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Tornado Alley – Solid Season at Knoxville Complete!
(Bill W) September 4, 2008 – Billy Alley and the SA Racing team finished up a solid season at Knoxville and wrapped up the second place spot in the standings. A bid for a win was halted by tire problems and a crash, but one of the fastest cars of the night was again the Delta Oil #22. This weekend's plans will focus on a pair of Nebraska 360 shows, as Billy will race closer to home.
Billy was fast from the start, registering the third quick time of the night and charging from sixth to third in his heat race. "We were fast all night again, that's for sure," says the Lincoln, Nebraska driver. "It's felt good to be dialed in at Knoxville again. Too bad the season is done over there."
Starting outside of row two, Billy knew he had second place cinched in the point standings, and had a good duel with Davey Heskin before settling into second behind leader, Mark Dobmeier, in the 25-lap main event. The JEI chassis powered by Wesmar was operating well through the races middle stages. At times, he pulled within four to five car lengths of Dobmeier. "I think it would have been a good race," says the 'Tornado'. "I was calm and cool at that point. I wasn't pushing the issue at all. I was able to watch the laps count down on the scoreboard, because the car was operating in a way that everything was in slow motion."
Billy was setting the car up for the final ten laps. "If he got off the cushion, he was not good," he says of the leader. "I knew in clean air he would be tough, but in lapped traffic it was a different story. If he got off the cushion, he would have been in the middle like a rookie, so I was kind of smiling at that point."
That's when the bottom fell out of Billy's plan. Heskin turned over on lap 17, and Billy's left rear tire was losing air after the red condition. "We were fast until the tire went down," he says. "The whole car changed after that red. When we went green again, the car was terrible. I knew something was wrong. If I had a radio, I would have told (crew chief) 'Buns' (Richardson) that our car was getting really loose. We were losing serious traction."
Billy was able to maintain second, but had nothing for Dobmeier. "I kept telling myself I shouldn't be running along the fence like this, because something isn't right," he remembers. "I knew there were three laps to go, and I told myself I could make it. About that time it exploded going wide open into turn one. It's hard to tell when they're going to go. Sometimes the car feels awkward, and the tire is just low. That one had a hole in it."
The car backed into the wall and turned upside down, ending his night with a DNF (officially 18th). "I thought maybe a bleeder was stuck or something, but we must have run over something to cut the tire," he explains. "We found the tire afterwards, and it was blistered on both ends…so it went flat."
Billy is proud of the results of his new team formed by partner Shane Sterling and himself. "Obviously, we could have ruled without Danny Lasoski there!" he jokes. "He was in a league of his own. When you look back at the beginning of the season and see all the drivers that were running for points…we did pretty darn well. Many say it was the toughest year ever there. With a brand new team, that was a pretty darn good year."
He's also respectful of Dobmeier, who finished third, and the rest of the drivers who competed this season at Knoxville. "We didn't finish a couple of races at the end of the year (blown motor and crash) and still ended up second," he says. "To beat a guy like Mark Dobmeier, who is one of the best around, is a great accomplishment. I have so much respect for Dave Lunstra, his car owner too. They are the winningest team in 410 racing this year. It's cool to beat those guys and the rest of them too. We have a collection of the best every Saturday at Knoxville, so we're proud to finish second."
Billy will compete in a couple of ASCS-Midwest 360 shows this weekend. The Butler County Motorplex near Rising City, Nebraska will commence Friday, and the Nebraska Cup will be Sunday night at the Eagle Raceway. As for Saturday, he'll be watching his Cornhuskers live and in person in Lincoln as they battle mighty San Jose State!
Billy's Deer Hunting Update
"This week I had a 140 class buck (whitetail) pass in front of one of my Stealth Trail cameras. I have cameras that are set up to detect any movement. It won't be long now!"
New T-Shirts!
Check out Billy's new T-Shirts designed by GRAFX 2 A Tee! Get them at the trailer, or e-mail Billy to order!
Down the Alley
Cindy from Des Moines, IA asks: What has been the hardest crash you've ever had in a sprint car?
Billy answers: Usually the crashes that don't look too bad are the ones that hurt the most. My first crash at Knoxville in a 410 hurt. Most people probably don't even remember it, but it was down the frontstretch. It hurt because of how I hit the ground. Most people remember the one from the in-car camera on the Speed Channel, but that one didn't hurt a bit! It did look cool, though. I had a bad one in 2007 in hot laps when Mike Moore ran into the back of me. I was trapped in the car for 20 minutes. My ankle ended up the size of a watermelon.
Got a question for Billy? Send it to us at [email protected], and we may answer it in this section! Put "? for Billy" in your subject line.
Alley's Anecdotes
According to www.openwheeltimes.com, Billy has won four times at the Butler County Motorplex in twelve tries. He has added 10 top fives and is perfect in top tens (12 for 12). He beat a 2003 ESTS field including Doug Lovegrove, Mike Chadd, Don Droud Jr. and Mitchell Moore. Three 2004 wins came over Larry Ball Jr., Chad Humston, Terry McCarl and Chadd in April, Chadd, Justin Henderson, Dusty Zomer and Jason Danley in May, and Droud, Danley, Seth Brahmer and Toby Chapman on the Fourth of July.
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 [email protected] with "Alley" in the subject line.
Billy and SA Racing would like to thank Delta Oil, Sterling Physical Therapy, 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.
(HeartlandMotorsports.com Photo)
Bill W MediaMonroe, IAUSA[email protected]
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