Matt Billings Dominating Weekend Thwarted Only by Mother Nature
Craig Revelle – Finish Line Web Design
September 5, 2011
It may have been the final weekend of points for Matt Billings and his Brockville, Ontario based Billings Motorsports team, but points were the furthest thing from the mind of the 18-year-old driver as he looked to get back to victory lane and build some momentum going into the season’s biggest events. Billings returned to Chapman’s Can Am Motorsports Park on Friday night before finishing out the regular season at Brockville Speedway on Friday night. The Mr. DIRTcar 358 Modified Series resumed at Cornwall Speedway on Sunday.
Returning to Can Am for the first time since mid-July, Billings was hoping to make a comeback and show that they have only gotten better in the past couple months. Billings began the evening by turning the third fastest speed overall in practice, and was even faster in his qualifying heat race, starting from fourth place and moving to the lead quickly. Billings cruised to the win, and made some minor changes to the car before the 25 lap main event.
“The car is really good, but we need to make a few changes to keep up with the changing track conditions”, says Billings. “The car is real fast, and I am very happy with it so far. Hopefully we can have a good run and get to victory lane”.
Billings lined up from the fifth position to start the feature. Again, he wasted little time getting to the front of the pack, by the end of lap one he was in second, and just two laps later he had the top spot. Billings went unchallenged for the remainder of the race and picked up his first Can Am win of the season and second win overall for the 2011 racing season.
“We had a lot of fun tonight. There was a good car count, and the track was in fantastic shape”, says Billings in victory lane. “I always enjoy racing here at Can Am, and you may just see us back here next week with a wing on top”, he adds, referring to the possibility of racing a Sprint Car next Saturday night when the Empire Super Sprints invade Can Am.
At Brockville, Billings struggled a little in his qualifying heat race, starting third and dropping to fourth at the checkered flag. Back in the pit area, the team discussed what changes to make to the car before the 30 lap feature, and soon went to work making improvements to the car’s handling. Billings rolled off the starting grid from the tenth position. The Modified division at Brockville is one of the toughest fields in all of DIRTcar racing, and Billings made his way through the field early, getting into the top five at lap five, and continued to make his way to the front of the field. By lap nine he had the lead, and held off late race challenges from future Hall of Fame drivers Danny O’Brien and Dale Planck to capture his second win of the weekend.
The dominating weekend continued into Sunday as Billings traveled to Cornwall Motor Speedway for the next round of the Mr. DIRTcar 358 Modified Series. Billings set fast time in his group during practice and backed that up with fast time in his time trial group that would have given him the pole position for his qualifying heat race. Mother Nature had other ideas, and heavy rain swept into Cornwall shortly after, ending the night early.
“We had probably our best chance ever here at Cornwall in one of these big races, and we lost out because of the weather”, says a disappointed Billings after hearing about the cancellation. “They have not made a decision yet as to what they are going to do about rescheduling. Hopefully they will run it in the next couple weeks”.
This coming weekend Billings will continue to follow the Mr. DIRTcar 358 Modified Series with a stop at Autodrome Drummond in Drummondville, Quebec. On Saturday, tentatively, Billings will make his second appearance with the Empire Super Sprints driving a car owned by Brian McDonald.
“I love the Sprint Cars, and hopefully someday we can be in one full time. I am really looking forward to racing this Saturday, and I can’t thank Brian and his team enough for the opportunity”, says Billings.
After this weekend, Billings will return to the Mr. DIRTcar 358 Modified Series at Mohawk Raceway on September 16th, and then Super DIRT Week events at Cayuga County Fair Speedway on Wednesday, October 5th, Rolling Wheels Raceway on Thursday, October 6th, and the New York State Fairgrounds on Saturday, October 8th. The Mr. DIRTcar 358 Modified Series will conclude at Brockville Speedway on October 15th.
Matt Billings is a proud supporter of the Heart and Stroke Foundation, taking part in a fundraiser earlier this year. He also participated in a fundraiser for Alzheimer’s Society of Canada. For more information on the Heart and Stroke Foundation, please visit www.heartandstroke.ca or for the Alzheimer’s Society, please visit www.alzheimer.ca.
Billings Motorsports would like to thank all of their sponsors for their continued support. Billings Automotive, Carquest, Stealth Racewear, Pastime Motors, Hansler Smith Limited, Enders Racing Engines, Brockville Physiotherapy, Babe Design, Finish Line Web Design, and Enders Racing are an integral part of the team’s success, and we thank you all for your support this season.
Stop by the Billings Motorsports trailer at the track and pick up your Billings Motorsports t-shirts and hoodies. T-shirts are being sold for $20 and hoodies are on sale for $35.
For more information on Matt Billings and the Billings Racing Team, please visit our website, www.mattbillings74.com.