With top ten finishes in
virtually every race this season since the season began at his home tracks, Matt
Billings was looking to continue his consistent season, and get back to victory
lane. Billings was at Mohawk
International Raceway on Thursday night for the 358 Modified Mr. DIRTcar Series
race, and returned to Brockville Speedway on Saturday night in front of the
hometown crowd.
At Mohawk Raceway, Billings
began the night with a fourth place finish in his qualifying heat race. Although it locked him into the 75 lap main
event, he finished one spot out of a redraw position for one of the top 12
starting spots. Billings would start
the DIRTcar Series race from 15th place, and patiently moved forward
through the early stages of the race.
As the race approached halfway, Billings was beginning his climb up the
leaderboard, in the eighth position, and looking strong. Over the next few laps, Billings would move
up to as high as sixth, but a lap 47 restart changed the tone of the race after
getting collected in a multi car crash.
The race was stopped for several minutes, giving the Billings crew time
to at least make the car drivable, and he returned to the track on the lead lap
but at the rear of the depleted field.
Billings raced his way back up to sixth place at the finish.
“The car was good before we
got in that wreck. I think we would
have had a top five car for sure”, says Billings after the race. “We battled back though, and I really have
to thank the crew for their hard work getting us back out there on the lead
lap, and salvages a good finish out of it”.
The next stop on the weekend
schedule was the usual Saturday night visit to Brockville Ontario
Speedway. After finishing third in his
qualifying heat race, Billings and his team made some adjustments on the car
getting it dialed in for the 30 lap main event. Starting from sixth, Billings was hoping to get up front quickly
and challenge for the lead. At the drop
of the green, Billings took over the fifth position, and was up to fourth
before they completed lap two. The
unusually dry and slick track conditions played havoc with many teams, but
Billings was able to maintain that fourth position through 10 laps. On lap 12, as the handling started to go
away, the car drifted over the banking, losing several positions, but he was
able to get back on the track without causing a yellow, saving what could have
been a restart from the rear of the field.
Matt continued inside the top ten, and salvaged a ninth place finish at
the checkered flag.
Billings will be back to the
regular routine this weekend with Mohawk Raceway back to their regular Friday night
and Brockville Speedway on Saturday evening.
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.
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