Chad Boat Finishes 3rd at Jack Hewitt Classic, 7th at Eldora

Rain has plagued the early part of the season for Chad Boat, but the skies finally parted for the Jack Hewittt Classic at Kokomo Speedway .Chad was racing in both the sprint car and the midget double header, and finished in the top 10 in both divisions.

Chad started eighth in the sprint car feature after qualifying in the 10th position.  He raced hard on what was left of the Kokomo cushion against the wall, and was up as high as fifth in the 40 lapper.  He ended up in the 9th position at the checkered flag after attempting a pass late in the race, only to slide up high at the exit of the corner and fall back to 9th.

The midget division had Chad starting 12th after coming from the back of his heat race to the 4th position.  Chad made some great early moves at the drop of the green flag, and had moved to 6th position by before getting collected in a lap seven crash.  Chad restarted after the red flag, but in the 16th position.  The track had turned black slick and Chad drove the RS Service Esslinger smooth and straight, collecting nearly one position per lap.  He drove a hard race, finishing in the 3rd position.

“It was great to finally get out first top five of the season,” Chad said after the race. “It has been a lot of hard work moving our shop and getting things set up here in Indiana, but it seems we are getting organized and starting to get a rhythm.  We have 10 races in the next 20 days, so things are getting busy.”

The following week was Chad’s debut at the famous Eldora Speedway.  Rain washed out Friday’s race at Bloomington, but the sun was out for Eldora.  The high banks and fast speeds can be intimidating for some, but the 16 year old took to the track like a veteran.  After qualifying in the 7th position and finishing 4th in his heat, Chad qualified for his first USAC feature of the year.

Chad got a great start at the drop of the green flag and quickly moved into the 6th position.   He raced in the top five most of the race and was has high as fourth before getting squeezed against the back straight wall going for third, losing three spots.  He recovered to finish 7th, not only the highest finishing rookie but the only rookie to make the race.

“My Dad told me this place was fast, but you really can’t describe it until you actually race on it. I like the big, fast tracks, so I was having a lot of fun.”