Arkansas native with legendary father garners spotlight after three victories

CONCORD, N.C. – June 21, 2012 – Billy Moyer Jr. shocked the DIRTcar Late Model world last week when he captured three of the first four events on the grueling DIRTcar Summer Nationals Hell Tour.

Moyer Jr., the son of legend Billy Moyer, had simple expectations when he unloaded June 13 at Brownstown (Ind.) Speedway for the first of 29 races in 32 days across the Midwest.

“Win a race,” deadpanned the 24-year-old from Batesville, Ark., who until the opening week of the tour had never won a Summer Nationals event.

Moyer Jr. did more than just win a race. He quickly became the hottest topic in the pits after he swept the two Hell Tour events at Cedar Lake Speedway following Shannon Babb’s victory on Night #2 at Kankakee County Speedway.

“I would have told you that you were crazy if you would have said we would win three races in the first week,” Moyer Jr. said.

Crazy or not, the Cedar Lake sweep put him in the middle of the developing championship picture. Now into its second week with tonight’s race at Fayette County Speedway in Brownstown, Ill., Moyer Jr. remains in the title hunt with three-time champ Babb leading the way.

“It just proves to me that we can hang and we’re just another driver that’s a contender,” he said. “It doesn’t make me feel like a bad-ass. I’m not better than anybody. It just tells me that I’m a contender and I can win these races, let’s go try to win some more.

“Cedar Lake is the toughest competition I’ve ever won with and there’s nothing even close to it. There were 12 guys who were really solid that we beat both nights. There are five guys in our sport right now who are in another league: my dad, Bloomquist, Owens, O’Neal and Lanigan. I started beside my dad and O’Neal in a heat race both nights and I beat them.”

With a grueling schedule like the Hell Tour’s daily grind, gaining confidence early is crucial to finding success as the series rolls on. For Moyer Jr., confidence comes from being consistent as the miles pile up from event to event. Winning three times in the first week also helps to put a boost in his step.

“It makes you trust your car more, it makes you realize you’ve got what it takes,” he said. “It makes you drive in the corner a little harder every now and then. It makes you not take the conservative route when you know you’ve got a good car, get aggressive and try to do it again. That’s what happened at Cedar Lake. To go out there and do what we did, it just makes you drive a little harder.”

The victories help to move Moyer Jr. out of the considerable shadow cast by his father, a National Dirt Late Model Hall of Famer and one of the most revered men in the sport.

“Me and my dad are really good friends,” Moyer Jr. said. “My dad means more to me than probably anybody out there. My mom and dad are both real important, but my dad because of what he does and how he carries himself. He’s hard on me. I’ve been so pissed off before I’ve been ready to go get a job behind a desk. This year we had a terrible start in Florida but then we came back and ran decent. Then my dad told some people behind my back that I’m running good in the Summer Nationals, he said I’m driving better than ever and he has confidence in me now. That might be the whole key to winning all these races, having my dad say that. It gets my head right.”

The Hell Tour is in full swing now with seven races complete and Moyer Jr. is still the only driver with multiple victories. The series has been a proving ground for many of the legends in the sport, it might be creating another one right before our eyes.

“We’ve proved we’re a player in the races,” Moyer Jr. said. “We’ve not proved anything as far as a championship goes, but we’ve proved we can hang in the races.”

For more on the DIRTcar Summer Nationals Hell Tour, click http://www.TheHellTour.com, or follow on Twitter@SummerNationals. Follow Billy Moyer Jr. on Twitter @team21jr.

The DIRTcar Summer Nationals (The Hell Tour) is brought to fans across the country by many important sponsors and partners, including Arizona Sport Shirts (Official Apparel Company), Hoosier Racing Tires (Official Racing Tires), Racing Electonics (Official Communication), Vicci (Official Uniform), VP Racing Fuel (Official Racing Fuel); in addition to these fine contingency sponsors: Beyea Headers, Butlerbuilt, Cometic Gasket, Comp Cams, Dominator Race Products, Chevy Performance Parts, Intercomp, JE Pistons, Klotz Lubricants, MSD Ignition, Ohlins Shocks, Quartermaster, Superflow Dyno’s, UNOH (University of Northwestern Ohio), Wix Filters, and Wrisco Aluminum.