| TIMING IS EVERYTHING FOR BIGLEY | By Robin Smith Meiser
 They say timing is everything and no one in local stock car racing in Florida knows that better than 2000 NASCAR Gatorade All Pro Series Champion Billy Bigley, Jr. A combination of good timing and great driving ability helped get the Naples native a ride in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series this year. For Bigley this break was a long time coming but well earned.
Bigley began racing in 1977 at the tender age of 15 at the now defunct Collier County Speedway in Naples, where his father, Bill, Sr. was president. One would think that with his father being who he was, young Billy would have had an easy ride with the best racecars and that he would never have to turn a wrench. This is a far cry from the reality of Bigley's racing roots.
He started racing in the Jalopy class and learned everything from how to set up a car to changing the spark plugs. No one ever gave Bigley anything on a silver platter. He earned his own way with the support of both his father and his mother, Lynda. Bill, Sr. was also a stock car driver but Billy says "My dad never pushed me to be a stock car driver but he supported me, no matter what."
It was also in his Collier County Speedway days that he met the love of his life, wife, Kim. Billy and Kim have been together for over 21 years now and have three children, Tiffanie (age 14), Corey (age 9) and Dylan (age 6). Oldest son Corey looks like he may follow in his dad's footsteps as he loves racing and attends every race he possibly can. The Bigley family looks forward to summer vacation this year so that they can travel to Billy's Craftsman Truck races where he races the #75 Spears Manufacturing Chevrolet pick-up truck.
Bigley can't say enough good things about the owners of his Craftsman truck, Wayne and Connie Spears of Sylmar, California. Wayne Spears started the Spears Manufacturing Company in 1969 in a one-man shop that produced thermoplastic valves and PVC fittings. The company now has plants in four states and outlets in many of the major cities in the United States. Bigley says, "The Spears are great people. They have welcomed both me and my family with open arms and treat us like family. We have only raced a few races together but I feel like I have known them for 30 years."
Spears Manufacturing has been involved in the Craftsman Truck series since it inception. Prior to that, they fielded a team that won the NASCAR Winston West Series championship with a driver who is fast becoming a racing household name, Kevin Harvick. Harvick is the driver Richard Childress chose to pilot his Goodwrench Chevrolet after the untimely death of Dale Earnhardt, Sr. during this year's Daytona 500.
Bigley also sings praises of his crew chief, Mark Blessing, as well as the rest of his pit crew. Bigley's involvement with Blessing actually began in 1997 when Blessing was the crew chief on a Goody's Dash Series car. When the NASCAR Dash Series made a stop at USA International Speedway in Lakeland, Florida the oil pump went out on the car Blessing was crew chief for. Bigley offered to help fix it and in return he ran the car in the Dash Series race where he qualified 18th but was up to ninth place by lap 10.
Blessing never forgot Bigley's driving talent and when it came time to choose a new driver for the Spears truck, Blessing suggested Bigley as a possible choice since the team wanted a driver who could take their truck to the front but not tear it up in the process. The team tested several drivers including Craftsman truck driver, Michael Dokken. In the end, a call from an old friend helped make the choice. NASCAR legend, Bobby Allison, remembered Bigley from the days when his son, Clifford, and Bigley ran races together in the NASCAR All Pro Series. He called the team and put in a good word for Bigley and shortly thereafter, Spears Manufacturing named Bigley their new driver.
It sort of became a package deal for the Bigley family. During the Homestead race in February, Bigley, Sr. was spotting on the radio for Billy, Jr. when he told him that was driving too hard going into Turn 3. After listening to his father, Bigley picked up 6/10's of a second and was the third fastest in a testing session. Bigley, Sr. is now the official spotter for Bigley, Jr.
Bigley says the Spears family and team doesn't expect him to win overnight and his record with the team has steadily improved. In his first race the Florida Dodge Dealers 250 at Daytona Beach , they were fourth fastest in Happy Hour. Bigley started 30th but moved to 17th in seven laps. Unfortunately, minor mechanical problems caused him to finish 26th. The next race was at Homestead in the Florida Dodge Dealers 400. He was leading the race when a tire went down and he ended up finishing 24th after starting 13th.
His first Top 10 finish happened on March 17 at Mesa Marin Raceway in Bakersfield, California in the OSH 250 where he started 18th and finished ninth. Again on May 6 at Gateway International Speedway in Madison, Illinois he started 18th for the Ram Tough 200 at Madison, Illinois and finished tenth. Bigley, a driver who loves challenging tracks like DeSoto Speedway and Hialeah Speedway really looked forward to the first ever truck race at Darlington on May 12. Darlington, one of the most demanding tracks for any stock car driver, yielded Bigley a ninth place finish.
Not bad for any driver but when you look at Bigley's very grueling schedule, admiration for him only grows especially considering he is 38 years old and has been racing for over half his life. In that 20 years he has won seven championships including this year's All Pro Series and a Hooters Cup championship in 1996. Bigley is also a major part of the family owned business in Naples, Penn Air Conditioning. He works hard at the "real" job until Thursday when he flies to whatever race track the trucks are competing at that weekend. He practices on Friday, races on Saturday and flies home on Sunday.
His All-Pro Series record is remarkable and he also has an excellent sponsor in Peerless Woodworkng of Bristol, Tennessee. Peerless does woodwork, custom casework, interior fixtures and furniture and specialize in instutional work such as Jacksonville Jaquars Stadium and the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library where they manufactured the display cases.
Since 1986 when Bigley was named Rookie of the Year, he has finished in the Top 10 in points each year he has competed in the series since then. This year he has managed to run five out of six of the All-Pro races finishing second in the first three at Mobile, Nashville and USA International, which enabled him to hold the points lead although 1999 series champion, Wayne Anderson, was right on his tail. Bigley had the fastest qualifying time at Greenville-Pickens but finished tenth and at Martinsville he started fifth by finished 16th. He sat out the Mother's Day race at Birmingham International Speedway and now sits in fourth position in the points with Anderson inheriting the points lead. A true lover of racing, if there are no races in either series on a given weekend, he tries to run a limited late model or late model race at some local short track.
One would think that all of this racing would take a toll on the Bigley family. As in many racing families, this is not the case here. Kim Bigley knew Billy loved to race when she met him and has always backed him 100 percent. When asked if the wait for "the big break" has been worth it, she says "It is SO worth it. Look at all the great people we have met and places we have been."
With his family behind him, two great race teams to race for, a slew of fans that he has accumulated through his years of Florida racing, his natural driving ability and congenial personality there is little doubt that all of the years of waiting have finally paid off for Bigley. A victory in the truck series is certainly possible before this magical year is over.
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