Strapped into his new 90mph mini sprint car, ready to race it for the first time, 12-year-old Chad Boat had a last minute concern.
     He anxiously motioned for his father and mentor, Indy racing veteran Billy Boat, to come over to the black and yellow No. 15. His father leaned over to hear Chad through the boy’s full-face helmet.
     “Where do I go if I win?” Chad asked.
     That may sound cocky, but the seventh-grader at Northwest Community Christian school won that March night earlier this year at Canyon Raceway.
     “I thought we had a good car, but being my first time, I didn’t know what would happen,” Chad said.
     The confidence his question revealed, combined with his display of revealed, combined with his display of aggressiveness and patience behind the wheel, can’t be taught, and the young Boat is proving he is a contender.
     Since that March night, he has driven in six mini-sprint races. He has won two, has finished second twice and has been caught up in other drivers’ mistakes twice, failing to finish those times because of car damage. He is currently third in season point standings in the Arizona Modified Midgets Association.
     His previous success is impressive, too. Chad, who began his career in quarter midgets at age 5, won the Quarter Midget Association’s Arizona state championship in the Junior Honda class when he was 7 and the Light Modified and Light 160 class championships at 8. He won the group’s premier event, Thunder on the Mountain at age 9.
     He moved to dirt karts with the Phoenix Kart Racing Association, and at 11 he won the Arizona state championship, winning 10 of 12 main events. In road racing karts on pavement, he won nine main events, ending that competitive season third in season points.
     These days, “it’s mostly adults he’s racing against,” Billy said. “It’s pretty amazing how he’s come along. You see things (he’s doing) that you can’t teach.”
     Explaining what can’t be taught, Billy Boat said he has watched his son speed off turns and pass cars on the straightaway, dive under and split cars in turns and pass high and low.      Pride shines in the father’s eyes as he talks about his son’s career and how he can help it along.
     “I play a big role. I have a lot of experience with these cars,” said Billy, a dirt sprint car champion.
     There’s more to it than just driving. A successful dirt oval racer has to know how the racing surface is changing.
     “Reading the track is an art that you only learn from experience over time,” Billy said. “I always tell him you’ve got to look for the mud to know where the race track is. It changes all the time.”
     The boy with easy grin is learning with every race.
     “I actually saw the track change during one of our mains,” Chad said. “I’m getting better at it.”
     The father and son team plan to stay with the mini-sprint car for two years, “then we’ll look at our options,” Billy said.
     Racing on pavement will come when Chad gets a bit older, and he also will move to the ultra-fast, full-size dirt sprint car, a division in which the elder Boat made his name and earned an Indy Race League ride and chances at the famed Indy 500.
     “A sprint car teaches you a lot about car control and how to handle a very-large-horsepower car that can be hard to keep under control,” Billy said.
     Until then, the younger Boat will stay behind a steering wheel that’s almost as big as he is and hone his skill.     He has a financial incentive, too. Dad pays him 50 percent of the night’s purse if he wins and 40 percent if he doesn’t. Chad has to do the math or he will cheat himself.
     “I put it in the bank for a car when I’m 16,” said Chad, who has designs on a full-size pickup truck.
     And when he grows up, what does he want to be?
     “A race car driver,” he said, showing his infectious smile.
     Like dad, he wants to drive in the Indy 500.
     But right now, he’s quickly outgrowing the skinny seat in his mini-sprint.
     A wider seat is on order.