Bill Ballance has overcome a lot this season so far. First he had a cancer scare, which ended in surgery to have a tumor and ribs removed. Then, while still recovering from surgery, he had two DNF's, one in Florida and one in Georgia. He finally got on the podium at Steele Creek and has been there since, getting on the top spot of the podium this weekend at the Acerbis Loretta Lynn's. Will Ballance grab number 10 and retire or will he back next season?

Of all the hundreds of races you've won where does this win rank for you?
This one was pretty special. I have won a lot of races before. But after everything I've had to go through over the winter and having surgery, and cancer and ribs taken out, and all that stuff, I felt pretty beat down for awhile. Getting back on the top of the podium was...I guess you could say it was pretty special, for sure.

What did it take to get back to this level? A whole lot of work, for sure. It was tough, even at Loretta's. I mean I'm still not where I need to be. I'm trying to get mentally toughened to do what your body can't do. That's kind of tough. A good thing is that I can rely a lot on past experiences. Lot of things I have gained I've gained with knowledge and being there before. I don't have to completely rely on speed to be competitive and win races. Having been there and done it before helps as much as anything.

How hard were the two-third places to get? You are so used to being up there in first, were you happy to get third? Yes and no. After not being able to finish the first two races, to get the two thirds it was motivation to know I was going in the right direction, and getting better and stronger. At the same time, as a competitor way deep inside that never leaves you or changes you. Anytime I've gotten a second or a third, there's always part of me that still wanting to have won the race or to have done better. It was kind of bittersweet, I guess you could say.

Why did you have to have surgery at the beginning of the season?
I was headed to the shop one day and coughed and had a rib break. I went that following weekend and didn't know exactly what had happened. I went that following weekend and did a mid-south race. We had a lot to test on the '09 bike. After the race was over I was hurting pretty bad. It was hurting to breathe. Something just didn't feel right so I had some x-rays to make sure something too bad wasn't going on. When I did the x-rays it showed a cloudy spot. It led the doctors to take me to get CAT scans run. After that, it was definitely something going on in the rib cage that they didn't know what was going on. The only way to know what was going on was to have surgery. Before surgery I had to make a decision if it was cancerous to give permission to take out the "boundaries," around the cancer. I told them to go ahead and do whatever they thought they were supposed to do. They pulled it out and the specialist looked at it and thought it was very possible it was some kind of cancer. That being said, it required them to take two ribs. The rib the tumor was attached to cut blood supply off to a rib and caused it to decay, and break when I coughed. Biggest thing getting over it is the muscle damage. They declared surgery and took everything out. I go back later this year to take a couple more tests to make sure. Right now doctors confident it's all gone surgery.  So, no chemo or anything like that.

How long did it take to get back on the bike after your surgery? It was three and half weeks. I got back on the bike a few days before Florida to make sure the suspension felt pretty good. Then we went to the national and tried racing in Florida but it just didn't work out. My body was just still way too weak. I was trying to do more than what my body really wanted to.

How do your doctors feel about you racing? My doctor is a really cool guy. He was very understanding about what I do for a living. We talked a lot about it and kept it in mind when he did the surgery. Before Florida, he had me come down with some of my equipment. He wasn't worried about me getting hurt, as long as I was on my bike and doing my normal function, he just didn't know how I was going to get through the pain or have the strength to do it. He helped him me with my chest protector and some protective shields under my jersey along the lines that if I had a wreck it would protect me from that. He was very much involved and helpful with the whole thing.

Last year you mentioned how a lot of your competition had new machines and that would be hard for them-how has it been for you to develop your new ride?
The new Yamaha is pretty awesome. We had some time over the winter to do a lot of set up to figure things out. For me this year, it has been more me getting over my surgery, than it has been the bike. The bike has been great every time I've rode it. It's a matter of getting my strength back. The bike is flawless. We haven't had any DNF's because of the bike, or anything go wrong with the bike. We keep getting it set up better and better as time goes on. I'm just as competitive, when I'm talking about my machine and my equipment, as I ever have been. It's just a matter of me getting back in the saddle like I need to, I think.

With you and Sommers now 1-2, do you think you have everything worked out now?
Well, we definitely have made some big progress. We've made some more improvements with the bike with the front end, working with Houser racing. I am starting to get where I can train some now. I can ride, but it takes about two days to get over it. So about every third day I can go out and ride.  So that's a step in the right direction. Before, it would basically take me a week to get over it.  I'm looking to get stronger every event. Coming off the win at Loretta's, the only thing I'm thinking is try to go to the next race and be a little bit stronger than I was there and try to get another win.

Chris Borich lost his chain, and lost some points, so do you think you can come back and win this year's championship?
I do think it's very possible. There are a lot of strong riders out there for sure. Last year at the second round we had a DNF there and still come back and won and still had a race to go. That being said I already have my two DNF's this year so it doesn't leave any room for messing up. I'm confident in my bike and my equipment.  I'm getting stronger now so If I can put together some wins and stay on the podium for the rest of the year without anything else hindering it I think when we roll into Ironman, we'll have an opportunity for another win.

So take me through your race.
I got off to a good start. I got into the woods in fourth. I kept looking for lines to get into third rather quickly, two miles into the track. I searched for lines to get around Duane Johnson and Tyler Lenig and finally got around those guys after the first lap. It wasn't too long until Borich came up behind me and got up in front. I just set me my mind to keep him in sight. He happened to break his chain and left me amd McGill running for awhile. He passed me when I stopped for fuel and then I passed him when he stopped for fuel and then I led the whole last lap without being challenged. Sommers caught up with me at the end when we ran into some lappers. I got a little tired at the end but I pushed on through to get to the finish line.

You said your workouts were tough on you. Are you recovering alright after Loretta's?
Yeah, I was pretty sore all day Sunday and some yesterday. Right now I'm getting ready with the Ohlins guys with my suspension, and then getting ready to go out this evening and do some testing. I'm ready to go out and ride and get 5 or 6 rides in before the next race and get a little stronger.

Do you see yourself coming back next season, either way? If I win this year, I'd say we're probably going to hang it up. I'm going to still do some racing, still be at some GNCC's and compete in some but I won't be there for full seasons or running for championships. I'll definitely be at the Track, helping out Yamahas and Yamaha riders, maybe doing some team management. If we can pull it out and make it number 10 this year, I'll definitely be retiring from full-season racing, and chasing down championships. Put it that way.