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* Began racing at Victoria's Western Speedway
in 1954. He drove his 1934 Ford
Stock Car to 10th place in the final point standings. He also won his
first
Main Event on July 24th.
* Started driving for Jim Haslam in 1960 and
ended the year in 5th position.
* Billy was voted Most Popular Driver, won
the July Cup, won the Roy White
Memorial Trophy, won the Championship Race, was awarded the Best Appearing
Crew award and ended the year sitting 3rd in championship points.
* In 1962, he switched to driving the more
power Super Modified race cars and
won the Gold Cup, the Daffodil Cup and was 1st in the season points
tally.
* Billy turned his attentions to driving in
the newly-formed Canadian American
Modified Racing Association (C.A.M.R.A.) and competed throughout the
Pacific
Northwest in 1963. He won the Daffodil Cup race in Victoria and was
crowned the C.A.M.R.A. champion at the end of the year.
* In 1964, he won the Strawberry Cup race
and finished 2nd in C.A.M.R.A. points.
He was given the honour of a Life Membership in the Vancouver Island
Track Racing
Association (V.I.T.R.A.). Also this year, he qualified for his first
United
States Auto Club (U.S.A.C.) event at the Milwaukee 200 on August 19th.
* Billy became the first Canadian to qualify
for the Indianapolis 500 in 1965.
He was sixth fastest qualifier for the race. He received the Citizen
of the
Month Award from the Victoria Chamber of Commerce on May 18th. In the
U.S.A.C.
Stock Car Division, Billy was named the Rookie of the Year.
* Billy continued to make a name for himself
in U.S.A.C. in 1966. He qualified
again for the Indianapolis 500 race in 12th place.
* Billy lost his life in a Stock Car qualifying run at Riverside, California
on
January 20, 1967.
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