Plainfield, IN- The 20th Annual Budweiser Oval Nationals at Perris Auto Speedway in Perris, CA is three nights of intense Amsoil USAC National Sprint Car competition. Teams traveling from as far as Canada to compete in the prestigious event. Oval Nationals is the largest paying non wing sprint car race on the USAC schedule. Chad teamed up with Gerry Cook, owner of the 04G DRC Chassis for the final 6 Amsoil USAC National races of 2015 that included the Oval Nationals. A few minor issues were worked out during Wednesday's practice night. Not having raced the car or for the team before this past weekend Chad had some adjusting to do to different equipment. In addition the team had some adjusting to do to suit Chad's likeness to the car. They quickly communicated with each other to make the car better going into the first of three nights of competition.
Qualifying time trials proved to be a challenge, although Chad was able to race through his heat race into a feature transfer position on the first two nights. A mid pack qualifying time meant a middle to back of the pack starting position once making the main events. Time Trials are crucial in the USAC format as they revert to time for the line up of the feature events for those who raced their way into a transfer via a heat race of b-main. Night 1 found Chad and the team struggling with setup resulting in a 23rd place finishing spot in the A-Main. Night 2 Chad and the team found some drive forward in the A-Main before being caught up in a pile up with 5 laps remaining. Front end damage was suffered as a result of no where to go when third place blew up stalling in front of Chad. With too much damage to repair in the work area their night was done. Night three saw Chad missing the transfer from heat race competition early in the evening as only two cars transferred on to the A-Main. Chad went on to transfer out of the b-main into the $25,000 to win Budweiser Oval Nationals finale. Chad started 22nd as a result of accumulated points from the previous nights competition. With minimal amounts of cautions throughout the 40 lap A-Main event Chad advanced to 14th using his momentum on the high side of the race track to his advantage. Passing eight cars he became eligible to win the Tony Jones Hard Charger Award for the second year in a row. Chad finished one spot short of the award finishing just behind CJ Leary who also passed 8 cars. The tiebreaker for the award was finishing position, since Chad finished one spot behind Leary was awarded hard charger. Despite not receiving the award the team found the most success overall on the final night at PAS. During the three nights of competition ,against 48 tough competitors, Chad had a successful California visit making all three A-Main events.
Chad and the Gerry Cook Racing Team have made their way to Tucson, AZ for the 48th running of the Western World Championship. This years Western World will be held at USA Raceway in Tucson, AZ, and event formally held at Canyon Speedway Park. The return to USA Raceway for Chad comes after at least a 5 year absence. The Amsoil USAC National Sprint Car Series will make its first appearance back after a few years as well. The same format from this past weekend will be used. Accumulated points through time trials, heats, and feature events will be tallied following each of the two preliminary nights. The top 8 drivers in points will advance directly into the dash for Saturday's Western World Finale. Making it into the top 8 will be tough with the level of competition on hand, but the goal for Chad and the 04G Team is to be locked in to Saturday nights show.
"We fought break issues early in the week, but made some changes to improve those. I did not time trial very well so that left me starting deeper than Id liked come feature time. USAC shows revolve around time trials, so a good lap is key. Having not raced this car before this past weekend some adjustments needed to be made to get me comfortable in the car as well as work out some kinks he car. Oval's is tough but to be able to make the show all three nights is a success. Looking forward to Tucson, we have made strides to getting the car closer to where we want so we should be good." - Chad Boespflug
Thank You to the following Supporters for making this West Coast swing possible:
All Coast Construction, SurfNSprint, Gene Fleetwood, Gerry Cook Racing, Jason Keefer, Motor Works of Tucson.
Also Thank You to the following continued Supporters of Chad Boespflug:
Amsoil, Bell Helmets, Butlerbuilt Seats, Creative Finishing, DLG, DRC Chassis, Hinchman Indy, Indy Race Parts, Manvel Motorsports, Midwest Shades, RevvedUp Industries, Shaws, STIDA.
Follow along to Chad's Facebook Fanpage for race results and updates. The Cushion will have LIVE pay per view for all three nights of Western World action.
Visit: http://thecushion.com/2015-live-schedule/
