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Tornado Alley – Cheaters Never Win!
(Bill W) September 25, 2008 – Things are slowing down on the sprint car racing calendar for Lincoln, Nebraska's Billy Alley. The last two weeks has seen him race on two separate occasions. Last Saturday night found him at the Huset's Speedway in Brandon, South Dakota for the annual Cheater's Day race. That followed a World of Outlaws show on September 10, in which motor problems plagued the SA Racing team.
Although "cheating" is allowed at the special Huset's race, Billy knows that "cheaters never win"! A wicker-bill on the #22 was the extent of the shenanigans. After tailing Gary DeWall in his heat race, Billy lined up outside of row six for the main event.
On a tough track, Billy would pick his way forward eight positions and end up fourth at the finish. "We've struggled there all year and I don't know why," he says. "We just haven't been able to get dialed in at Huset's. A guy has to run there a lot get good."
Some of the competitors would have taken Billy's finish on the 3/8 mile oval. "We finished fourth after starting 12th, so I guess it wasn't all doom and gloom," says the "Tornado". "It was just one of those deals where I wasn't so much driving the car as I was holding on! (Mark) Dobmeier started beside us and he won, so that doesn't feel too great."
On the week of September 10, the team had hoped to race three times with the World of Outlaws, but those hopes were dashed early with motor problems that had presumably held over from Billy's crash at the Knoxville Raceway on Season Championship night. After struggling in qualifying and in his heat at the Clay County Fair Speedway with the WoO, Billy called it a night.
What originally was thought to be magneto problems, turned out to be more serious. "Unfortunately, we broke a valve in the motor," says Billy. "It was serious…otherwise we would have been in Wheatland (Lucas Oil Speedway) with the Outlaws. We could have fixed it and ran, but when a guy crashes at Knoxville (Season Championship night), you need to send it back and get it looked at, and that's what we're doing."
The team plans on racing in NCRA competition this Saturday night at the 81 Speedway in Wichita, Kansas. No 2008 plans exist beyond Wichita for now. "We're excited to go down to Wichita and run with the NCRA," says Billy, who picked up a win in the Sunflower State earlier this season in Belleville. "I don't know if we'll race the rest of the year or not after that. Right now, every race is just a bonus. I've got plenty to do around home, and everyone else is busy with construction work. The weather has been good for that."
Billy's Deer Hunting Update
Bow hunting has been on a holding pattern because of the weather recently, but the season runs through December, so no worries. "It's still too warm to get out there," says Billy. "We've got our cameras up and everything and they're taking good pictures of some nice prospects. It's just a little warm to go sit in a tree right now."
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
Gene from Sioux Falls, SD asks: How was your family involved in racing when you were growing up?
Billy answers: If it wasn't for my family, I wouldn't be where I am today. My dad has been into racing his whole life. I think I'm good with the fans, because I was one of those kids sitting over in turn four when I was a young kid. My dad started his own construction business, and that allowed me to be lucky enough to go kart racing. I was fortunate enough to meet good people along the way, and now it doesn't get any better than being a part of SA Racing.
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
Billy hasn't raced a whole lot with the NCRA, and has just six feature appearances. His win at Belleville over JD Johnson, Don Droud Jr. and Derek Drown was his first with the series, but he does have five top ten finishes in the six tries. He also has two runner-up NCRA finishes. One was a 410 start, as he finished behind Jason Johnson at the Junction Motor Speedway in McCool Junction, Nebraska in 2004.. The other second place finish occurred behind Garry Lee Maier at Mid-Nebraska Speedway in Doniphan in 2005. His best 81 Speedway finish occurred with a solid 8th place run there with the WoO in 2004.
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.
Billy in action at Spencer (Doug Johnson Photo)
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