Chad makes 2nd career K&N Pro Series start at Irwindale Speedway
July 7th, 2010
Chad Boat made his second career K&N Pro Series start on Saturday night at the fast, high banked, Irwindale Speedway.
Thirty cars showed up to compete for the winning hardware, and Chad would time in with the 16th quickest lap in qualifying, despite being in the Top 10 in practice. “We focused on our race set up in both practices, and the car ended up being a little too free in qualifying,” Chad said after.
Feeling confident with the race set up under the #30 Billy Boat Motorsports Chevrolet, Chad began the race on the outside of the eighth row. Unfortunately for Chad, an extremely loose race car would have him holding on for dear life the first 100 laps of the 200 lap race.
“The car was so loose, it was almost un-drivable,” Chad said. “I was just counting down the laps till the midway point so we could make adjustments.”
Getting to the halfway point wasn’t in the cards, though, as Chad’s Chevrolet went around in Turn 4 on the 77th circuit. A much needed yellow flag was thrown and provided Chad the opportunity to come down pit road for some much needed adjustments. 4 rounds out of the Track Bar snugged the car up enough to race, but Chad knew more was needed. “It’s better,” Chad radioed to his crew chief, “But it’s still way too free.”
A ten minute break at the halfway point and another pit stop for adjustments would provide Chad with a car capable of passing other cars. Running lap times comparable to the Top 5, Chad began working his way from the back towards the front, despite being numerous laps down. Chad would eventually cross the stripe with a disappointing 17th place finish.
Chad will return to his open-wheel roots for his next race on August 6th when he looks for Victory Lane at the famous Belleville High Banks. He will then shift his focus back to stock cars when he makes his third career K&N Pro Series start at Gresham Motorsports Park on August 28th.