The 3/8 mile Bullring at Las Vegas has been the training ground for many drivers in NASCAR, including the Busch brothers and Kevin Harvick. With only a Friday night practice under his belt, Chad Boat had to adapt quickly to a track which he had never seen before.

Practice looked promising, as chief mechanic Randy Nelson had the Billy Boat Performance Exhaust Dodge close off the trailer and Chad was among the faster trucks in practice. Qualifying was better, as Chad wound up in the 11th position, but still not as good as he had hoped. “I think I might have over drove the truck a little in qualifying, as the truck would not turn on entry to the corner. My first lap was good, but I got up a little high on the second lap which cost me some time”, Chad said after qualifying.

Chad started the 101 lap feature event on the inside of the 6th row. At the drop of the green flag Chad raced side-by-side with Shaun Steele for 5 laps, with Chad eventually taking the position. Chad methodically picked off trucks one-by-one, moving into the 7th position by the half-way point. Running laps faster than he qualified, Chad continued to march forward, racing and passing drivers with much more experience. A lap 90 yellow flag restart gave Chad the opportunity to move past Andy Allen for 5th position, with a late run at Scott Dodd for 4th coming up just short at the finish. Chad ended the race in 5th position, a great run in only his second race.

“We had a great truck, and I felt like I was as fast as any of the leaders at the end of the race. The team gave me a great setup, and I just tried to be patient and make clean passes. It is nice to get my first top 5, but I can’t wait to get to Irwindale.”