Chad Boat Finishes 12th in First USAC Pavement Race

The high banked ¼ mile in Anderson, IN marked the second race of the USAC midget season and the first race on the pavement.  After of couple of long weeks of preparation and an 1800 mile journey to move the shop and equipment to Danville, In, Chad and the team were ready to take on the powerhouse USAC teams.

Preparation for the USAC pavement races usually requires testing at each track, but between the cold weather in Indy and a late start out of Phoenix, Chad would have the tackle the high banks of Anderson with little previous track time.  Chad qualified at an 11.73, only  .2 of the pole but only good enough for 20th position.

After a third place finish in the heat race, Chad started the 50 lap feature in the 15th position.  The Anderson track is known to be one groove and hard to pass, and today would be no different.  Chad drove a smooth and steady race, while at the same time fighting a tight race car.  He was able to work his way to the 12th position, an excellent run for his first time at the track.  The finish moved Chad to 5th in USAC national point standings and the leading rookie.

“Today was quite a learning experience”, Chad said after the race. “I fought a tight car most of the race, and this track is very hard to pass.  The key to these races is qualifying and starting toward the front of the field, so we will focus on that next week at Kenly.”