William "Billy" Leonard Boat (born February 2, 1966 in Phoenix, Arizona) is a former American open wheel driver who raced in the Indy Racing League.
Boat is a graduate of Arizona State University. He 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 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 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. He has not appeared in an IRL race since the 2003 Indianapolis 500.
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.
Famous quotes containing the words billy and/or boat:
““Although I’d lie lapped up in linen
A deal I’d sweat and little earn
If I should live as live the neighbours,”
Cried the beggar, Billy Byrne....”
—William Butler Yeats (1865–1939)
“But now, our boat climbs hesitates drops
climbs hesitates crawls back
climbs hesitates
O be swift
we have always known you wanted us.”
—Hilda Doolittle (1886–1961)