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Tornado Alley – Bring on the IRA!

(Bill W) May 8, 2008 – By just looking at results, Billy Alley's weekend may have looked like a bust. Look a little deeper and you'll see that despite a slight driving error in time trials at Knoxville, he still qualified for the World of Outlaws feature. At Huset's Speedway, he had one of the fastest cars on the track before being forced to retire. This weekend, Billy will be at it again, racing against the Interstate Racing Association at 34 Raceway near West Burlington, Iowa and Knoxville Raceway on Saturday, before making a decision on whether to hit Huset's again on Sunday.

With 47 cars in the pits at Knoxville last Saturday, one lap of qualifying was used. With the World of Outlaws, any miscalculation can be costly. "With one lap there is no room for error," says Billy. "One thing I've always been able to do is qualify well, but we didn't get it done Saturday (24^th). I entered at the berm in the turn, and ended up on the cushion. That will always cost you .1 to .15 of a second. That's a huge difference. I was upset when I crawled out of the car."

Starting sixth in his heat race, Billy maintained his standing, but unfortunately, only the top five headed for the feature. Wavering in and out of a top four transfer spot after starting sixth in the B, the 2006 Knoxville track champion woke up a bit while battling with Clint Garner. He slid by Clint with two laps to go to seal that battle, and then shot under Justin Henderson for third on the last lap to secure a spot in the feature. "For the first time in awhile, I really sat up in the seat and went to work," said Billy.

One of the few regulars to qualify for the feature, Billy used the opportunity to get some laps in. The race went 25 laps non-stop, and he would finish 21^st in the 26 car field. "The last half of the race, I could have pulled in," he says. "I wanted to stay out there and get some laps in. We tried to stay out of the fast cars way as best as we could. Hopefully, the next night we'll be up there with them."

It was on to Huset's Speedway located just outside of Brandon South Dakota on Sunday. The track is one of Billy's favorites. After a blistering fast hot lap session, things didn't go so well in qualifying (14^th). Billy explained why. "We learned something right there. When we were hot lapping, we used the tires we had from Knoxville. They are a lot softer than the Huset's spec tire. That changed the whole performance of the car, and we had the same setup as hot laps. By heat time, we had that taken care of."

Starting outside of row one in the heat, Billy won going away, and was ready for the main event. Starting seventh, he surged forward immediately. "We were racing in close quarters with the 28 car (Mitch Runge) for fifth or so," says the Lincoln, Nebraska driver. "Then the red came out for Terry (McCarl). Our nose-wing was about falling off. We have some great equipment, but when you unload in the infield at Huset's and the trailer is outside the track, that doesn't help much. I want to thank (360 driver) Justin Jacobsma, who lent us a front wing. We just didn't have the time to get it put on right, and it didn't have the same brackets. We took too long, so they sent us to the back. We pulled in the work area, and the officials left me there because we hadn't been the cause of the yellow. It was my intention to make a run from the back, but it didn't work out that way!" Billy was officially scored 17^th in the feature.

Friday, Billy will return to a place he felt a win got away last September, as the Interstate Racing Association visits 34 Raceway near West Burlington, Iowa. After leading most of the 410 feature there last September, mechanical problems sidelined him. He's hoping for redemption.

Saturday the IRA visits Knoxville, and following that, the SA Racing team will make a decision on running whether to run Huset's again on Sunday!

Billy Makes Appearance on Full Throttle Racing Show!

Last Tuesday night, Billy appeared on the Full Throttle Racing Show with John Katich. To listen to the archive of Billy's appearance, go to http://www.dirtvision.com/Archive/2008/May/Full_throttle_5_6_08.aspx

Hoseheads Radio

If you are too far from Knoxville to make it on Saturday night, Billy's races will be on the internet at www.HoseheadsRadio.com all season long! Join "Hot" Rod Pattison and Bill W for all the action starting at 7:30 p.m. CST. SA Racing is a proud partner of Hoseheads Radio this season!

Billy on the Radio

Billy is making morning appearances all race season long on KJJY (92.5 FM). He's looking forward to talking about racing…and other things. "Because it is a country station, I think we'll talk hunting," he says of his love of the outdoors. "I think the people in Iowa can appreciate that!"

Kids, Design Your Own Wing!

For all the kids, please use your imagination and color a top wing picture in the Kids Page section of my website. Your design could be used on our car the week before the Knoxville Nationals! During the Nationals the wing will be auctioned off for charity. To learn more about Billy Alley and SA Racing, visit www.BillyAlley.com!

T-shirts

SA Racing apparel can be viewed at www.BillyAlley.com and purchased at the track! Also visit www.RacingThreads.com for apparel on clearance!

Down the Alley

Amy from Sioux Falls asks: It seems you've gotten faster at Huset's (Speedway) over the years. What is the key to getting around there?

Billy answers: We're still learning there, but patience and momentum are the two biggest things. If you jack around on the bottom, you can get blitzed. That's not to say you don't need to run the bottom too, because that's where you usually need to pass people. I like riding the high side there. You have to be comfortable or it will eat you up!

Got a question for Billy? Send it to us at sprntcar@iowatelecom.net, and we may answer it in this section! Put "? for Billy" in your subject line.

Alley's Anecdotes

Billy has had a lot of success in Interstate Racing Association (IRA) series events despite limited starts. He has eight top ten finishes in nine career feature events with the group. His best finish was arguably a fifth place run in the 2005 $10,000 to win Summer Classic. Billy drove the family #22, trailing Kerry Madsen, Brian Brown, Sammy Swindell and Ricky Logan at the checkers.

Tornado Alley

"Tornado Alley" is an up close look at the past, present and future of 2006 Knoxville Raceway track champion, Billy Alley. To receive "Tornado Alley", send an e-mail to sprntcar@iowatelecom.net with "Alley" in the subject line.

Billy and SA Racing would like to thank Delta Oil, Sterling Physical Therapy, PC., Bolz Farms, Aeroquip, Awesome Racewear, The Buckles Brothers, Buss Excavating, JEI Chassis, McLain Motorsports, Schmit Automotive, Wesmar Racing Engines, Red Devil, Brakes, Pro Shocks, Fuel Safe, C&R Radiator, Vortex Wings, Sander Engineering, K&N Filters , Harris Decals, Toad Valley Golf Course, Speedway Motors, Featherlite Inc., Autometer, D'Agostiono Racing, Monarch's Restaurant, Volvo, Hoosier Tires.

Crew Chief Bob "Buns" Richardson has had the motor running great as of late! (Doug Johnson Photo)

www.hoseheads.com/billw.html