|
Tornado Alley – 2008 Was a Success!
(Bill W) November 27, 2008 – The first year can be brutal for a sprint car team, but Billy Alley and the SA Racing team made it work. In the end, Billy's partnership with Shane Sterling has to be judged a success. The team fell one spot short of the ultimate prize at the Knoxville Raceway with the most competitive field in weekly history, assembled, and picked up a number of wins along the way.
The 2006 Knoxville Raceway track champion stumbled a bit to start the season, learning about a new chassis (JEI) with the rest of the team. "Starting from scratch, it was definitely a first year race team," he says. "We had our jitters and started a little slow. A lot of that was me getting used to the new cars."
The Lincoln, Nebraska native grabbed two wins atop the strong field at Knoxville on his way to second in the standings behind 8-time champ, Danny Lasoski, in the 410 class. "If you looked at who started the year at Knoxville…the names and cars, to say we would end up second would be pretty sweet," says Billy. "We timed in well most weeks. We didn't pass the most cars, but that really isn't the goal. Anybody that says they like to start in the back is full of it. We definitely got our motor program better and got the cars figured out."
The team worked some 360 starts in, finding victory at the Belleville (KS) High Banks with NCRA, and winning the $5,000 Jackson (MN) Nationals in August. Podium finishes at the 360 Nationals and Tournament of Champions at Knoxville were other 360 highlights. "We weren't consistent enough with the 360," says Billy. "It's definitely something we can work on."
Billy prides himself in being ready for the Knoxville Nationals, and he was. He finished fourth on his preliminary night, putting himself in the finale. After falling back to the rear of the field early, he stormed by some of the best to a 14th place finish. "We had a pretty good Nationals other than the first few laps of the A main on Saturday night," he remembers. "The driver screwed up there. I blew it, which was my fault. I have confidence we can get it done next year."
410 starts after the conclusion of the Knoxville season were sparser than Billy would have hoped. A crash in the season finale at Knoxville sparked some motor problems that surfaced in Spencer with the World of Outlaws. "We hit our biggest problems on the last night at Knoxville when we wrecked," he says. "That hurt our motor, and we were done."
Billy is extremely thankful for Sterling and the rest of the partners involved with the team as well as his throng of fans. "There are a ton of people to thank, and that helped out a lot, especially the way fuel prices skyrocketed," he adds. "Craig Bolz (Bolz Farms) helped out there a lot. There are a lot of product sponsors that helped us out a lot like Aeroquip, Awesome Racewear and even JEI and Wesmar. All those people that helped us allowed us to race a little more and ease the stress. I'm grateful for that, and hope that we can continue that in 2009. We couldn't do it without the people in the stands. I was one of them, and will be again. I just hope they know how much I appreciate all of them."
Billy looks back on the season with fondness and is enthusiastic about getting 2009 started. "We definitely reached and exceeded some of our goals," he says. "I wish we could have won a few more races, but that's something we'll work on towards next year. Things can change, but right now I see us running for another Knoxville title. We plan on running 410 shows in the region, and pretty much the same 360 schedule. I would rather we start a little later than we did…maybe even April…and race through October, rather than shutting it down earlier."
Billy's Deer Hunting Update
Billy laced a whitetail buck with his bow recently. "It was your average 4x4 8-point buck. It's a pretty good one, but there's hunting yet to be done. We're still spending time up in the Big Game Treestands."
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
Rory Berryhill asks: It must be a long offseason for you. What are you doing outside of hunting?
Billy answers: Thinking about hunting. We've been pouring some concrete too. I'm just looking forward to getting back 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 competed in 43 feature events in 2008 in SA Racing's first season. He recorded four wins, two in the 410 class, and two in the 360 class. Overall, he registered 21 top fives (49%) and 25 top tens (58%). His biggest win was the Jackson (MN) Nationals, where he topped Brian Brown, Wayne Johnson, Gregg Bakker and Johnn Cressman for $5,000.
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 and Shane celebrated their season at the Knoxville banquet (Dave Hill Photo)
Bill W MediaMonroe, IAUSA[email protected]
If this post isn't results, stories or something c
constructive, it isn't me!
@BillWMedia
www.OpenWheel101.com
|
Reply to:
Posted By: Bill W on November 26 2008 at 02:52:29 PM
Tornado Alley – 2008 Was a Success!
(Bill W) November 27, 2008 – The first year can be brutal for a sprint car team, but Billy Alley and the SA Racing team made it work. In the end, Billy's partnership with Shane Sterling has to be judged a success. The team fell one spot short of the ultimate prize at the Knoxville Raceway with the most competitive field in weekly history, assembled, and picked up a number of wins along the way.
The 2006 Knoxville Raceway track champion stumbled a bit to start the season, learning about a new chassis (JEI) with the rest of the team. "Starting from scratch, it was definitely a first year race team," he says. "We had our jitters and started a little slow. A lot of that was me getting used to the new cars."
The Lincoln, Nebraska native grabbed two wins atop the strong field at Knoxville on his way to second in the standings behind 8-time champ, Danny Lasoski, in the 410 class. "If you looked at who started the year at Knoxville…the names and cars, to say we would end up second would be pretty sweet," says Billy. "We timed in well most weeks. We didn't pass the most cars, but that really isn't the goal. Anybody that says they like to start in the back is full of it. We definitely got our motor program better and got the cars figured out."
The team worked some 360 starts in, finding victory at the Belleville (KS) High Banks with NCRA, and winning the $5,000 Jackson (MN) Nationals in August. Podium finishes at the 360 Nationals and Tournament of Champions at Knoxville were other 360 highlights. "We weren't consistent enough with the 360," says Billy. "It's definitely something we can work on."
Billy prides himself in being ready for the Knoxville Nationals, and he was. He finished fourth on his preliminary night, putting himself in the finale. After falling back to the rear of the field early, he stormed by some of the best to a 14th place finish. "We had a pretty good Nationals other than the first few laps of the A main on Saturday night," he remembers. "The driver screwed up there. I blew it, which was my fault. I have confidence we can get it done next year."
410 starts after the conclusion of the Knoxville season were sparser than Billy would have hoped. A crash in the season finale at Knoxville sparked some motor problems that surfaced in Spencer with the World of Outlaws. "We hit our biggest problems on the last night at Knoxville when we wrecked," he says. "That hurt our motor, and we were done."
Billy is extremely thankful for Sterling and the rest of the partners involved with the team as well as his throng of fans. "There are a ton of people to thank, and that helped out a lot, especially the way fuel prices skyrocketed," he adds. "Craig Bolz (Bolz Farms) helped out there a lot. There are a lot of product sponsors that helped us out a lot like Aeroquip, Awesome Racewear and even JEI and Wesmar. All those people that helped us allowed us to race a little more and ease the stress. I'm grateful for that, and hope that we can continue that in 2009. We couldn't do it without the people in the stands. I was one of them, and will be again. I just hope they know how much I appreciate all of them."
Billy looks back on the season with fondness and is enthusiastic about getting 2009 started. "We definitely reached and exceeded some of our goals," he says. "I wish we could have won a few more races, but that's something we'll work on towards next year. Things can change, but right now I see us running for another Knoxville title. We plan on running 410 shows in the region, and pretty much the same 360 schedule. I would rather we start a little later than we did…maybe even April…and race through October, rather than shutting it down earlier."
Billy's Deer Hunting Update
Billy laced a whitetail buck with his bow recently. "It was your average 4x4 8-point buck. It's a pretty good one, but there's hunting yet to be done. We're still spending time up in the Big Game Treestands."
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
Rory Berryhill asks: It must be a long offseason for you. What are you doing outside of hunting?
Billy answers: Thinking about hunting. We've been pouring some concrete too. I'm just looking forward to getting back 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 competed in 43 feature events in 2008 in SA Racing's first season. He recorded four wins, two in the 410 class, and two in the 360 class. Overall, he registered 21 top fives (49%) and 25 top tens (58%). His biggest win was the Jackson (MN) Nationals, where he topped Brian Brown, Wayne Johnson, Gregg Bakker and Johnn Cressman for $5,000.
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 and Shane celebrated their season at the Knoxville banquet (Dave Hill Photo)
Bill W MediaMonroe, IAUSA[email protected]
|
Nice write up Bill W. The 22 team did have a pretty good year and as noted in the article, the weekly competition was very strong. 2nd place at Knoxville in any year is good. Billy's crew chief Bob Richardson's experience and knowledge helped and Billy did a good job behind the wheel. Shane did good to get Billy in the suit for the banquet.(picture)
Heard he was a little hot in the suit at the banquet and the hypnotist undressed him.  surely not
|
