Conseco/A.J. Foyt Driver Billy Boat Finishes Third in Dura-Lube 200 at Phoenix
23 March 1998
Phoenix, Ariz.: - Conseco/A.J. Foyt Racing driver Billy Boat finished third in the Dura-Lube 200 at Phoenix International Raceway. The result, his third career IRL podium finish, propels him to sixth in the 1998 Pep Boys Indy Racing League championship standings.
Billy Boat at Indy, 1997
"We had an excellent race car," Boat said. "We got out of sync on the first pit stop. We had the theory that we could make it in two stops but there were so many yellow flags that it didn't come into play. We spent the day playing catch up after that. At the end, we were in a pretty good position right there behind Scott (Sharp). I knew that Tony (Stewart) and Kenny (Brack) would have to pit. Then our car went loose on that set of tires and we decided to pit again for new tires. Lapped traffic at the end got us."
The last caution period of the race happened when Kenny Brack was attempting to pass lapped traffic. Boat, who was right behind Brack in fourth position, stayed out of trouble when Brack made contact with another car.
"Kenny and I were both racing hard right there trying to find a line around those lapped cars," Boat said. "I don't know how many wide we were but more than you can put through the dogleg at PIR. And they touched and away he went. I was right in the thick of it. It could have been me just as well as it was him."
The race finished with three green-flag racing laps, but Billy didn't have time to catch Stewart and Sharp. He took the checkered flag in third position only four seconds behind race winner Scott Sharp.
"All in all, it was a good finish," Boat said. "We needed a good one to gain some momentum for Indy after our crash in Orlando. It is definitely a good feeling to get a race finish under our belt and get up there in the point standings. Now we'll focus on the Indy 500."
The Conseco/A.J. Foyt Racing team will spend the next month and a half testing in preparation for the 82nd running of the Indianapolis 500, which starts on May 10, 1998 with opening ceremonies.