Matt Billings Gains Valuable Experience at Merrittville Speedway on Saturday Night

Many drivers have often said that Merrittville Speedway is one of the toughest tracks on the DIRTcar tour to figure out, and Matt Billings is one of those drivers.  The tricky turn three and four have left the best of drivers scratching their heads as the try and navigate their way around the Thorold, Ontario track.

That is precisely why Billings decided to travel the nearly five hour haul from their Brockville, Ontario home on Saturday night.  They are determined to get a better handle on the Merrittville track before the Mr. DIRTcar Series race on Monday, May 21st.

“We didn’t run very well here last year at all, so hopefully we can learn from that and have a better night”, says Billings before the race at Merrittville, referring to the few trips they made to Merrittville last season.  “We made some improvements to our program for this season, and I am looking forward to getting on the track here shortly”.

Billings began the night at Merrittville with time trials, and he was seventh fastest in his group.  He would start his eight lap qualifier from that position.  On the first lap of the heat, he got caught up in an incident and with minor damage and had to restart from the rear of the field.  Billings battled back to claim a qualifying spot in the main event with a sixth place finish.

The team made several adjustments to the car before the feature, looking to get the car handling better through the corners.  He started to 50 lap main event from the 15th starting position.  Over the first few laps, he had slid back to 20th.  At the checkered flag, he was credited with an 18th place finish.

“It wasn’t the run that we wanted, but we came here to learn, and we certainly accomplished that”, says Billings after the race.  “This is a tough place, and a tough field of cars, so we will keep at it, and learn from tonight and be better next time we are here”.

Billing won’t have to wait long to make a return trip to Merrittville Speedway.  He will be back this coming Saturday night.  With Brockville and Mohawk Raceway not opening for another week, the team will take the opportunity to work on getting their car faster in time for the DIRTcar series race next month.

Billings Motorsports would like to thank all of their marketing partners for their support for the upcoming season.  Billings Automotive, Pastime Motors, Stealth Racewear, Snap On Tools, Integra Shocks, Enders Racing Engines, Finish Line Web Design and Babe Design are an integral part of the team’s success, and we thank you all for your support as we approach the 2012 season.

For more information on Matt Billings and the Billings Racing Team, please visit our website, www.mattbillings74.com.