American Racing News Vol 1, Issue 2 Issue 8 | Page 36

The road to recovery is not an
easy one away from the race
track. There isn't much fanfare,
celebration or the adrenaline
rush of an Eldora slide job; it's
pretty much filled with small
steps and milestones, which most
of us take for granted, with the
ultimate goal of returning to a
sense of normality.
"Every day I feel like I get a little
better," Robert acknowledges.
"These things are just part of the
game. It's not the end of the
world, but it's tough not having
any income right now. I had just
bought a house a couple of weeks
prior to the accident and, on top
of owning my own team, it's just
the worst timing. I'm a truck
driver 60 hours per week, but I'm
not allowed to drive for eight to
nine weeks."
Though he paints a bleak picture
at the moment, Robert has his
mind set on his eventual return
to the seat of a sprint car.

"It will be between eight and 12
months before I can return to
racing," Robert estimates. "It will
be anywhere from June to
September of 2017 when I come
back, possibly for "Eastern
Storm," but the doctors want to
make sure everything with me is
100 percent before they release
me to race. Since I can't run for
points in any series next year, I'm
going to run a little bit of
everything - USAC, wing races,
anywhere and everywhere."

Donations for Robert's
recovery fund may be
sent to:
Robert Ballou
c/o USAC
4910 W. 16th Street
Speedway, IN 46224