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Tornado Alley – Preparation Meets Opportunity!

(Bill W) June 5, 2008 – As Billy Alley celebrated with his team and family on Saturday night in Victory Lane at the Knoxville Raceway, a great weight was lifted from his shoulders. The longest draught between wins of his short career had been quenched. The SA Racing Team formed last Winter, and in just their fourteenth start had beaten some of the best in the business at Knoxville Raceway.

An early pill for time trials helped the Lincoln, Nebraska sprint car driver to sixth quick, even though you could have fooled him when he exited his JEI chassis. "After time trials, I was in a pretty foul mood," he says. "I really turned a horrific lap out there. I would have bet $100,000 that it wasn't going to hold up for sixth quick. I thought it was going to be another 'start in the back night.'"

Lining up in the third row of his heat, he was able to hang on to the final transfer (sixth) by the skin of his teeth, thanks to a late move to seal off Brooke Tatnell. "We changed some things for the heat race, but that didn't help much. We had a chance to get into fourth there at one point, but I screwed up and fell back to sixth. I was battling (Seth) Brahmer (for fifth) and I could see Brooke's white car once in awhile and I could hear him. There was a lap in there where I kind of chopped him a little bit. It was one of those things that wasn't real dirty, but it ended up being the move of the night that I needed to win the main event. I don't think it was anything he wouldn't have done in my position."

Another stroke of luck came in the fact that the format called for three heats and not four. "Normally, they've been taking five out of the heats, so we were lucky this was a week that they took six," says Billy. "Everything seemed to work out for me that way on that night. One of my favorite quotes is, 'Luck is Preparation Meeting the Moment of Opportunity'. Saturday was that moment."

Billy's luck continued when quick timer Davey Heskin pulled a six for the feature inversion, lining him up outside row one. "We were lucky to start on the front row," he says. "Randy (Anderson) started on the bottom, and the bottom was really good again. He used it to his advantage and kind of drove off. I kind of settled in behind him, and he missed his mark a couple times and I took advantage."

The pass for the point came on the sixth lap, and Billy pulled away a bit. "I was able to set sail a little bit, and was able to get through lapped traffic pretty well," he explains. "There were a couple of close calls, but we got through there. I was able to get out there pretty good with the track the way it was, and all the clean air. I knew there were some fast cars behind me. I was getting a little bit anxious at the halfway point. I knew I missed my marks a couple times, and I didn't know how close everyone else was."

On lap fourteen, the only caution of the race came out, and those fast cars pulled right up behind him. "With six to go, on that restart, I knew that I could only beat myself," he says. "I had an awesome racecar under me. If I hit my marks, they weren't going to get around me. I did miss them one time in those six laps, but luckily it was enough to win."

A brief challenge from Dusty Zomer came a lap after the race had restarted. Billy blocked him and sealed the deal the rest of the way. "With the long wait we had, there was a little bit of doubt, there in the last few laps," he says. "I kept waiting for someone to fly by me, some way, somehow, or something to go wrong, but it never did. Coming off turn four, I said to myself, 'I'm actually going to win this race!' I had to gather myself a bit, so I took my time on the victory lap. Then, I decided I better hurry my ass up and get to the scales!"

His first win with SA Racing partner Shane Sterling, Bob "Buns" Richardson, Allyn Shively and the rest of the boys was big. "That win was one of the most special in my career," says Billy. "I've thought about it every day. I'd like to take this and run with it. It does a lot for a guy's confidence. Winning in only the fourteenth time out with a new team is pretty cool. Getting that win out of the way this early in the season is big. People can tell you not to worry about it if you haven't won, but if you are competitive, that's all you think about. It seems like we've left the track 100 times without that feeling since the last win."

Even though he struggled to find his way in 2007 after winning the track title in 2006, Billy doesn't see it as a loss. "Last year may seem like a loss to some, but to me it was a great learning experience," he says. "I got to race at a lot of racetracks, have a lot of laughs and learned a lot. To win at Knoxville is just plain tough anytime, but this year it is as tough as ever. This win was special for a lot of reasons."

Billy and the team will see the competition heat up to an even higher pitch as the World of Outlaws visit Knoxville on Friday and Saturday. After a couple of Sundays off, the team will head to Huset's Speedway in South Dakota on Sunday as well.

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 with Hatfield and McCoy. "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

Phil Hastings from Seattle, WA asks: Billy you did a great job broadcasting the races on Friday night (Hoseheads Radio)! I love your stories. Did you have fun and do you get nervous?

Billy answers: Thanks, I had a blast! I actually don't get nervous. I think I enjoy it too much. One thing I can say is it is a lot harder than it looks! When you sit by yourself, you may think it would be easy to announce a race, but when you are in the booth and you know people are listening…it may be nerve-wracking, because you don't want to look like an idiot and make a mistake with a car. The Masters was a little bit tough because I didn't know anybody. That made it tougher. I think the Outlaws would be easier, but of course, I'll be racing!

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's wild celebrations at Knoxville were understandable. He had not tasted victory since August 15, 2006 at Nebraska Raceway Park. There, he drove Mark Burch's #1m to an ASCS-Midwest win over Jeff Mitrisin, Justin Henderson, Rick Ideus and Mark Pace. His last Knoxville win came with Burch as well, on August 4 in a 360 National prelim, where he bested Brian Brown, Dustin Lindquist, Jason Johnson and Jesse Giannetto. The drought was by far the longest in his short career, both overall and at Knoxville.

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.

Celebration at Knoxville! Brooke and Shane Sterling, Billy and Aislynne Alley and Allyn "Ace" Shively. Not pictured, but there in spirit: Crew Chief Bob "Buns" Richardson (Conrad Nelson Photo)

www.hoseheads.com/billw.html