The weekend started strong for the Curb Records team after Boat set the quickest lap of the practice session at 27.056 seconds on Friday as drivers turned their first laps on the reconfigured one-mile track.  On Saturday, after 42 drivers took part in qualifying trying for a spot in the 40-car field, the No. 98 Curb Records car secured a top-10 starting position for the 125-lap race when Boat posted the sixth-quickest qualifying lap time. 

The green flag flew at Phoenix International Raceway for the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West season finale and the Curbs Records car settled in the top-10, running in a close pack with the leaders.  The field saw a caution on lap 67 which allowed Boat to bring the No. 98 to pit lane for four new tires and fuel.  The Arizona-native restarted 10^th and battled to gain three spots before crossing the finish line in seventh position.

“I’m really proud of the Curb Records/Billy Boat Motorsports team,” Boat stated.  “The guys have done a great job all year and it feels good to end the season with a seventh-place run. The No. 98 Curb Records/KMLE Country 108 car was fast and we proved that by leading the practice session. I think we anticipated a better finish but we’ll take a top-10 finish and start focusing on getting a win next season.”

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.”

“I felt good about coming here to Greenville after the testing we did. We practiced well but still didn’t qualify as well as we should have. I think I had moved up about six positions and the car felt great, but I just had nowhere to go when the 12 spun in front of me. It is disappointing, but we will get it fixed and get ready for the mile at New Hampshire.”