Billy Boat

Billy Boat
Billy Boat (right) preparing tires for his son Chad's sprint car in 2007
Nationality	United States
Born	(1966-02-02) February 2, 1966 (age 51) Phoenix, Arizona
IndyCar Series
Years active	1996–2003
Teams	A. J. Foyt Enterprises PDM Racing Team Pelfrey Beck Motorsports Curb Agajanian Performance Group Panther Racing
Starts	75
Wins	1
Poles	9
Fastest laps	5
Best finish	4th in 2001
Previous series
1986-1987	Indy Lights
NASCAR Xfinity Series career
1 race run over 1 year
Best finish	135th (2003)
First race	2003 Bashas' Supermarkets 200 (Phoenix)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 0 0

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

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 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.

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.

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