By Billy Whittaker, as told by Mandee Pauch

Billy Whittaker put on one of his best showings last season by winning the Super DIRTcar Series All-Star Showdown in front of a packed house at Ohio’s Eldora Speedway in mid-July.

At the time, Whittaker left many people wondering who was the “new guy” driving the No. 109. However, the 44-year-old car dealer from Central Square, New York, has much more racing experience—and a longer story to share—than most realize.

Growing Up As A Full-Time Driver

I raced for a living when I was a kid. Once we had the equipment, I was able to maintain it with sponsorship and winnings.

I started racing four-wheelers when I was about 11 or 12 years old. I always went to the local tracks with Kenny Bell at Brewerton and Fulton Speedway. That’s where part of the 09 comes from in my number because that was his number back in the day.

I raced four-wheelers and was successful. My dad got hurt racing them so the following year they wanted to get me into something safer, so I started racing Small Block Modifieds at Brewerton Speedway at the age of 16. I ran the Outlaw circuit for three or four years and got my first win at the age of 19 at Brewerton. I went on to win a handful of races that year at Brewerton, Fulton, and Utica.

Choosing To Step Away 

After the Modifieds, I moved onto NASCAR Late Models. My goal was to get to the next level and do it for a living. So, I tried that. Obviously, it’s really hard. I went on and won a bunch of wins and championships on pavement.

I ran four years on the Pavement Late Models. We were pretty successful. Then I got to the next level to try and meet kids like Ryan Newman and Kasey Kahne.

I went into the USAC Silver Crown Series. As you get to the next level, it gets tougher and tougher. I did that for a few years and even ran Super Modifieds in between. 

After USAC, I bought my own ASA team and worked right out of our garage in Central Square. I did that for two years. It was cool because all of those races were on national television. We were racing against all of these mini Winston Cup teams, so it was tough. Once I decided I couldn’t get enough money to do it on my own, I decided to quit.

The Comeback

I took about 12 years off. I stayed out of it for a long time and helped some kids I knew and sponsored a few things. 

I was always interested in doing something like that. Then I got to a point where I can afford to do what I want to do. I missed it. I thought maybe if I could lease a deal or find the right deal and run for fun, I’d do it again. 

There were only three teams to consider it. It was Cory Reed who put me in touch with John Wight. One thing led to another and that’s how I got back into it. I lease a car from John Wight. Fast-forward four years, I own my own Small-Block Modified and still lease my own car from John.

Balancing Family, Work, And Racing 

I have my son Thursdays through Sundays. When I have him, it revolves around him. My parents bring him to the track. I bought a big truck and trailer, so my boy could come with me to the races and have the luxury to be able to hang out with me.

I might be working on the car at night and running my business by day. I built the car dealership from the ground up 20-plus years ago. We have 24 employees. It’s a lot of work when you break it all down. It’s time spent at work, in the shop and time spent with my boy.

What kept me in the mix when I stopped racing was that I used to sponsor a local kid who ran a sportsman car. One year, I was his crew chief for him and we won Syracuse. That was a lot of fun. It allowed me to be involved but not commit all of the time. 

Most recently, I started sponsoring races and cars at Fulton and Brewerton Speedway. As my business has grown, I’ve been able to help out more of my customers who have bought vehicles from us who are involved in racing.

Becoming A Title Sponsor For Super DIRT Week

Being involved in local racing has been great for our business, so it makes sense for us. It was pretty cool that I was able to put together a deal to sponsor our crown jewel last year. 

I always enjoyed going to Super DIRT Week, so to align our company with that event was really cool. It’s something I’m really proud of. 

Being in our backyard in Oswego, it’s a unique opportunity to talk to our customers and from a marketing perspective it’s really good. We will be back in 2018 as the major sponsor for the 200 during Super DIRT Week.

Life On The Road With The Series

Last year was my first time doing it. I signed on again as a platinum driver for this year. It’s tough because I had never been to these tracks. We went to 23 new tracks. We’re going to try and learn from last year’s experience, evaluate halfway through, and see how we’re doing. 

This year’s schedule is set up pretty nice and doesn’t interfere with my son, which is great.

I’ve got good employees at work, so it allows me the opportunity to be gone for a day or two. I’ve worked hard to be able to do this. I’m just jumping at the chance to try it.

Do I wish I did it 20 years ago? Absolutely but life is short. I figured it’s now or never.

It’s challenging for me because it’s hard to go in there and compete with those guys. I’m humbled by it, but at the same time, I still want to be competitive at any race we go to. It’s tough because I’m used to winning when I was a kid so it’s a challenge to balance that right now.

'The Kid' doesn't want to come down! Congrats to Billy Whittaker on a big win in the #SDSBigBlock All-Star Showdown at @EldoraSpeedway. pic.twitter.com/UQCDxf97qQ

— Super DIRTcar Series (@SuperDIRTcar) July 20, 2017

Words Of Advice For Other Drivers

My advice to other drivers out there is to get a lot of track time and lots of experience. You have to find the guys to go with you. Eldora Speedway last year was going to be my jumping off point. We had a decent run out there but it was looking like our last race. Everyone burnt up their vacation time prior to that trip. We didn’t have a great showing, but we went out and won the invitation which changed my perception of the series. 

The following trip was Canada for us. I put a blurb up on Facebook that we were low on help. I picked up a couple volunteered guys and continued the season on the series.

You have to have people and good help, which is hard to find. The series scheduled more Saturday night shows, which will help the working man, but it’s a lot of work and time. You have to have both available to do it properly.