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(Bill W) April 16, 2009 – It was as good a start as you can have to a season for Billy Alley. Just miles from his hometown of Lincoln, Nebraska, he decimated a 44-car ASCS-Midwest/Northern Plains field on Friday night at I-80 Speedway near Greenwood. Not bad for the first time out! A top five run on Saturday topped the weekend off. Tomorrow, Billy and the team will head to Park Jefferson Speedway to take on the Jackson Sprint Touring Series. Some spring weather postponed Billy’s first outing of 2009, but it didn’t curtail his enthusiasm. “I was really excited to get going this year for one reason,” he says. “It’s the first time in a long time that I’ve run two seasons in a row with the same people, same cars and same motors. That is an advantage we haven’t had for a lot of years. I think that’s going to be huge, especially for a local driver.” Thursday rains made for a wicked fast track. With the passing points system, that can leave guys in the back out to dry. Starting in the stoutest heat race on Friday night, Billy managed a third place finish (from 5th). “We were off there a little bit, and to be honest, I’m lucky we didn’t get upside down,” he says of one time when he bicycled in turn four. “We adjusted our shocks for the feature, and the car really took off.” Billy credits his shocks for the difference in his performance in the feature that night. “Dave Reedy of Penske shocks is a guy who takes a lot of pride in what he does with his shocks,” he says. “That’s what he does full-time, seven days a week. I’m just lucky enough to benefit from his knowledge, and it really paid off on Friday. I think they can be a big weapon if a guy takes the time to learn how to use them. They are more than just a bolt-on shock. You can really dial yourself in or out with them, and I’m just fortunate that Dave takes time out of his day to help me with them. I’m hoping it will be a big advantage for us at Knoxville.” The heat run made the Billy Alley Enterprises #22 the last car to lock into the main event (starting 12th). He immediately circled three cars in front of him in turn one, narrowly avoiding Austin McCarl as he passed him on the high side. By lap nine, he was leading, and pulling away. “I couldn’t tell you who I was passing, or what lap it was,” he remembers. “When things are going good, the car is talking to me, and we are one. I’m in a zone. I peeked at the scoreboard one time around the tenth lap, and saw that I was in the lead already. That shocked me a little bit.” Billy admitted he was falling out of the seat a little bit at the end of 25 laps, but his win was a dominant one. “If we can get everything working on a heavy track, I’m really excited about what can happen when it slicks off,” he says. “Winning like that the first time out was great, but I couldn’t do it without great people like the Buckles Brothers and everyone else that helps us.” Saturday’s track was a polar opposite that started slick and ended in rubber-down racing for the last 15 laps of the feature. Billy drove from fourth to second in his heat. “We got what we could out of that heat,” he says. “The big thing with 46 cars there is locking yourself in the A, and that’s what we did.” Starting tenth, Billy passed several cars and moved into fifth by the time the rubber made the track a one-lane freeway. “At the beginning of the race, we were pretty good,” he says of his drive before the rubber took its toll. “We got faster as the race went on, but Lou Kennedy has been around a lot longer than me, and he was smart enough to stay in the rubber. I can’t say we would have won the race, but I feel strongly that we would have finished better than fifth. That’s racing sometimes, and it’s hard to judge those racetracks in Nebraska.” Billy has two wins at Park Jefferson Speedway in four tries. He’s hoping for a “three-peat” on Friday night. Billy Appears on Lucas Oil ASCS Show Tuesday night, Billy appeared with the Racin’ Boys on the Lucas Oil ASCS Show. Follow the link and scroll down to see the interview… http://www.racinboys.com/home/video_list On the Web To learn more about Billy Alley, including updated results and photos, visit www.BillyAlley.com! T-Shirts! T-shirts are coming soon. Stay tuned to www.BillyAlley.com! Vintage Ric Flair Clip of the Week! We need someone like Ric Flair in racing. In this week’s clip Ric reminds us that we’re “Lookin’ at the Man!”… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9enMPQtsdA Down the Alley Randy Wilson from Knoxville asks: Billy, with the Nationals A Feature planned for 40 laps, how do you plan to prepare for the fuel it would take to run 20 miles? How does that affect you mentally?
Billy answers: Forty laps won’t help the local guys when we run 20-lap features every week. I wouldn’t use that as an excuse though. Mentally, not much will change. If we’re not in contention the last ten laps, then it’s not going to make a big difference. The Outlaws run some longer races, so they have the experience there, and it makes a big difference. I think the longer race makes a guy be more patient, for sure. You have to save everything for the end. We have the bigger fuel tank, so we are ready on that end too. I don’t know, I’m a one week at a time guy, and that seems a long time from now! 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 two wins in four tries at Park Jefferson. In 2003, he topped Jake Peters, Troy Meyer, Dusty Ballenger and Doug Lovegrove in ESTS action. In 2005, his win came ahead of Gregg Bakker, Seth Brahmer, Chris Shirek and Wade Nygaard. Billy’s other two finishes are a second and a fourth. 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 would like to thank Buss Excavating, Bolz Farms, Schmit Automotive, Aeroquip, K&N Filters, Awesome Racewear, Hoosier Tire, Wesmar Racing Engines, McLain Motorsports, The Buckles Brothers, “High Roller” the Pig Farmer, JEI Chassis, Red Devil Brakes, Harris Decals, RCI, Terry’s Body Shop and Pro Shocks.
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