6/4/2014
13th Annual Billy Anderson Memorial at Princeton June 6
The Billy Anderson Memorial is held each year as a tribute to honor the memory of sprint car driver Billy Anderson from Dayton, Minnesota. Billy was seriously injured in a racing accident at the Knoxville Raceway on June 13, 1998. Following a long battle with numerous complications from the horrific crash, Billy Anderson took his final checkered flag when he crossed the finish line of life on October 19, 2001. Anderson was surrounded by his wife Jenny, family and friends at the time of his of death.
Anderson’s racing career began in the street stock division in 1994 at the Princeton Speedway. Billy quickly advanced to the modified division a year later and made his first start in a sprint car in 1996 at the Cedar Lake Speedway. Sprint cars suited Billy well, and he continued to race around the region in 1997 with local car owner Mike Botzek of Princeton. The team was quite successful with the familiar red number B1st sprint car. In 1998, Billy got a tremendous opportunity to race every Saturday night at the renowned Knoxville Raceway in Iowa with car owner Bill Kain. His young racing career was taking off when the June 13 accident brought an end to it.
Following his accident, his wife Jenny cared for him at home as he struggled with complications from the accident and the paralysis that came with it. Billy attended several racing events while trying to recover from his devastating crash. His home was filled with racing memorabilia from his own racing career and from many drivers throughout the world of motorsports. Billy never lost his love for life or for the sport of auto racing, as he continued to fight right up to the end.
The memorial race each year honors this fallen driver from our local area and a racing career that was much too brief. The event began at the Cedar Lake Speedway in April of 2002. The first nine memorials were held at Cedar Lake Speedway with two of the events falling victim to weather. This year the race moves to Billy’s home track, the Princeton Speedway. The Upper Midwest Sprintcar Series (UMSS) is proud to be associated with the Billy Anderson Memorial for the sixth year. The first four memorials were run under WISSOTA sanctioning with the next two under ASCS rules. Since 2009, the race has been run under the UMSS banner. The 2008 and 2010 events were rained out, so a total of ten memorial feature races have been held. Previous winners include Tony Norem, Bill Boles, Jerry Richert Jr. twice, Loren Langerud, Jake Peters, Chuck Swenson, Lou Kennedy Jr., Cody Hahn and Brooke Tatnell. The first Billy Anderson Memorial was extra special for the winner and car owner, as Tony Norem drove the Botzek B1st sprinter to victory!
His family, the Princeton Speedway, and the UMSS hope each of you will enjoy your evening at this great racing tradition with the UMSS winged sprint cars highlighting the program in remembrance of Billy Anderson and his passion for the sport of sprint car racing.
The following is a summary of the top three finishers in previous Billy Anderson Memorial races.
1st Annual Billy Anderson Memorial 4/20/2002: 1. Tony Norem #B1st, 2. Jake Peters #57x, 3. Bill Boles #05
2nd Annual Billy Anderson Memorial 4/12/2003: 1. Bill Boles #05, 2. Jerry Richert Jr. #63, 3. Tony Norem #B1st
3rd Annual Billy Anderson Memorial 4/17/2004: 1. Jerry Richert Jr. #63, 2. Roger Rager #6R, 3. Dustin Lindquist #55L
4th Annual Billy Anderson Memorial 4/23/2005: 1. Loren Langerud #56, 2. Chuck Swenson #X, 3. Dustin Lindquist #55L
5th Annual Billy Anderson Memorial 4/15/2006: 1. Jake Peters #57x, 2. Scott Winters #R19, 3. Curt Lund #87
6th Annual Billy Anderson Memorial 7/14/2007: 1. Chuck Swenson #X, 2. Curt Lund #87, 3. Scott Winters #R19
7th Annual Billy Anderson Memorial Rained Out Twice (4/26/2008 & 9/13/2008)
8th Annual Billy Anderson Memorial 4/25/2009: 1. Lou Kennedy Jr. #21k, 2. Jody Rosenboom #27, 3. Brad Barickman #34
9th Annual Billy Anderson Memorial Rained Out (4/24/2010)
10th Annual Billy Anderson Memorial 6/3/11: 1. Jerry Richert, Jr. #63, 2. Chris Graf #20G, Brad Barickman #34
11th Annual Billy Anderson Memorial 6/1/12: 1. Cody Hahn #23, 2. Scott Broty #34, 3. Tony Norem #45
12th Annual Billy Anderson Memorial 6/7/13: 1. Brooke Tatnell #25, Lee Grosz #4J, 3. Cody Hahn #23
Article Credit: Greg Parent, UMSS Media Director
