Chad Boat Scores 2nd, 5th in USAC Midget Maynia

The USAC National Midget Series headed north for a three race series on the pavement at Lacrosse and Slinger Wisconsin and at Rockford, Illinois.  Chad Boat recorded his best USAC finish to date with a 2nd place finish at Slinger (nearly getting the victory) and a 5th at Rockford, moving the 16 year old into 6th in USAC National points.

The 5/8 mile oval at Lacrosse Speedway was the first stop on the Midget Maynia tour.  The Billy Boat team struggled to get a handle on the setup for the car, and Chad qualified a disappointing 24th.  After a 2nd place run in the heat Chad made the main but knew he would have an uphill battle with a 22nd starting position and an ill-handling race car.  Chad stayed out of trouble and brought the car home in one piece, finishing in the 19th position.

The beauty of racing is that there is always the next race, and Chad and the team looked forward to getting back on track on the High Banks of the Slinger Super Speedway.  Chad rolled off the trailer fast, and qualified in the 4th position.  After a 6th place finish in the heat race and a 6th in the B main, Chad was ready for his inside second row starting position.

At the green flag Chad settled into the 4th position and appeared to be the fastest car on the track, moving to 2nd by lap 20.  Chad was glued to the bumper of leader Bradley Galdridge for the next 20 laps, waiting for the opportunity to make a move for the lead.  That opportunity came on lap 42, as the leaders approached lapped traffic.  Chad dove to the inside and battled side-by-side with Galdridge for the next lap, only to get edged out and settle for 2nd at the checkered flag.  The finish marked Chad’s best USAC result of the season.

The Rockford Speedway was the last stop of the weekend, and Chad was brimming with confidence.  It showed in practice and qualifying, as Chad was one of the fastest cars, qualifying in the 2nd position. After a great pass in the heat race which Chad moved from 5th to 3rd in one corner, he would start the main in the 5th position.

Small, paved ¼ mile track are notorious for being hard to pass, and the Rockford Speedway was no exception.  Chad raced in the lead pack for the duration of the 50 lapper, but was not able to advance beyond his 5th place starting position.

“After these last two races I feel like we have come a long way in a short time with our pavement program,” Chad said after the race.  “The pavement requires a lot of testing and experience, which we do not have much of.  Getting these two top 5 finishes give me confidence going into the Night Before the 500 next week.”

Chad will race three different cars (pavement sprint car, dirt sprint car, and pavement midget) in four nights over five days this week as fans from all over the world converge on Indianapolis for the Indy 500.