William Leonard Boat (born February 2, 1966) is an American former

open-wheel An open-wheel single-seater (often known as formula car) is a car with the wheels outside the car's main body, and usually having only one seat. Open-wheel cars contrast with street cars, sports cars, stock cars, and touring cars, which have thei ...

driver who raced in the

Indy Racing League The IndyCar Series, currently known as the NTT IndyCar Series under sponsorship, is the highest class of regional North American open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars in the United States, which has been conducted under the auspices o ...

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 The Automotive Racing Products Turkey Night Grand Prix is an annual race of midget cars. It is the third oldest race in the United States behind the Indianapolis 500 and the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. It has been held on Thanksgiving nig ...

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 The 81st Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana over three days, May 25–27, 1997. It was originally scheduled for Sunday May 25, however, rain washed out all activities for the day. The race was starte ...

driving for

A. J. Foyt Enterprises A. J. Foyt Racing, officially and historically known as A. J. Foyt Enterprises, is an American racing team in the IndyCar Series and formerly NASCAR. It is owned by four-time Indianapolis 500 winner, 1972 Daytona 500 winner, 1967 24 Hours of Le ...

. In 1998 he won 6 poles, including 5 in a row, both league records, and won his first race at

Texas Motor Speedway Texas Motor Speedway is a speedway located in the northernmost portion of the U.S. city of Fort Worth, Texas – the portion located in Denton County, Texas. The reconfigured track measures with banked 20° in turns 1 and 2 and banked 24 ...

. It was his only official IRL victory. 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 The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indianap ...

. He has not appeared in an IRL race since the

2003 Indianapolis 500 The 87th Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Sunday, May 25, 2003. Two-time defending champion Hélio Castroneves won the pole position and was trying to become the first driver in Indy history to ...

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 The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and ...

Nationwide Series The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) is a stock car racing series organized by NASCAR. It is promoted as NASCAR's second-tier circuit to the organization's top level Cup Series. NXS events are frequently held as a support race on the day prior to a ...

, driving a family-owned No. 84 Chevrolet.

Motorsports career results

American open–wheel racing results

( key)

Indy Lights

IndyCar Series

Indianapolis 500

NASCAR

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

Busch Series

External links

* * *
Billy Boat Performance Exhaust
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boat, Billy Living people 1966 births Racing drivers from Phoenix, Arizona Indianapolis 500 drivers Indianapolis 500 polesitters IndyCar Series drivers Indy Lights drivers NASCAR drivers Arizona State University alumni USAC Silver Crown Series drivers PDM Racing drivers Team Pelfrey drivers A. J. Foyt Enterprises drivers Panther Racing drivers