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5/15/17 6:51 PM TWO TALES OF REDEMPTION: GRANT AND BALLOU TAKE TWO AT ELDORA

http://usacracing.com/news/sprint-ca...-two-at-eldora






TWO TALES OF REDEMPTION: GRANT AND BALLOU TAKE TWO AT ELDORA

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Last weekend at Eldora Speedway, we were witnesses to two contrasting stories featuring a pair individuals who’ve had their share of ups and downs.

Justin Grant and Robert Ballou have both certainly had their fair share of good fortune throughout their careers.* A large part of the two’s success is due to their sheer will and ability to bounce back when standing face-to-face with adversity.

Redemption is a word that comes to mind and these two have certainly answered the bell, whether it was a change in employer - as was the case with Grant - or overcoming serious injuries and a long rehabilitation to race again like Ballou.

After a tumultuous 2016 season, both Grant and Ballou were seeking new found glory.* Grant appears to have already found it with two USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car wins and the series point lead to his name coming into Eldora.

On Thursday, Ballou was medically cleared.* On Friday, he was back in a racecar at one of the most harrowing venues of them all.

The weekend was the stage to multiple comebacks.* Comebacks that won’t soon be forgotten, especially ones that come at the “Big E”

One year ago, Justin Grant came into Eldora’s #LetsRaceTwo with a full-time ride.* When he left the track that weekend, that was no longer the case.

Grant spent much of the summer of 2016 looking for a sprint car ride to showcase his craft.* It took him a few months to find a new address and, since then, that address has become a home for the Ione, California native.

By September, he was back in victory lane at Eldora’s “4-Crown Nationals” with Sam McGhee Motorsports.* Throughout the remainder of 2016 and into the first several races of 2017, Grant and McGhee haven’t finished outside the top-8.* That ride continued Friday night when Grant began the 30-lap event from the fifth position as polesitter Kevin Thomas, Jr. sprinted to the lead at the drop of the green with Chris Windom, Chad Boespflug and Jarett Andretti in tow.

Windom began to apply pressure to Thomas for the top spot by lap seven, but soon, both Grant and 11th starting Shane Cottle gassed their way to the front.* Grant took second after sweeping around the outside of Windom and now had eyes set on running down KTJ.

As Cottle made his move on Windom for third, Grant rocketed to the inside of Thomas on the back straightaway and used a patented Eldora slider to rip the lead away as Thomas countered underneath.* In a drag race to the line, Grant held the advantage by a single wheel.* Thomas charged right back, but Grant denied the anticipated Thomas’ slide job after switching to the low line to momentarily ward off the challenge.

Meanwhile, Cottle was a man on a mission using the middle to low line to gain considerable ground on Grant just after the midway point.* The two went wheel-to-wheel through turns three and four with Grant able to hold onto a slight margin.

Cottle made his bid on Grant for the lead at the bottom of turn one. Grant slammed the door to fend off Cottle, but Cottle refused to fade away and came back at Grant with just 10 laps remaining, briefly nosing ahead as a swarm of drivers made a beeline at the leaders, including Thomas, Windom, Thomas Meseraull and Dallas Hewitt.

Grant, Cottle and Thomas ran nose-to-tail, one-two-three in a battle in which no inch was spared.* Lap-after-lap, the contentious tug-of-war for position with the top-five participating in a scramble that appeared as if it were a restrictor plate race at Talladega.

Grant moved back to the top in the final stages as Dallas Hewitt found a little magic of his own, cruising around the outside of Meseraull for fourth before slicing through the middle past Cottle for third.* With four laps remaining, Hewitt hauled the mail to second after sliding across the front bumper of Thomas.

It was now a two-man trophy-dash between Grant and Hewitt for the win.* On laps 28 and 29, Hewitt made up ground off turn two to pull himself within the shadows of Grant.* Yet, Grant played a little more defense as the sound of Hewitt’s engine was now within Grant’s earshot.

On the final lap, Hewitt made one final go of it as he kept Grant within reach.* But, his torrid late-race charge to become the first member of the Hewitt family since his uncle Jack swept the “4-Crown” in 1998 would come up just short as Grant dodged each and every bullet fired at him to capture his third-career Eldora triumph and his third series victory of the season over Dallas Hewitt and Kevin Thomas, Jr.

Just two days prior, Ballou’s status was still uncertain as he awaited medical clearance from Dr. David Schwartz to give him the go-ahead to climb back behind the wheel of a racecar.* Thursday night, he received official word and a day later, he was back on the track.

Eldora was a fitting stage for Ballou’s return, but it was just happenstance that the first leg of his road back to the racetrack took place at a venue that has served him so well over the past decade.* It’s the same place where he earned the first three of his 27 career series victories as well as the first #LetsRaceTwo feature in 2015.*

From his starting position outside of the second row, Ballou immediately became a factor.* By the end of lap one, Ballou dove to the bottom of turn one to take first from Chris Windom.* However, Windom came right back at Ballou, returning the favor by mimicking the same move that had just been put on him on the opposite end to snatch the lead back in turn three.

Ripping the top lap-after-lap with their right rear tires breezing the concrete, Windom and Ballou entered lapped traffic with much of the back end of the field cooperating by running the bottom, providing them an unobstructed lane up top.*

With 13 laps remaining, the leaders encountered 15th-running Josh Hodges running the high groove.* Windom left the trusty high line to slide Hodges in the third turn.* As he slid through the middle of the racing surface, Ballou stayed the course up top and jetted around the outside of Windom exiting turn four to take the position.

A lap 26 Landon Simon tumble led put a halt to Ballou’s surefire run to the checkered, but only briefly.* When racing resumed, Ballou picked up right where he left off, checking out in the final five-lap sprint for his first win in nearly a year over Chris Windom and Brady Bacon.

Thursday, he was medically cleared.* Friday, he was back in a racecar.* Saturday, he was back in victory lane for the fifth-time at Eldora – a remarkable feat for the 2015 series champ from California who had been out of action for the previous eight months.

Grant remains at the top of the standings, increasing his lead to 66 over Chad Boespflug, Chris Windom, Chase Stockon and Tyler Courtney.