# Billy Boat

William Leonard Boat (born February 2, 1966) is an American former open-wheel driver who raced in the Indy Racing League.

## Racing career

Boat began his career in USAC where he won 11 straight Western Series races on his way to the 1995 championship. He won the Turkey Night Grand Prix midget car race in 1995. He was a three-peat winner in the event after winning in 1996 and 1997. He made his first IRL start in the 1997 Indianapolis 500 driving for A. J. Foyt Enterprises. In 1998 he won 6 poles, including 5 in a row, both league records, and won his first race at Texas Motor Speedway. It was his only official IRL victory. (He appeared to have won the same race in the 1996-97 season, but a scoring error meant he finished second). He is one of the few drivers with the distinction to have started from both the pole (1998) and final 33rd (2000, 2001) starting position in the Indy 500. He has not appeared in an IRL race since the 2003 Indianapolis 500.

## Personal life

Boat is a graduate of Arizona State University. In 1986 he founded Billy Boat Performance Exhaust, a company that makes performance exhaust systems for luxury and high performance cars, light trucks, and high performance watercraft. Boat has four children, with three girls and one boy.
In 2014, Boat's son Chad began competing in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, driving a family-owned No. 84 Chevrolet.

## Motorsports career results
### American open–wheel racing results

(key)

#### Indy Lights

| Year | Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | Rank | Points |
| 1986 | Marsh Holt Racing | PHX1 4 | MIL 11 | MEA 7 | TOR | POC 8 | MDO 5 | ROA 6 | LS 8 | PHX2 3 | MIA 8 | 6th | 67 |
| 1987 | Machinist Union Racing | PHX 10 | MIL 13 | MEA | CLE | TOR | POC | MDO | NZR | LS | MIA | 24th | 4 |

#### IndyCar Series

| Year | Team | Chassis | No. | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | Rank | Points |
| 1996 | Pagan Racing | Reynard 94i | 99 | Ford XB V8t | WDW | PHX | INDY DNQ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | NC | - |
| 1996–97 | A. J. Foyt Enterprises | Dallara IR7 | 11 | Oldsmobile Aurora V8 | NHM | LVS | WDW | PHX | INDY 7 | | | | | LV2 23 | | | | | | | 18th | 151 |
| 1996–97 | A. J. Foyt Enterprises | G-Force GF01 | 1 | Oldsmobile Aurora V8 | | | | | | TXS 2 | | CLT 2 | NH2 8 | | | | | | | | | | 18th | 151 | |
| 1996–97 | PDM Racing | Dallara IR7 | 18 | Oldsmobile Aurora V8 | | | | | | | PPIR 19 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 18th | 151 |
| 1998 | A. J. Foyt Enterprises | Dallara IR8 | 11 | Oldsmobile Aurora V8 | WDW 21 | PHX 3 | INDY 23 | TXS 1 | NHM 21 | DOV | CLT | PPIR 9 | ATL 12 | TX2 14 | LVS 26 | | | | | | 13th | 194 |
| 1999 | A. J. Foyt Enterprises | Dallara IR9 | 11 | Oldsmobile Aurora V8 | WDW 9 | PHX 4 | CLT C | INDY 3 | TXS 24 | PPIR 24 | ATL 10 | DOV 4 | PPI2 13 | LVS 22 | TX2 9 | | | | | | 12th | 204 |
| 2000 | Team Pelfrey | Dallara IR-00 | 81 | Oldsmobile Aurora V8 | WDW 9 | PHX 6 | LVS 7 | | TXS 23 | PPIR 18 | ATL 8 | KTY 18 | TX2 3 | | | | | | | | 10th | 181 |
| 2000 | A. J. Foyt Enterprises | G-Force GF05 | 41 | Oldsmobile Aurora V8 | | | | INDY 15 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 10th | 181 |
| 2001 | Curb/Agajanian-Beck Motorsports | Dallara IR-01 | 98 | Oldsmobile Aurora V8 | PHX 5 | HMS 13 | ATL 14 | INDY 9 | TXS 5 | PPIR 4 | RIR 18 | KAN 9 | NSH 2 | KTY 6 | STL 6 | CHI 12 | TX2 12 | | | | 4th | 313 |
| 2002 | CURB/Agajanian/Beck Motorsports | Dallara IR-02 | 98 | Chevrolet Indy V8 | HMS 16 | PHX 8 | FON 18 | NZR 8 | INDY 18 | TXS 7 | PPIR 14 | RIR 22 | | | | | | | | | 13th | 225 |
| 2002 | CURB/Agajanian/Beck Motorsports | Dallara IR-02 | 98 | Infiniti VRH35ADE V8 | | | | | | | | | KAN 9 | NSH 14 | MIS 14 | KTY 19 | STL 23 | CHI 19 | TX2 24 | | 13th | 225 |
| 2003 | Panther Racing | Dallara IR-03 | 98 | Chevrolet Indy V8 | HMS | PHX | MOT | INDY 32 | TXS | PPIR | RIR | KAN | NSH | MIS | STL | KTY | NZR | CHI | FON | TX2 | 37th | 1 |

#### Indianapolis 500

| Year | Chassis | Engine | Start | Finish | Team |
| 1996 | Reynard 94i | Ford XB V8t | DNQ | DNQ | Pagan Racing |
| 1997 | Dallara IR7 | Oldsmobile Aurora V8 | 22 | 7 | A. J. Foyt Enterprises |
| 1998 | Dallara IR8 | Oldsmobile Aurora V8 | 1 | 23 | A. J. Foyt Enterprises |
| 1999 | Dallara IR9 | Oldsmobile Aurora V8 | 3 | 3 | A. J. Foyt Enterprises |
| 2000 | G-Force GF05 | Oldsmobile Aurora V8 | 31 | 15 | A. J. Foyt Enterprises |
| 2001 | Dallara IR-01 | Oldsmobile Aurora V8 | 32 | 9 | CURB/Agajanian/Beck Motorsports |
| 2002 | Dallara IR-02 | Chevrolet Indy V8 | 23 | 18 | Agajanian/Boat Racing |
| 2003 | Dallara IR-03 | Chevrolet Indy V8 | 29 | 32 | Panther Racing |

### NASCAR

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

#### Busch Series

NASCAR Busch Series results :
| Year | Team | No. | Make | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | NBSC | Pts | Ref |
| 2003 | Braun Racing | 30 | Dodge | DAY | CAR | LVS | DAR | BRI | TEX | TAL | NSH | CAL | RCH | GTY | NZH | CLT | DOV | NSH | KEN | MLW | DAY | CHI | NHA | PPR | IRP | MCH | BRI | DAR | RCH | DOV | KAN | CLT | MEM | ATL | PHO 29 | CAR | HOM | 135th | 76 | |