Amateur Race Car Drivers - Chasing the Spotlight

Chad Boat
When some kids are watching the latest edition of SpongeBob Square Pants, other kids have a different game in mind. Boat, of Phoenix, Arizona, has been actively involved in racing as a driver from the age of 5. He started out in quarter midgets with the goal of winning, not just active participation. By age 9 he had amassed over 70 feature wins. Karting was next, with another raft of championships and another 10 feature wins.

With seven years of racing experience at the ripe old age of 12, the next step was 600cc Mini Sprints. That produced another 14 feature wins, Rookie of the Year, and the 2004 AMMA Championship. Do you see a pattern developing here? For many racers, the idea of over 84 feature wins is a real accomplishment. Even so, this 14-year-old is still waiting for the clock to tick around a few more times so he can get his driver's license.

When the '05 season opened, he moved up to fullsize Midgets and kept driving in the Mini-Sprints. Boat's record in the Midgets was two wins in 11 starts. He also owns the record at Manzanita Speedway as the youngest feature winner in the track's storied history. By the way, he also won 12 more main events in the Mini-Sprints. That brings the feature total to 98.

What does the future hold? Currently, he is starting to race in the ASA's Speed Truck series and campaign a Sprint Car and a Midget. This kid is definitely one to keep an eye on.

Remember that name-Chad Boat. He has all the traits of a professional driver, including a talented bloodline as the son of former IRL driver Billy Boat. The only thing he needs besides a race car is a chauffeur to get him to the track.
-J.H.

Dalton Zehr
Many race fans might have never heard of Zehr before now, but the chance of hearing that name more in the near future is very likely. That's especially true if the 15-year-old Daytona Beach resident keeps up the pace that he's been setting.

Zehr has accomplished more in his short racing career than most drivers hope for in a lifetime. He got his racing career started when he was 7 years old in Caldwell, Idaho, in a class of dirt winged cars called Box Stocks. On tracks in Florida and the Southeast, he started racing in the scale-car Bandolero division in 2002 when he was 11 years old. In his first full season, he won 17 out of 26 races, including an impressive 10-race winning streak. That season, Zehr had the highest points average per race in the nation.

In 2004, Zehr moved up to the FastKids Truck Series and walked away at the end of the season with seven victories in 17 starts as well as the championship. The 2005 season saw Zehr compete in a myriad of different racing divisions, including the Sunbelt Series, Fastruck Series, Intermountain Series, ProTruck Series, and Mid-America Racing Series.

Zehr celebrated his 14th birthday last year by making his first Super Late Model start. In 2006, he is competing in the ASA Southern Series for Coleman Racing. He plans on running some Hooters Pro Cup and ARCA events to get seat time before he reaches the age of 18, the minimum age allowed to compete at any level of NASCAR.

Aaron Pierce
You'd have to call Pierce, a 32-year-old USAC open-wheel driver, a late starter in racing by today's standards. He really didn't get things going until 1997 when he was in his early 20s.

He started in Legends Cars and was highly successful in two years of competition, including winning 10 of 15 indoor races that first year. In 1998, he was Third in season points with two organizations.

Next, a year in the Kenyon Midgets saw 8 wins in 11 starts before moving to full Midgets in 1999. In 2001, he finished Second in points with the NAMARS Midget group.

Then came a Regional USAC Midget title in 2002, four Sprint Car wins in 2003, and a Rookie of the Year honor in USAC Silver Crown cars in 2004. Last season, he was a driver in the redesigned Silver Crown cars that will run a number of races with NASCAR.

Pierce is presently a High Performance Driving instructor with the Bondurant Driving School, teaching high-profile clients, such as members of the Secret Service, driving techniques in high-powered street cars. "I have been also involved with personnel from GM, Ford, and other companies in my teaching capacity," he says.

"My goal is to reach the pinnacle of racing, NASCAR. I would love to have an opportunity to race in any of the NASCAR series and show them what I can do. I believe this new Silver Crown series is a stepping stone, and I feel USAC has made the right move to position more exposure for additional USAC drivers to make the NASCAR move."

Pierce is hoping that he's one of them.
-B.H.

Clay Jones
There was never any doubt that the 19-year-old Jones was destined for a career behind the wheel of a stock car. As the old saying goes, it was in his blood, and that truly is the case for the third-generation racer from Goldsboro, North Carolina.

His father, John, used to run against the likes of Jack Sprague at Concord (North Carolina) Motorsport Park while his grandfather, James Jones, is a former track owner, car owner, and driver. Jones is currently running for the championship in two different divisions-UARA STARS and the PASS Southern Super Late Model Series-in order to get as much seat time and exposure as possible.

When asked what the highlight of his racing career has been so far, the young Jones looks back to a race last year at Concord in which he beat local short-track legend Freddy Query in the final event of the season. Now the goal is to reach one of NASCAR's top three divisions-Nextel Cup, the Busch Series, or the Craftsman Truck Series-and to be able to bang fenders with the likes of Dale Earnhardt Jr., Tony Stewart, or Jeff Gordon in the very near future.

If he keeps up his competitive pace, the name Clay Jones is one that fans will be hearing more frequently.
-J.M.