Chad Boat to run at least 15 NASCAR races this season

Chad Boat, the son of former USAC and IndyCar Series driver Billy Boat, will now look to make his name in the NASCAR Nationwide Series.

21-year-old Chad (pictured, from 2011) will drive the No. 84 Chevrolet for his father’s Billy Boat Motorsports team in at least 15 Nationwide events this season. His debut is set for April 4 at Texas but he will take part in this week’s Preseason Thunder testing at Daytona International Speedway to get track time.

“I’m excited for the opportunity to compete at the next level in my career," Chad said in a press release. “We have a great team at Billy Boat Motorsports and I’m thankful for their hard work putting this program together. I can’t wait to get behind the wheel of the No. 84 Chevrolet this season."

Chad competed in seven ARCA races last year, earning three Top-5 and four Top-10 finishes. His best result was a third-place finish at Iowa Speedway.

“I have been around racing my entire life and it is an honor to have the opportunity to form a NASCAR program like this," Billy Boat said in the same release. “Chad has shown so much promise in stock car racing, especially with our limited ARCA program last year, we felt it was an appropriate time to take this next step."

Serving as crew chief for Chad this year will be Dan Deeringhoff, who guided Clint Bowyer to the 2008 Nationwide championship as part of Richard Childress Racing.