Billy VanInwegen
17 Yr Old... Race Car Driving Champion from Sparrowbush, New York
Archived stories
Sprint Car Victory on the Hard Clay at Orange County Billy in victory lane on Saturday Night at The Orange County Fair Speedway (Bob Armbruster photo) May 8th... The CRSA Sprint Cars visited the Orange County Fair Speedway on Saturday night..... Billy V was excited as he would get to perform double duty, driving The Len & Jo's #23 Big Block Modified and The Laner Family #229 Sprint Car..... It was a great night for Billy V and the team.... He won his Sprint car heat race to start off the night..... Billy then hopped into the modified and ran strongly, finishing 2nd in that heat race..... The CRSA feature redraw placed Billy and the famed #229 sprint car on the front row in the outside pole postion...... Veteran driver, Warren Alexson, brought the field to the green and led for the first six laps....Billy was able to drive by Alexson on lap seven, turning a 20.8 second lap in the process (average speed of 108 mph) .... Scott Flammer gave Billy a late race scare as he got into the back of Billy's car entering turn 3..... Flammer spun out as a result of the contact and Billy never looked back. He led the rest of way to record his first ever Sprint car Feature win!!! Billy thanked several people in victory lane including The Laner Family, The Len & Jo's crew, and Phil Jackson who worked on the 229 car in the weeks leading up to this event......Tom Laner dedicated the win to deceased friend, Larry Pittenger..... Scott Flammer makes contact with Billy's #229 in the late stages of saturday's feature Speedway Entertainment Banquet Photo: Local racing artist Scott Munroe presents one of a kind championship paintings to the Speedway Entertainment champions, Matt Reiley (Jrs.), Billy VanInwegen, Jr. (SpeedSTR's) and Cody Kline (All-Stars) January 9th.... Billy and his family celebrated his 2009 Tobias Speedstr Championship at a banquet held in Myerstown,PA. The Lantern Lodge played host to the event and things couldn't have been better. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves, as the party lasted well into the morning. Barry Angstadt, did a masterful job as MC and DJ Pete Knappenberger entertained the crowd as well. Rich Tobias addressed the crowd and had several nice things to about Billy. Tobias wished Billy well in his 2010 venture in a Big Block Modified. Local artist and Tobias employee, Scott "Bulldog" Munroe, presented Billy with a beautiful drawing of his 2009 Championship Speedstr Midget. It currently hangs proudly in the VanInwegen Home. 
Billy Captures 4th Win of the season at Shenandoah,Va
Miss Shenandoah Speedway poses with Billy in Victory Lane Sept 5th...... Billy and the team traveled to Shenandoah, Virginia to compete in a Tobias Speedstr Tour Race on the pavement at the Shenandoah Speedway. Billy finished 3rd in his heat race which placed him in the 5th starting spot for the 25 lap main event. Billy's #23 midget was on a rail as he stuck to the bottom and made several nice passes during the race. This included a fierce battle for the #2 spot with Kyle Hieber. The two young men showed off their racing talent with side by side, open wheeled, racing for several laps in a row. On lap 17, Billy powered by race leader, DJ Macri and held on for the remainder of the race to capture the win. The Victory was Billy's fourth win of the season and places him in firm command of the Tobias Speedstr 2009 Tour Points. In Victory Lane, Billy dedicated the win to Len & Jo's crewman and friend, Paul Martin, who passed away last week. Paul was the son of long time OCFS track announcer, Ray Martin. Paul "Willie" Martin loved auto racing and was always fun to be around at the Len & Jo's Garage. His knowledge and enthusiasm for our sport is something that can not be replaced and he will be missed by everyone at Len & Jo's Racing. Paul Martin (1958-2009) Motor Problem Sidelines Billy at Eastern States Event Billy V behind the wheel of the Laner Family Sprint Car in hot laps at The Orange County Fair Speedway during Eastern States Weekend ....... (Bob Armbruster photo) Oct 17th ..... Billy and the Laner Family sprint car team competed in the CRSA Sprint car event at The Orange County Fair Speedway in Middletown,NY. The race was part of the famed Eastern States Weekend. On Friday, Billy qualified the Laner #229 by finishing 4th in his heat. But, there was a big problem. The Chevy 305 Engine, seized up just as Billy took the checkered flag. The team worked hard throughout the night and all day on saturday to ready another engine in time for the Saturday night feature race. Unfortunately, the team fell a litle short and failed to make it back to the track in time to race. Everyone was disappointed but as the saying goes, "That's Racing" ! 
Runner-up Spot for Billy in CRSA Sprint Car Event
Billy V, Dylan Swiernik, and Jeremy Quick in victory lane at Woodhull Raceway in Western,NY
August 29th.... Billy and the Laner Family 305 sprint team traveled to Woodhull, NY to compete in a CRSA Sprint car event there on Saturday night. The team continued to struggle with a fuel injection issue that has frustrated them for a couple of weeks. Tom Laner Sr and the team worked on the system all night long and had the car running better by feature time. Billy started on the pole but fell to 2nd position on the start. On lap 5, Billy took the lead and held it for about 5 laps until he was passed by eventual race winner, Dylan Swiernik. Billy held on for 2nd and Jeremy Quick was 3rd. 24 CRSA Sprint Cars took the green.
Tom Laner Sr pushes Billy and the famed #229 off at Woodhull Raceway
Billy Wins Tour Race at Airborne Speedway
Billy in victory lane at Airborne Speedway in Plattsburgh, NY on Saturday night
August 22nd.... Billy V continues to have success on the pavement with his #23 Tobias Speedstr Midget. The team traveled to Plattsburgh in upstate NY on Saturday night to compete in a National Tour Race. Several teams from Canada crossed the border to give the series a nice field of cars. Billy started the feature from 6th spot and ran in that position for the 1st portion of the feature event. Not much was happening for Billy in the bottom grove, so he jumped up to the high side and was able to make several nice passes. The exciting race came down to wire with Billy getting by race leader, Paul Lotier, with two laps to go. Lotier battled back as did 2nd place finisher, Carl Labonte. The top 3 had the fans on their feet as Billy held on for the victory. Speedway Press release
Heat race action from Airborne Speedway (Dave Brown photos)
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Victory on Pavement at Shangri-La Speedway
Billy celebrates in Victory Lane at Shangi-La Speedway
August 1st..... Billy won a Tobias Speedstr Midget tour race for the 2nd time this season on Saturday afternoon. The new Shangri-La Speedway is an ultra fast 1/2 mile paved track located in Tioga Center, NY. Billy's #23 Speedstr was fast right out of trailer. He went from 6th to 2nd in his heat. Billy started the 20 lap feature from 6th position and was running 3rd at the midpoint of the race when the two leaders got together. Doug Rose and DJ Macri tangled in turn 4 and Billy was able to slide by, avoiding the incident. From there, Billy never looked back, finishing ahead of Rich Tobias and Kyle Hieber. The Tobias Speedstr Midgets looked good on this new track and they were turning lap times around 19.0 seconds. The average speed was in excess of 100mph.
Shangi-La Speedway
Billy makes Big Block Modified Feature at OCFS
Billy driving The Len & Jo's #79 back up car at OCFS
July 25th..... Jeremy Markle and the Len & Jo's Race Team allowed Billy to drive their back up #79 big block Modified at The famed Orange County Fair Speedway. Billy started 9th in his heat and finished 6th. He then started the consi from 3rd postion and held on the the final transfer spot to qualify for the feature. This was Billy's 2nd time drivng a dirt modified, so the team was very pleased that they were able to make the feature as there were 34 cars signed into the pits. Billy started the feature from 26th starting spot. He ran 22 laps before being lapped by the race leader at which point he headed pitside with the #79 in tact. The team was, again, pleased with Billy's performance.
Billy straps into the #79 Len & Jo's racing Big Block Modified at OCFS as Tommy Kline looks on
Top 3 Finish at Sundance Vacations Speedway
(L-R) ...Billy V, Paul Lotier, and Richie Tobias were the top 3 finishers at Sundance Vacation Speedway in St. John's, Pa.
August 16th..... On Sunday afternoon, Billy and the Speedstr team traveled to The Sundance Vacations Speedway (Mountain Speedway) in St. John's, Pa. The temperature was hot and so was the racing action. Billy ran another good race on the pavement and finished 3rd. Paul Lotier was the race winner, Rich Tobias was 2nd, and Dirt modified star, Jeff Strunk, finished 4th in his Speedstr debut. The team was happy to see Steve Hicks walked away, uninjured, after flipping his #USA1 in turn one. Billy remains in 1st place in the 2009 Tobias Speedstr Tour Points.
The team stopped by the Pecko Race Team Garage in Vandling, Pa on sunday evening. We were treated to pizza and hot wings before heading back to our Sparrowbush, NY residence.
Big Diamond Flip for Billy V Billy flies over the wall in turn 3 at Big Diamond Speedway June 4th ...... The Tobias Speedstr Midget team traveled to Minersville,Pa to compete in a Tobias Speedstr Midget Race at The Big Diamond Speedway. Billy started the night off with a great qualifying lap which was 2nd best to Rich Tobias. On the 3rd lap of the feature, disaster struck as Billy hopped the right rear wheel of the Tobias #17 and launched completely over the 3rd turn wall with a series of violent flips. The car suffered major damage but Billy was ok as the roll cage and Hans Device did a good job of keeping him safe. The Gary Silverman video clip of the incident can be viewed by clicking the "watch video" link. The team was busy all day on Friday taking the car apart and they hope to have it back together in time for the upcoming tour races in Canada. 
3rd place at Susky Speedstr Race
July 2nd ...... The Tobias Speedstr Midget team traveled to Newberrytown,Pa to compete in a Tour event at the Susquehanna Speedway. Billy started the feature from 4th position but quickly found himself in 8th place as he went high in the first turn of the race and got freight-trained. On lap 5, Billy was following the cars of Ryan Smith and Tyler Potts when they got together coming out of turn four. Billy was unable to avoid the #11 K&N car of his friend, Ryan Smith. His #23 suffered some pretty good damage to the front end, but he was able to continue. The damage did not seem to effect the handling too much as he was able to make some nice passes in route to fine 3rd place finish. The left front tire was flat by the end the race . Rich Tobias was the race winner and Steve Hicks drove his #USA1 car to a strong 2nd place finish. Top 3 at Susquehanna were Rich Tobias, Steve Hicks (R), and Billy VanInwegen (L). (Dave Lash Photo) 
Billy V races in Canada
Billy poses with his mom and sister at The Autodrome in Drummondville Canada. June 19th ...... Billy V and his race team had a busy weekend which included a trip to Canada. The first stop was on friday night at the Albany / Saratoga Speedway. The Laner Family 305 Sprint car team met up with Billy and his family at the track and they competed in a CRSA Sprint car event. Rain cancelled the heat race action but track officials were able to get the track dry in time to run a "feature only" event. Billy started in 13th spot and finished in 7th. The Laner Family and Jason Markle towed the famed #229 Sprint Car back to New Jersey as Billy continued to travel north to Canada. 
June 20th ...... Rain cancelled the entire Tobias Speedstr event which was scheduled at Autodrome Drummond in Drummondville,Canada. The heavy rains came just as Billy was strapping into his #23 Speedstr for hot laps. Several of the teams did get some racing in at a local, indoor go-kart racing facility. Rich Tobias won the race, Billy was 2nd, and Jeff Gallup was 3rd.
June 21st ...... Cornwall Speedway in Ontario, Canada was the next stop for the Tobias Speedstr Team. Billy was running 2nd in his heat race when the motor blew up. The team was disappointed but we were happy, again that Billy was not injured in the incident. Rich Tobias came to the rescue and allowed Billy to race his #11 K&N Filter sponsored Midget. Billy started the feature in 13th and drove all the way up to 3rd place. It was a great run and Billy was very appreciative to be given the opportunity to race.
Billy poses with Scotty and Justin of the Speedway Entertainment Crew of the Thompson Motorsports #11 Tobias Speedstr Midget.
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Billy V Wins Tobias Speedstr Event at Susquehanna Speedway
Billy in victory lane with his crew at Susquehanna Speedway
May 30th ... The Tobias Speedstr Midget team traveled to Newberrytown,PA to compete at The Susquehanna Speedway. Billy and his #23 midget were fast right out of the trailer. He won his heat race in convincing fashion, and then went on to record his first ever Tobias Speedstr Midget win in the 20 lap main event. Second place finisher, Tyler Potts, gave Billy all he could handle in the final laps of the race. Billy just beat him across the line in an exciting finish. It was a great night for the team. More photos should be posted soon.
Click for Speedway Entertainment Press Release
Billy talks with the track announcer in Victory lane at Susquehanna Speedway
8th Place at Accord Speedway Mark Tabaka, Billy V, Tom Laner Sr. , and Bruce Gordon in the pit area at Accord Speedway on Friday night June 12th...... The Laner Family Sprint Car Team competed in two CRSA race events over the weekend. The first one was on friday night at The Accord Speedway. Billy had a poor qualifying race and would have to start the feature from 23rd position. He drove a good, steady race and moved the Laner Family #229 up through the field and captured an 8th place finish. On saturday night at The Orange County Fairgrounds in Middletown,NY, the team again struggled a bit during heat racing . An unlucky draw placed Billy in the 10th starting position for his heat. He was able to take the #229 up into the 6th spot thus qualifying for the feature. Tom Laner made some set up changes for the the feature and the team was excited about their chances in the Main Event. Mother Nature had different plans and the skies rained down on the famed Speedway. The race was postponed until August 15th. The CRSA Sprint Cars will run two features that night and Billy will start the make up feature from 16th spot. 
