordon Johncock Gordon Walter Johncock (born August 5, 1936) is an American former racing driver. He won the Indianapolis 500 twice, and was the 1976 USAC Marlboro Championship Trail champion. Early career Johncock initially began racing at Michigan tracks lik ...
. Balmer, along with Dieringer and
Richard Petty Richard Lee Petty (born July 2, 1937), nicknamed "the King", is an American former stock car racing driver who competed from 1958 to 1992 in the former NASCAR Grand National and Winston Cup Series (now called the NASCAR Cup Series), most nota ...
, broke the Darlington speed record during qualifying for the 1966 Rebel 400. Later in that season, Balmer had an incident during the 1966 Southern 500 race at
Darlington Raceway Darlington Raceway is a egg-shaped oval track in Darlington, South Carolina. The track has hosted a variety of racing events since its inaugural season of racing in 1950; primarily races sanctioned by NASCAR. The venue has a capacity of 47,00 ...
. On lap 189 of the 364 lap race, Balmer and the car of
Richard Petty Richard Lee Petty (born July 2, 1937), nicknamed "the King", is an American former stock car racing driver who competed from 1958 to 1992 in the former NASCAR Grand National and Winston Cup Series (now called the NASCAR Cup Series), most nota ...
touched, resulting in Balmer's car mounting the guardrail on top of Turn 1. Balmer's car spewed petrol and debris up towards the press box, causing the journalists inside to duck for cover. No one was injured, but the journalists handed a petition to track management asking to be moved to a safer location, which resulted in the press box being reinforced for the next race. After 1966, Balmer quit racing with no factory rides available. However, when
Wood Brothers Racing Wood Brothers Racing is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes in the NASCAR Cup Series. The team was formed in 1950 by brothers Ray Lee, Clay, Delano, Glen Wood, Glen, and Leonard Wood (racing), Leonard Wood. To ...
called him to drive in the 1967 Rebel 400, Balmer returned to NASCAR. After ending his NASCAR career, Balmer transitioned to
motorcycle racing The motorcycle sport of racing (also called moto racing and motorbike racing) includes motorcycle road racing and off-road racing, both either on circuits or open courses, and track racing. Other categories include hill climbs, drag racing and ...
, where he became an enduro racer.


Personal life

Balmer attended Borden High School but dropped out after freshman year, earning a GED over thirty years later. He later lived in
New Albany, Indiana New Albany is a city in New Albany Township, Floyd County, Indiana, United States, situated along the Ohio River, opposite Louisville, Kentucky. The population was 37,841 as of the 2020 census. The city is the county seat of Floyd County. It ...
, where he married and had kids. After his NASCAR career, Balmer worked as a
bricklayer A bricklayer, which is related to but different from a mason, is a craftsperson and tradesperson who lays bricks to construct brickwork. The terms also refer to personnel who use blocks to construct blockwork walls and other forms of maso ...
.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Balmer, Earl 1935 births People from Floyd County, Indiana Sportspeople from the Louisville metropolitan area Racing drivers from Indiana NASCAR drivers American motorcycle racers 2019 deaths