Matt Billings Captures First Ever DIRTcar 358 Modified Podium Finish After Third Place Run at Mohawk International Raceway

After finishing sixth in the last Mr. DIRTcar 358 Modified Series at Autodrome Granby last weekend, Matt Billing was looking forward to continuing the series on more familiar turf as Mohawk International Raceway hosted their season finale on Saturday night.  Although he planned to run just the 358 Modified race on Saturday, the Big Block Modified show was postponed to earlier in the day, and Billings decided to try to qualify for that race as well.

When Billings left their Brockville, Ontario home on Saturday, they knew they were in store for a very long day at the track, with rain postponing virtually all of Friday’s events into Saturday afternoon, and then a full show also taking place on Saturday night.  Time Trials for the Big Block Modified had been completed on Friday, so Billings would have to attempt to qualify from the rear of the field in the heat race.  He started at the back, and charged to fifth place, locking himself into the Big Block event.  He started the race from 18^th and steadily moved forward in the opening laps of the race, and had been challenging for a top ten position.  The second half of the race, the tires wore out, and Billings dropped out of contention.

The Saturday evening event is what really mattered for Billings, and the information they gained by racing during the day helped the team prepare for the Saturday night 358 Modified Series race.  Matt was second fastest in his time trial group and finished his heat race in second as well, making the redraw for a top 12 starting spot.  Matt took advantage of a top five starting spot, and moved up to challenge for the lead numerous occasions before being slowed by a caution on lap 28.  The restart on the outside lane proved costly as he slipped to third on a lap 36 restart.  Billings maintained that position through the final laps of the race to score his first ever podium finish with the DIRTcar 358 Modified Series.

“It was a great run for us.  We almost had the lead there earlier, but the caution came out, then we got stuck on the outside”, says Billings.  “I think if we could have stayed under green, we may have been able to get the lead, and maybe it would have been a different outcome, but that’s racing”.

This coming weekend, Billings will travel to Brighton Speedway for the next round of the Mr. DIRTcar 358 Modified Series.  This will be an inaugural DIRTcar Series event at Brighton and Billings will be looking to move up from his fourth place position in the DIRTcar point standings.

The next couple weeks will be spent preparing the Syracuse car for this year’s Super DIRT Week at the New York State Fairgrounds in Syracuse on October 2^nd to 7^th.  The 2012 season will conclude at Brockville on October 13^th and 14^th for the 1000 Islands RV DIRTcar Northeast Fall Nationals.

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.