Earl Franklin Balmer was an American racing driver who drove stock cars and motorcycles.
15 Facts About Earl Balmer
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Earl Balmer started his career at the Jeffersonville Sportsdrome in Clarksville, Indiana.
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Earl Balmer drove in the ARCA Racing Series from 1959 to 1973, winning races at tracks like Salem Speedway, Pan American Speedway and Corpus Christi Speedway.
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Earl Balmer won ARCA's first superspeedway race, a qualifier race for the 1964 250-mile race.
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Earl Balmer's main ride for his ARCA races were Plymouth cars.
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In 1964 and 1965, Earl Balmer drove for Bud Moore Engineering, teaming with David Pearson in 1964 and Darel Dieringer in 1965.
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Earl Balmer 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.
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In 1966, Earl Balmer switched to a new ride, driving for Ray Fox.
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Earl Balmer acquired the ride after he heard that Fox's previous driver, Lee Roy Yarbrough, had left the team.
10.
Later in 1966, Earl Balmer drove for Smokey Yunick and drove a car previously driven by Gordon Johncock.
11.
Later in that season, Earl Balmer had an incident during the 1966 Southern 500 race at Darlington Raceway.
12.
Earl Balmer's car spewed petrol and debris up towards the press box, causing the journalists inside to duck for cover.
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However, when Wood Brothers Racing called him to drive in the 1967 Rebel 400, Earl Balmer returned to NASCAR.
14.
Earl Balmer attended Borden High School but dropped out after freshman year, earning a GED over thirty years later.
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Earl Balmer later lived in New Albany, Indiana, where he married and had kids.