Unfinished Business For Chad Hackenbracht; CGH Motorsports At Salem

Topics:  Chad Hackenbracht, Kentuckiana Ford Dealers ARCA Fall Classic

Chris Knight
Knight Motorsports Management/CGH Motorsports
September 13, 2011

SALEM, Indiana (September 13, 2011) - - With just three races remaining on the 2011 ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards calendar, CGH Motorsports returns to the high banks of Salem (Ind.) Speedway for the running of Saturday night’s Kentuckiana Ford Dealers ARCA Fall Classic by Federated Car Care.

The Mooresville, North Carolina-based team with rising sensation Chad Hackenbracht at the controls of the No. 58 Tastee Apple Chevrolet Impala SS seek redemption at the treacherous short track after being denied a fair result earlier this year at the half-mile oval. Rewinding back to May, the New Philadelphia Ohio native busted out the ninth quickest lap in qualifying before roaring to be in contention for the win in the third race of the year only to fall victim to transmission issues while running in the top-five which ultimately relegated the new full-time team to a 19th place finish.

With crew chief Kevin Reed in sole control for the 17th race of the season, the team strongly believes that Saturday night could hold one of the prime chances for the family-owned organization to step into the ARCA spotlight by becoming first time winners on the tour. He would join Tim George Jr., Matt Merrell, Brennan Poole and Andrew Ranger in that same category in the series’ 59th year of conception.

“I feel like Salem owes me one,” said the 19-year old Hackenbracht. “We had such a stout car there in April and unfortunately we were bitten by some early season setbacks which prevented us from a finish that we really wanted. Saturday night’s race should be good though. A fast place, good cars and racing under the lights. The fans are in for a real treat.”

Indeed, the Southern Indiana fans have a great spectacle awaiting them but so does the operation which seeks its ninth top-10 finish of the year.

“I learned quickly that track position was everything,” added Hackenbracht. “It’s a demanding short track which really makes you get up on the wheel and fight every lap. With its layout and current conditions, starting near the front keeps you out of that “eye of the storm” which easily can spark a huge wreck.”

Qualifying is another category where Hackenbracht, who has been dubbed multiple times this season as ARCA’s most improved driver has showed massive improvement. In the last 10 races, Hackenbracht has a worst starting spot of 15th but is on the heels of his career-best qualifying run of fourth in the most recent race at the DuQuoin (Ill.) State Fairgrounds.

Comfortably occupying eighth in the ARCA Racing Series championship standings and a 100-point gap from his nearest competitor, Hackenbracht is focused on utilizing the final stretch of races to catapult his team heading into the off-season.

“By no means is finishing higher than eighth not achievable,” he said. “However, we’re not really worried about points right now. Our focus is keeping our No. 58 Tastee Apple machine near the front, try and lead some laps, finish as strong as we can and carry some momentum into the off-season to prepare for 2012.”

The Urge To Race: Continuing to shed a personal angle on Chad Hackenbracht, this week the rising star talks about how he decided to take a path towards racing. While watching a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at the age of 12, Hackenbracht said to himself “this is what I want to do.” Convincing his parents for a near six months, his racing career would launch.

“I’ve loved racing for a long time. I know I still have a long way to go before I hopefully can progress myself into the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS), I had to start racing quickly.

I started racing quarter midgets through the Buckeye Quarter Midget Association where over the course of three years I won close to 40 races. From there it was moving up the ladder and competing in the INEX Legends Car Series. In addition to one year of racing at the Summer Shootout, I also raced at tracks throughout the Midwest which included the states of Indiana, Ohio and Michigan.”

He added, “My greatest memory of racing in Legends is winning in the very first race I competed in. From Legends, we decided to pursue a career in ARCA where we’ve taken it slow with a lot of testing before competing in races last year and the full schedule this year. Hopefully, I’ll be able to advance my career at some-point and make my parents, friends and family proud.”

From Salem Speedway, the CGH Motorsports team will trek to Kansas Speedway to participate in the open ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards test session at the mile-and-a-half oval on Tuesday, September 20 to prepare for round 18 of the year, the Kansas Lottery 98.9 which is set to launch on Friday, October 7 live on SPEED.

The Kentuckiana Ford Dealers ARCA Fall Classic by Federated Car Care (200 laps / 111 miles) is the 17th of 19 events on the 2011 ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards schedule. The 87th ARCA event held at Salem (Ind.) Speedway is a one-day show. Practice begins Saturday, September 17 with an hour and a half practice session planned from 1:05 p.m. - 2:35 p.m. Menards Pole by Ansell qualifying is slated to begin at 4:00 p.m. The field will take the green flag later in the evening at approximately 7:15 p.m. The event will not be televised but race coverage including live timing and scoring throughout the 1,329th race for the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards since it was formed in 1953 will be available through the ARCA Racing Network (ARN) online at arcaracing.com presented by ARCANation.com. All times are local.

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.

The Hantz Group 200 (200 laps / 100 miles) is the 10th of 19 events on the 2011 ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards schedule. The 24th ARCA race at Berlin (Mich.) Raceway is a one-day show. Practice begins Saturday, July 9 with a one hour and half practice session planned from 2:30 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. Menards Pole by Ansell qualifying is slated to begin later in the day at 5:00 p.m. The field will take the green flag later that night shortly after 8:00 p.m. The race will not be televised but event coverage including live timing and scoring throughout the 1,322nd race for the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards since it was formed in 1953 will be available through the ARCA Racing Network (ARN) online at arcaracing.com presented by ARCANation.com. All times are local.

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 Concord, 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 will step up their commitment from a partial schedule and prepare for a hopeful full-season ARCA championship assault beginning in February 2011.

###

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