Gamble on Rain Comes up Short For Chad Boat at New Hampshire
September 24th, 2011
Loudon, NH (9-23-11) The NASCAR K&N Pro Series last stop of the year at the New Hampshire Speedway proved to be an exercise in trying to beat the weather, as Mother Nature played havoc with the schedule. The rain and darkness caused the scheduled 125 lap race to be shortened to 79 laps, which left Chad Boat in 20th position after pitting on lap 34 for tires and fuel when most of the field stayed out.
After practicing eighth on the speed charts in the 40 car field, Chad and the Curb Records team went out first to qualify, directly after the NASCAR modifieds had practiced. The rubber from the Hooiser modified tires makes the track slick for the first cars, and Chad’s Curb Records Chevy turned loose, relegating him to a 20th position start. At the drop of the green Chad quickly moved through the field and was up to the 14th position by the lap 34 caution.
“We debated on whether to pit or not, because we didn’t think the race would go the entire distance because the rain was coming,” Chad said after the race. “We gambled that most of the cars in front of us would have to pit by lap 85, and we could stay out. Unfortunately the caution on lap 68 killed us, as we ran around under caution for 10 laps, then we lost the track to the rain. We only needed about 10 more laps of green for it to work, but we just came up short.”
“All my guys on the Curb Records team did a great job and gave me a great car. I think we had a top 5 car in terms of speed, we just haven’t been able to catch a break. Our luck can’t stay this bad forever, so we will just keep working at it until it does.”