Bakersfield Life Magazine August 2011 by The Bakersfield Californian Specialty Publications

Continued from page 123

started racing, I thought because my dad was one of the greatest racers in California there will be a lot of people out there to help me out. I was waiting but that never really happened. So I came to a point in my life where I was like, ‘Look, if you’re going to do this, you’re going to have to do it. No one is going to do it for you.’ In reality, that’s what my dad would have wanted.” Billy eventually proved all the critics wrong and finished second in the Street Stock points four times at Santa Maria Speedway twice before taking a new job and moving to Bakersfield in 2003. Now his racing focus is split between his Super Street Stock and Sunnie’s Mini Dwarf. The seven-year old is currently the points leader in the 6-8 year old division at Bakersfield Speedway. “It’s cool when we’re both racing because if something doesn’t' go right with my car, she may have a good night and it kind of makes the night OK,” Billy Simkins said. One of Billy’s other passions is raising awareness about celiac disease, a condition that keeps the small intestine from absorbing the food in a way to keep the body healthy. It’s a disease that in retrospect Billy believes his mother suffered from based though she was never formally diagnosed as having before dying from cancer in 2009. Noticing some of the symptoms of the disease in Sunnie, Billy and his wife Nicole had her tested at age six and her blood panel came back positive. By catching it early, they are confident that she will be able to live a normal life and in turn carry on the Simkins familyracing legacy. It’s a legacy that comes with a powerful message. “Don’t let people set your boundaries for you,” Billy Simkins said. “The limits of what you’re capable of doing, you set that. No one else. My grandfather and my dad were crippled, but you would never know that when they were in a racecar. People told me I wouldn’t be able to do it when I started, that really inspired me. I think that’s the message, don’t let people define who you are. Believing is half the battle.” For more information on the Simkins family’s racing story or information on Celiac Disease you can visit Billy’s web site at teamsimkins.com.

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