Billy Riels Racing Gets Fourth CRUSA WRS National Championship In 2022

PERKINSTON, MS – Billy Riels Racing notched its fourth Crate Racin’ USA Weekly Racing Series National Championship in 2022 with a one-two finish in the final point standings. Shannon Lee of Lumberton, MS won his third title with Billy Riels Racing and teammate K.I. Davis of Poplarville, MS was second. Noah Daspit of Kiln, MS won the Championship for BRR in 2013.

Lee competed in 25 races with seven wins, 23 top five finishes, and 25 top ten finishes to compile 644 points during the 2022 season and pocket his third $10,000 title. Davis came out of a 15-year retirement from racing to join BRR in May and competed in 20 races with three wins, 15 top five finishes, 20 top ten finishes to accumulate 629 points and earned $5,000 for the runner-up spot.

The Crate Racin’ USA Weekly Racing Series was founded in 2006 and is comprised of weekly dirt tracks throughout the Southeastern United States to give drivers at each track an opportunity to compete for a National Championship. Over a 27-week season, a driver’s best 14 finishes are counted using a common point system.

Lee and Davis competed mainly at Hattiesburg Speedway in Hattiesburg, MS on Friday nights, and Pike County Speedway in Magnolia, MS on Saturday nights. They also made appearances at Jackson Motor Speedway in Jackson, MS, Outlaw Speedway in George County, MS, Baton Rouge Raceway in Baton Rouge, LA and Whynot Motorsports Park in Meridian, MS.

Team owner Billy Riels credits the dedication, work ethic, knowledge, and the amount of time Lee and Davis put forth in the shop along with David Alford before they even arrived to compete at a race track as the key to the team’s success.

“Talk about focus and dedication, both Shannon and K.I. work day jobs, and then drive to my shop in Perkinston to work on the race cars,” Riels said. “Shannon drives about 25 minutes and K.I. drives an hour to get here. The work they put in at the shop shows up at the race track with the wins, the top five finishes and they both finished in the top ten in every race they ran this season.”

The equipment Lee and Davis used in 2022 CRUSA WRS competition was a little different than other race cars. Lee took two different chassis brands and put his own ideas into them to produce the Lee Performance chassis.

When it comes to wins, Lee is the “General” of the CRUSA WRS with over 100 wins, and he has posted a win in the series in every season since 2007. Lee has finished in the top five of the WRS National Point Standings seven times. When it comes to Stats, Lee doesn’t pay much attention to them. He just loves to race.

“I never really gave much thought into number of wins and stats like that,” Lee said. “I just love to race and have fun doing it. Billy and I have had a lot of success together, and we’ve had a lot of fun having that success. It’s pretty remarkable to have a series where we can be a National Champion and not have to travel back and forth across the country to earn it.”

Lee’s CRUSA WRS National Championships came in 2019, 2020, and 2022. He was leading the 2021 standings, but a bout with COVID knocked out for a few weeks, but he did finish second just two points behind the Champion. He was also leading the point standings in 2017 with six wins, but he missed a good portion of the season due to back surgery.

Riels also has an impressive record with CRUSA. Championship success with Lee’s record and wins by Daspit in 2013 when he won the title, plus Davis with a runner-up finish and his wins in 2022, makes Riels known as the Rick Hendrick of the Crate Racin’ USA Weekly Racing Series.

The Billy Riels Racing Team did take a couple of years off the WRS. Lee and Riels have also had success on the Crate Racin’ USA National Late Model Tour with a pair of fifth-place finishes in the National Point Standings racing throughout the Southeast in 2010 and 2011.

“Our team couldn’t be successful without the help of our Marketing Partners and Friends that make it possible for us to compete,” Riels said. “Talent and knowledge will only take you so far in this sport. These race cars and the parts and pieces that go on them are expensive, and you also have to consider the cost of getting to and from the races. Many thanks go out to our Marketing Partners and Friends that choose to be anonymous for helping us be successful.”

Billy Riels Racing Marketing Partners are Look Out Graphics of Petal, MS, Wall2Wall Performance Engines of Moselle, MS, Petal Family Dentistry of Petal, MS, SS Construction Forestry and Land Services of Florence, MS, Tillman’s Heating and Air of Gulfport, MS, Parker’s Service Center of Wiggins, MS, Allstate Insurance of Wiggins, MS, Wiggins NAPA of Wiggins, MS, and Shorty’s Motorsports of Greenback, TN.

Plans are in the works for the upcoming 2023 Racing Season. Stay tuned for updates from Billy Riels Racing to see the upcoming plans for Shannon Lee and K.I. Davis, as the schedule begins to take shape.