Billy VanInwegen

2009 

 Billy competed in every race on the 2009 Tobias Speedstr Tour Schedule.   The team traveled into Canada and as far south as Virginia.     Billy won four tour races and captured the National Points Championship as well as the Northeast Regional Points Title.  His victories came at Airborne Speedway,  Shangri La II Speedway,  Susquehanna Speedway, and Shenandoah Speedway.     On the flip side of those great victories,  there was one bad night which occurred in July  at the Big Diamond Speedway.   Billy took a wild ride out of the ballpark and completely destroyed his car.  Billy was shaken up,  but walked away uninjured thanks to a Hans device and the safety features built into the Speedstr Midgets by Rich Tobias.   

There were some great race teams that competed with the Speedstr series in 2009.   The Heiber Family,  Tyler Potts,  DJ Macri,  Doug Rose,  Paul Lotier,  Jeff Gallup,  Nick Pecko,  Curt Weller,  Doug Sherwood,  and Steve Hicks are some of these great people who raced hard and clean all season long.   It was great to meet and race against some Rev Star Speedstr drivers from Canada as well.  Dominic Lussier, Yannick Poirier,  Jean-Francis Tessier,  Alex and Martin Roy,  and Carl Labonte were some of these great Canadian compeditors.           

 There were two gentlemen  who were most responsible for helping Billy earn his  2009 Championship Title .    Rich Tobias continued to be a great friend and mentor in 2009.     Richie actually gave up his car at race in Cornwall, Canada and allowed Billy to run it  in the feature that night after Billy's #23 blew a motor.    It was an honor to race with Rich Tobias and even better to call him a friend.      Bernard Rhoades  ("BR")  joined the race team in begining of  2009.    B.R.'s  racing knowledge and work ethic quickly had an effect on Billy and the rest of the team.   "BR" gave up a ton of his time during the week  to make sure that the #23 Speedstr car  was properly prepared to go racing.    BR also worked hard at the race track each week.   He was constantly checking things over and making sure that  Billy's car was fast and safe.  

The Laner Family continued to allow Billy to drive their 305 Sprint Car in 2009 .   Billy competed in about 10 races with the CRSA traveling Sprint Car organization.  The team had several heat race wins and a 2nd place feature finish at The Woodhull Raceway in August.   Tom Laner  Sr and Jr both worked hard on the 305 sprinter and their efforts were greatly appreciated.    Billy's relationship with the Laner Family Race Team was a good one in 2009 and will continue into the 2010 season.

Jeremy "The Bullfrog"  Markle  continued to support Billy's racing effort in 2009.   Billy's racecar was, once again, housed at Jeremy's  "Len & Jo's"  Racing Garage in Port Jervis, NY .    Jeremy and his dad,  Danny,  helped Billy throughout the season as did Len & Jo's crewmen, Tommy Kline and Jimmy Williams.   On top of allowing the use of their garage,  the Markle family allowed Billy to drive one of their Big Block Modified Cars.  Billy drove the #79x modified on two separate nights in August of 2009.  He was thrilled to qualify for the feature on one of these occasions.    The Big Block power fascinated  16 yr old ,  Billy V  and plans were made for more big block racing in 2010.     

2008

 Ray Evernham and Rich Tobias teamed up and provided Billy with the opportunity of a lifetime.  They gave Billy a season-long ride in one of Rich's new creations , a 2008 Speedstr Midget !    Billy competed on both dirt and asphalt tracks and ran every race on the 2008 schedule.  He finished 3rd in the point standings.   Billy raced against Ray Evernham and Rich Tobias in many of those races.  ( photo above shows Billy #23 racing with Ray #98 at Clinton County , Pa )

Billy continued to race his #23 slingshot car during off weeks for the Speedstr midget.  He won two slingshot races in 2008,           including a Tour Race at the Hamlin Speedway.

Towards the end of the 2008 season, Billy was given yet another great opportunity.  Tom Laner gave Billy a ride in his 305 Sprint Car.   Billy piloted the Laner Family famed  #229 in four shows with the C.R.S.A. 305 Sprint Car Series, finishing an impressive 4th place out of 32 cars in the King of the Catskills Race at The Accord Speedway. 

The team continued to receive tremendous financial support from Hank Conroy Motorsports.     Winter's Napa Auto Parts, Len and Jo's Racing, and Johnson and Conroy Insurance continued to support Billy's racing efforts as well.   

The 2008 season was a great one, but it was certainly different.  Billy's sister, Emily, continued to race the Tobias Slingshot cars at the Hamlin Speedway.  Many times, this conflicted with Billy's Speedstr schedule,  So the family was forced to split up and head in different directions on saturday nights.  Thanks to the Wood Family, Tommy Kline, and Ben Whitaker,  Mom and Emily were able to compete at Hamlin without  Bill Sr and Billy being in attendance on several occasions. 

                                                                           2007                                                      

• Billy raced the entire 2007 Tobias Slingshot Mid-Atlantic and National Tour schedule
• Billy, his father, and his sister Emily continued to compete weekly at Randy and  Denise Smith's Hamlin Speedway. Billy's good friend, Nick Pecko, would win the Hamlin points title followed by Marc Daniels and Billy. It was exciting points race that went down to the final week.
•  After competing in 43 races at 17 different tracks, Billy was crowned the 2007 Tobias NATIONAL SLINGSHOT CHAMPION. He celebrated his win by hoisting a large check for $1,200 over his head at the Tour's final stop in Talladega, Alabama. Mike Feltenberger was there with his camera to capture that image which we will all  remember for a long time.  It was a long season with a ton of hard work and alot of help from several people.
• A few people that Billy would like to thank for his successful 2007 season are: The Smith Family, The Markle Family, The Pecko Family, Tom Laner at Winter's Napa Auto, Jim Williams, Tommy Kline, The Wood Family, Poppy Conroy, Johnson and Conroy Insurance, Rich Curtis, Mike Staiger, Dave Werber, Rich Tobias, Mike Feltenberger and Tom and Jerry Graphics. 

2006

• Billy's car received a new body and he continued to race in the senior Slingshot Division at the Hamlin Speedway. He raced the Tobias Slingshot Tour as well.
• Randy and Denise Smith re-opened The Hamlin Speedway !!!! 
• Bill Sr and Billy's sister, Emily,  raced on Saturday nights too. 
• Billy won several feature races that year and was crowned the 2006 Hamlin Speedway Points Champion.   
• He ran several Slingshot tour races at various tracks and finished 5th in the National Tobias Slingshot Tour Points. 

2005

• Billy raced full time in the Tobias Senior Slingshot Division in 2005.
• Highlights of the season included feature wins at the Accord Speedway and at the Hamlin Speedway. Sadly, his feature win at the Hamlin, Pa track came on the last night of racing at the facility. The owners, Rich and Cindy Locklin, closed the track the following day in August and had no plans to reopen it. We will miss racing there and wish the Locklin Family the best.  They provided a good, clean, friendly racing facility for kids and adults alike.
• Billy ran the slingshot tour and finished 8th in the national points. Highlighting the 2005 tour racing were 2nd place finishes at the Inaugural Reading Fairgrounds slingshot race and 2nd place in the S&S Speedways "Winner's Classic" which pitted 24 feature winners against each other in an "invitation only" race at Linda's Speedway in Jonestown,Pa.
• We raced at the following tracks during the 2005 season : 
  In Pa - Linda's Speedway, Selinsgrove, Hamlin Speedway, Greenwood Valley, Kutztown Fairgrounds, Borger's Speedway, and Penn Cann.
  In NY - Accord Speedway, Starlight Speedway, and Oswego Speedway.
  In Alabama - Wilson's Motorsports Park.
  The trips to Oswego and to Alabama were courtesy of Dave Pecko and his Vandling, Pa race team. Dave took Billy and his car along to race with with his son, Nick "the flyin fridge" Pecko. Those were great trips that Billy will never forget.
• Billy's Young Fellow slingshot drivers and friends during the 2005 were: "Big Ben" Whitaker, Shannon & Ryan Smith, Kyle Rohner, and of course "the fridge". 
• Special thanks to Randy Smith at S&S speedways for helping us at the tracks and at his shop in East Stroudsburg,Pa. ......  Thanks to Tom Laner of Winter's Napa Auto Parts in Port Jervis, NY for all of his help and sponsorship...... and Thanks once again to our good friend, Jeremy "the bullfrog" Markle, for his help and allowing us to use his shop. 

2004

• "Slingshot" was a word heard often in the VanInwegen household during the winter monthes of 2004. Billy sucessfully talked his parents into buying a Tobias Slingshot car.
• His mom, Lisa, was hard to convince as the move would probably put a sad end to Sunday afternoon racing Oakland Valley.
• A brand new Slingshot car was purchased from Randy Smith at S&S Speedways in Snydersville, PA in March 2004.
• Billy's sister, Emily, has graciously agreed to make the switch to dirt as well. She will be piloting a micro-stock on Saturday nights at the Hamlin Speedway and Billy will race his Slingshot there.
• Billy took his 2004 Slingshot on a test run at the Greenwood Valley Action Track on April 2nd. He finished 3rd in the feature and seemed to take to the dirt very well.
• Ron Heinzelman, who has been a great help to the race team over the years, made the long trip out to Greenwood Valley to see Billy in his first Slingshot race. For the past two years, Ron has been spending most of the racing season on Lake Ontario enjoying his new boat. It was good to see Ron back at the track.
• Billy won his first slingshot feature at Hamlin Speedway on May 29.
• •On August 20th, Billy made his debut "tour" race at Penn Can Speedway, and it was also his first start in a senior race. To the suprise of many,, Billy pulled off the upset and won the feature!

                                                                                    2003

• Billy's dad, Bill, decided to give racing a try. With help from good friend & dirt modified driver, Jeremy "Bullfrog" Markle, Bill bought a used dirt sportsman and drove the car at Accord Speedway on Friday nights.  In a role reversal, Billy now pit crews for his dad and Jeremy at Len & Jo's Racing.
• Billy continued to have great success racing go-karts on the road course at Oakland Valley. He won his 6th consecutive OVRP Track Championship in as many years of racing at the facility. Billy's best friend at the track, Dalton Hartye, finished 2nd in the cadet points and won the points title in the 60cc shifter class. Dalton was tough to beat in that shifter kart.
• Younger sister, Emily, won two feature races in 2003 and finished 4th in the Kid Kart season points.  Her friend, Emily Keller, decided not to race in 2003 and Emily missed seeing her at the track. But she did make some new friends this year including Erin Dunn, Aiden Landauer, and points champ, Corey Comier.

2002

• "60cc shifter" was all Billy could talk about prior to the start of the 2002 season. We purchased one from Joe Fredericks at Trackside Motorsports. It was a new division at OVRP. Billy's friends Dalton Hartye and Bobby Radivoy also got shifter karts. The three raced together all season long, with Dalton winning the point title at season's end.
• The cadet class grew in size that year with nearly 20 racers competing in the division on a weekly basis. Billy won the OVRP Track Championship title for the 5th year in row. Dalton was 2nd & Nick Sykes, who won a number of feature races that year, was 3rd.
• Billy's sister, Lara, won her 2nd OVRP Track Championship in the 4 cycle class. It would be her final season of full time racing at OVRP. She now works at the raceway, a move that enabled Lara to afford her first automobile, a 1999 Mercury Cougar.
• Billy's grandfather continues to serve as the senior member of the pit crew. Bill Sr. was at the track every Sunday, race day , rain or shine,  since the start of Billy's career in 1998. With 4 karts to ready, it would have been next to impossible for Billy and his sisters to race at OVRP without his help and guidance.
• OVRP hosted a JR Super National Race on Labor Day Weekend that year. Top national cadet racers were no match for Billy on his home track as he took home a huge trophy and 1st place honors in one of his best runs of the season.

2001

• Family friend & race team member, Ron Heinzelmann, hand built a new enclosed trailer that allowed us to haul 4 karts to the track.
• Lara, Emily, & Billy all raced on the road course at OVRP that season.
• Emily & Billy made a few trips to the dirt track at OVRP and to Hamlin.
• With help from many people like Chip Bunker & Tom Hartensveld, Billy won his 4th straight OVRP Track Championship. The title went right down to the wire with Billy finishing just ahead of his two good friends, Anthony Llopiz and Dalton Hartye.
• 2001 was Anthony's last season of regular racing at OVRP as he moved on to run National events the following season. Billy would miss racing with him on a weekly basis.

2000

• Billy moved out of the Kid Kart class and continued to race at both tracks.
• He raced a "Trick" dirt kart at Hamlin Speedway which was purchased  from and prepared by Dan & Beth Shupp.
• He won several features that year including the Ryan Martin Memorial Race.
• Billy finished 2nd in the Hamlin points race to BJ Wambold.
• At Oakland Valley Race Park, Billy's new ride was a Fullerton Cadet 80cc road course kart which was purchased from Joe Fredericks at Trackside Motorsports.
• In his first season at the cadet level, Billy won his 3rd straight track championship. He faced tough competition all year long from runner-up Anthony Llopiz. Billy continued to meet nice people at Oakland Valley that year including the Pattin, Ryan, and Keller Families.
• Billy's younger sister, Emily, began racing in the Kid Kart division that year.

1999

• Billy started off the season with a feature win in January at the Thunderdome indoor race at OCFS in Middletown, NY.
• He again competed in the Kid Kart class at Hamlin and Oakland Valley.
• He won his 2nd straight track points championship at Oakland Valley edging out Justin Grosz and Mike Maluk.
• On Friday nights at Hamlin, Billy won some feature races and finished 4th in the points behind BJ and Tiffany Wambold and class champ, Bethany Henneforth .
• He met a lot of nice people including Stephanie Stevens and Marie Knecht.
• The Johnson Family took over The Oakland Valley Race Park that year and have been running the track ever since. They have always been nice to Billy and friends to our family. They ran a first class racing facility that was very family friendly. 
• Billy's sister, Lara also won the Oakland Valley track championship that year in the 4 cycle class.

PENNSYLVANIA                                    NEW YORK                                               New Jersey 

Hamlin Speedway                              Oakland Valley Race Park                          Brideport Speedway

Borgers Speedway                               Oakland Valley Dirt Oval                           Atlantic City Indoor

Kutztown Fairgrounds                          Oswego Speedway                                    New Egypt Speedway

Selinsgrove Race Park                         Accord Speedway

Selinsgrove Speedway                         Orange County Fair Speedway                            Other States

Greenwood Valley Action Track            Starlite Speedway                               Talladega short track , Alabama

Linda's Speedway                                Five Mile Point Speedway                    Wilson's Motorsports Park, Alabama

Penn Can Speedway                          Caroga Creek Speedway                     Middleford Speedway, Delaware

Reading Fairgrounds                             Paradise Speedway                               Fort Wayne Indoor , Indiana  

Wyalusing Valley                                  Woodhull Raceway                             Shenandoah Speedway , Virginia

Clinton County Raceway                     Rolling Wheels Raceway                        Friendship Speedway, North Carolina 

Grandview Speedway                           Fonda Speedway                             Ohio State Fairgrounds - Columbus, Ohio

Susquehanna Speedway                          Albany / Saratoga Speedway                      Autodrome Drummond - Drummondville, Quebec  

                                                                                                                                                   Cornwall Speedway - Cornwall , Ontario