7/11/2013
Billy Alley
3 Race Weekend
3 Race Weekend
July 9, 2013 (by Jeff White)
This past weekend saw the Ironwood Builders/Billy Alley #3 compete Friday Night in Rock Rapids, IA (Minnesota Mafia), Saturday Night in Hartford, SD (ASCS Nat), Monday Night in Albion, NE (NE 360’s). Friday night the team would finish the “A” feature in the 10th position. “It was great to get up to Rock Rapids on Friday, got to see some close friends, wish our finish was a little higher.”
Saturday night Billy would win a heat race at I-90. “Any time you can win a heat race against the National Tour, it’s a good run. We had a pretty fast race car, but in the feature the track took rubber and it was follow-the-leader. Then to make matters worse we broke a power steering line which made it extremely difficult to drive in the rubber so we just pulled the car in and loaded it up in one piece. That was the first time in my entire career that I’ve broke a power steering line. Our car was much faster than our finish indicates.” The team would be credited with a 19th place finish.
Monday night the team would get back into the home state of Nebraska and compete with the local Nebraska 360 Sprint Series at Albion Speedway. “Albion is a track that I hadn’t been to since 2002, I looked at my notes from that night and it said that we changed our front axle 3 times that night. It’s a racy track, kind of a hidden gem in the state of Nebraska.” The heat race would see Billy take the victory earning him a spot in the redraw for the feature. After the redraw, Billy would start in the 6th position for the “A” feature. With rain only miles away the feature would be shortened form 25 to 20 laps. When the green flag dropped, the racing was fast and furious with action in every corner. “We started the feature pretty good and the car was handling great, we were clicking off the laps. “ At one point in the feature the top 5 cars were separated by only a few car lengths along with lap traffic, making for a very exciting race for all of the fans who were in attendance. “I know at one point we were 3 and 4 wide easily, it was a lot fun, I wish I would have picked a different line in a few corners and I think that was the difference in the race. I felt like I let that one slip away and with those extra 5 laps, who knows what would have happened. We finished a very close 3rd place.”
This weekend the team looks to head back to the Knoxville Raceway, a track that Billy is very familiar with. “I’ve raced at a lot of places throughout my career, but I’ve got the most laps at Knoxville, should be fun getting back over there. After this past weekend I can honestly say we got faster every night and I can’t wait to get back in the seat at Knoxville and see all the great fans after the races! WFO”
Up Next: Saturday 7/13/13 Knoxville Raceway
We would like to thank our sponsors: Ironwood Builders, Vogt Poured Walls, Carpetland, Klone Farms, Stepping Stone Genetics, K & N Filters, Colby Ridge Popcorn, Astro Buildings, M & K Fence, Kinsler Fuel Injection, Speedway Motors, BUDA, Depicted Image Photography by Jeff White, Troy & Tyler Walvoord Racing
Article Credit: Jeff White
Submitted By: Jeff White
