Valiant Effort For Chad Hackenbracht; CGH Motorsports At Kansas Speedway

Valiant Effort For Chad Hackenbracht; CGH Motorsports At Kansas Speedway

Topics: Chad Hackenbracht, Kansas Lottery 98.9

Valiant Effort For Chad Hackenbracht; CGH Motorsports At Kansas Speedway

Chris Knight
Knight Motorsports Management
CGH Motorsports
October 9, 2011

KANSAS CITY, Kansas (October 9, 2011) - - New Philadelphia’s Ohio Chad Hackenbracht captured his ninth top-10 finish of the 2011 ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards season in the inaugural night race held at Kansas Speedway for the running of the Kansas Lottery 98.9 Friday evening.

The effort by the Mooresville, North Carolina-based team led by crew chief Kevin Reed bettered the team’s previous outing at Kansas Speedway last October where they finished 25th after cutting a tire while running in the top-10.

Extremely focused and determined, it wasn’t a surprise to see the No. 58 Tastee Caramel Apple Chevrolet post the fifth fastest practice lap earlier in the day. After conferring with Reed, the two opted for some minor adjustments before the start of Menards Pole by Ansell qualifying. The 19-year old’s lap around the 1.5-mile speedway would land the family-owned team on the outside of row number four in the eighth spot, beating their previous best Kansas start of ninth just a year earlier.

Under the Sunflower State skies, Hackenbracht took the green flag just after 7:45 p.m. local, finding himself immediately under pressure from his competition that included Tim George Jr., Tom Hessert III and Chad McCumbee.

Flirting for a spot inside the top-10 during the early stages of the race, Hackenbracht had slipped to 11th on the racetrack by lap 10 but remained quiet on the radio. It wasn’t until the race’s first yellow flag for debris on lap 24, that Hackenbracht informed his team of the car’s attitude.

With the driver reporting a loose condition, Reed opted to bring his driver to pit lane where tires, fuel and an adjustment all took place. Restarting 10th, Hackenbracht would continue to hold his own on the track until another yellow flew on lap 36. Still complaining of a loose automobile, Reed again instructed his protégé to enter pit lane for fuel and a series of chassis adjustments in order to try and thwart the car’s performance.

Racing resumed on lap 40 with Hackenbracht weaving his way through the stack of lead lap cars to find himself once again knocking on the door of re-entering the top-10.

With the looseness condition refusing to give way, a third trip to pit road would occur just past the halfway point. Reed signaled for a track bar adjustment, two right side tires and fuel.

Reassuming the 18th race of the season in the 12th position, Hackenbracht would cleverly inch his way up the field before finding himself in a torrid battle with the No. 82 of Sean Corr shortly after the restart. The two competitors would duke it out for nearly 10 laps in an impressive side-by-side battle with Hackenbracht eventually winning the fight and rising to the 11th position on lap 76.

With the field completely spread out because of a long-green flag, the team had desperately hoped for a caution, not only to tag onto the bumpers of the lead pack but also ignite their driver with four sticker (new) tires and fuel.

Looking like that opportunity would not come to fruition; the field would be slowed just 12 laps from the finish. The caution was the break that the team had wanted, as it would allow the rising star to bring his No. 58 Tastee Caramel Apple machine to pit road for four new tires and fuel.

Restarting in 10th, Hackenbracht attempted to use the new rubber to his advantage but would instead have to battle a slew of race cars around him that included nine-time ARCA champion Frank Kimmel, Ryan Wilson and John Blankenship. The unexpected battles would keep him trapped from making any progress on the track. Hackenbracht was able to hold off Wilson coming to the checkered flag where he crossed the start-finish line 10th, tying his best finish in four races where he also nailed a 10th in his inaugural dirt debut at the Illinois State Fairgrounds (Springfield).

“I can’t say I’m happy with our run, but we’re content and we’ll take a top-10,” offered Hackenbracht. “We had a good car in practice and it felt pretty good in qualifying but during the race, our No. 58 Tastee Caramel Apple car was loose. Kevin (Reed) did a good job making adjustments but we just didn’t have the speed at the end when we needed it the most. Still, I want to thank all of the guys on the CGH Motorsports team for their hard work and dedication. All in all, it really wasn’t a bad day.”

Reed offered his thoughts on Saturday night’s contest. “We came to Kansas and thought we had a solid top-five car,” said ARCA’s 2010 crew chief of the year. “We’re stumped. I’m not sure, we’re fighting something, just not sure what it is. Still, it was a solid day for the CGH Motorsports team. We just have to keep fighting. On the flip side, we’ll take the top-10 and Chad (Hackenbracht) always does a flawless job. He doesn’t have “give up” in his vocabulary. We’ll go to Toledo and test on Monday and get ready for Sunday’s race and try to close out the season on a high note.”

With just one race remaining on the calendar, Hackenbracht remains eighth in the championship standings 145 markers behind seventh place runner Hessert. The curtain will fall on CGH Motorsports’ inaugural ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards season on Sunday, October 16 when the checkered flag waives in the Toledo ARCA 200 presented by Federated Car Care. The final race of the year which consists of 200 laps will be televised live on SPEED beginning at 2:00 p.m. local.

In order to prepare the team for the race, they will test at the half-mile oval resting on the borders of Michigan and Ohio on Monday, October 9. In May, Hackenbracht blasted from his 27th place starting spot to secure a commendable 11th place run.

CGH Motorsports still has marketing partnerships available for the remaining 2011 ARCA Racing Series schedule and all of 2012. Interested parties can contact Jordan Dahl at Jordan@cghmotorsports.com or 570.234.5449.

For more information on Chad Hackenbracht and CGH Motorsports, please visit ChadHackenbracht.com and CGHMotorsports.com.

To purchase the popular “What’s A Chad Hacken-Something” tee-shirt, please log on to store.cghmotorsports.com or CGHMotorsports.com.

Connect with Chad Hackenbracht and CGH Motorsports through Facebook by clicking here.

Tweet with Chad Hackenbracht through Twitter at @ChadH58 or CGH Motorsports @CGH5858.

About CGH Motorsports:

CGH Motorsports (CGHMotorsports.com), established in 2007 by Ohio entrepreneur Greg Hackenbracht is located in a 10,000 sq. foot facility located in Mooresville, North Carolina. CGH Motorsports is home of rising sensation Chad Hackenbracht, who competed in nine ARCA Racing Series races in 2010 after an aggressive ARCA testing schedule in 2009. Chad Hackenbracht is the 2008 National Asphalt Legends champion, winning 33 percent of his races and finishing in the top-10, 85 percent of the events he competed in. The team has stepped up their commitment from a partial schedule in 2010 to a full-effort in 2011 with the prospects of a two-car operation in 2012.

PHOTO CAPTION 1: The No. 58 Tastee Caramel Apple Chevrolet Impala SS driven by Chad Hackenbracht in the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards for CGH Motorsports.

PHOTO CAPTION 2: Chad Hackenbracht, driver of the No. 58 Tastee Caramel Apple Chevrolet Impala SS in the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards for CGH Motorsports.

CONTACT INFORMATION:

NAME: Chris Knight, Knight Motorsports Management
PHONE: 239.834.9797
EMAIL: chris@chrisknightpr.com