ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards

Graham’s morning lap of 48.229 seconds (186.61 mph) in the No. 88 Ford gave him the lead in the weekend’s fifth testing session, and in turn the only top 10 time outside of Saturday afternoon’s drafting session. Duno, Jared Marks, Will Kimmel, and Alex Bowman comprised the remainder of the morning top five.

Only 30 cars participated in the last afternoon session, which Duno led with a best lap of 48.34 seconds (186.161 mph). She was followed by Joey Coulter, Brandon McReynolds, Bowman, and Josh Richards. Full speed charts for both Sunday sessions are available at ARCARacing.com.

Overall, Venturini Motorsports ended the weekend with the top positions among 79 drivers who took laps over 21 hours. Bowman’s Saturday afternoon lap of 47.787 seconds (188.336 mph) in the No. 25 Chevrolet will stand as the test’s top effort, just ahead of teammates John Stancill, Brennan Poole, and Ryan Reed. Marks, driving a Tony Marks Racing Dodge, ended the weekend fifth.

Duno’s Saturday afternoon lap in the Sheltra Motorsports Ford ended the test sixth overall, just ahead of Venturini’s Nelson Canache, DC Racing’s Drew Charlson, Graham, and Coulter Motorsports’ Matt Lofton.

The overall weekend results are listed below.

CAR # DRIVER MFG TIME SPEED

1 25a Alex Bowman Chevy 47.787 188.336
2 55 John Stancill Toyota 47.811 188.241
3 25 Brennan Poole Chevy 47.812 188.237
4 15 Ryan Reed Toyota 47.821 188.202
5 12 Jared Marks Dodge 47.832 188.159
6 63 Milka Duno Ford 48.166 186.854
7 35 Nelson Canache Chevy 48.212 186.676
8 51 Drew Charlson Chevy 48.221 186.641
9 88 Buster Graham Ford 48.229 186.610
10 16 Matt Lofton Chevy 48.234 186.590
11 94 Steve Blackburn Chevy 48.245 186.548
12 69a Fain Skinner Ford 48.251 186.525
13 58 Chad Hackenbracht Chevy 48.340 186.181
14 61 Joey Coulter Chevy 48.363 186.093
15 4 Brandon McReynolds Chevy 48.364 186.089
16 32 Chris Windom Toyota 48.380 186.027
17 66 Josh Richards Toyota 48.438 185.805
18 68 Will Kimmel Ford 48.488 185.613
19 08 Ross Chastain Ford 48.569 185.303
20 12 Maryeve Dufault Dodge 48.573 185.288
21 75 Ginny Quinones Toyota 48.674 184.904
22 44 Frank Kimmel Toyota 48.773 184.528
23 6 Cale Gale Chevy 48.803 184.415
24 14 John Ferrier Chevy 48.839 184.279
25 05 Derrike Cope Chevy 48.846 184.253
26 00 Ed Kennedy Chevy 48.865 184.181
27 66 Mark Thompson Toyota 48.931 183.932
28 1 Alli Owens Ford 48.953 183.850
29 90 Zachary Ralston Ford 48.971 183.782
30 29c Bobby Pelland Dodge 49.076 183.389
31 29a Sam Edwards Dodge 49.092 183.329
32 5a Bobby Gerhart Chevy 49.169 183.042
33 82a Sean Corr Ford 49.190 182.964
34 61 T.J. Duke Chevy 49.193 182.953
35 11b Rick Clifton Chevy 49.340 182.408
36 75a Benny Chastain Toyota 49.392 182.216
37 17 Chris Buescher Ford 49.417 182.124
38 29b Sloan Henderson Dodge 49.461 181.962
39 5b Damon Lusk Chevy 49.469 181.932
40 14a Josh Williams Ford 49.609 181.419
41 05 Spencer Gallagher Chevy 49.625 181.360
42 1a Jeremy Petty Chevy 49.725 180.995
43 40a Michelle Therault Dodge 49.745 180.923
44 10a Dennis Strickland Ford 49.793 180.748
45 13 George Cushman Dodge 49.985 180.054
46 69 Chris Brown Ford 50.133 179.522
47 18 Michael Affarano Chevy 50.207 179.258
48 10b Ryan Glenski Chevy 50.223 179.201
49 90a Grant Enfinger Ford 50.258 179.076
50 40t Nick Tucker Dodge 50.390 178.607
51 11 Paul Harraka Chevy 50.403 178.561
52 11c Trevor Edwards Chevy 50.517 178.158
53 10 Derrick Griffin Ford 50.539 178.080
54 1b Thomas Praytor Ford 50.560 178.006
55 11a Ed Pompa Chevy 50.579 177.939
56 29 Bob Bryant Dodge 50.606 177.845
57 11e Sunny Hobbs Chevy 50.617 177.806
58 29d Andy Jones Dodge 50.626 177.774
59 18f Chris Coker Ford 50.640 177.725
60 04c Danny Esposito Dodge 50.651 177.687
61 04 Scott Edwards Dodge 50.695 177.532
62 1c Alexsander Gregory Ford 50.715 177.462
63 40b Trent Mayo Dodge 50.926 176.727
64 04a Juan Carlos Blum Dodge 51.029 176.370
65 40d Larry Barford Dodge 51.054 176.284
66 11d Bill Coffey Ford 51.162 175.912
67 40d Josh Watkins Dodge 51.162 175.912
68 06 Ricky Byers Chevy 51.173 175.874
69 11h James Hylton Ford 51.243 175.634
70 10f Brad Lloyd Chevy 51.257 175.586
71 10b Daryl Eustice Ford 51.277 175.517
72 18c Tyler Speer Chevy 51.348 175.275
73 89 Chris Lafferty Chevy 51.563 174.544
74 40c Ryan Rust Dodge 51.605 174.402
75 7 Brent Cross Chevy 51.792 173.772
76 40 Michael Bockler Dodge 51.795 173.762
77 40b Roger Carter Dodge 51.827 173.655
78 89a Korbin Forrister Chevy 52.314 172.038
79 74 Jimmy Nowell Chevy 60.220 149.452

The ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards will return to central Florida in less than two months, as the February 18 Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200 at Daytona International Speedway will open ARCA’s 60th Anniversary Season. The 80-lap, 200-mile race is scheduled as the first of 20 races in 2012 and will air live on SPEED, with additional coverage available at ARCARacing.com.

The complete 2012 event schedule is available at ARCARacing.com.

The ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards has crowned an ARCA national champion each year since its inaugural season in 1953, and has toured over 200 race tracks in 28 states since its inception. The series has tested the abilities of drivers and race teams over the most diverse schedule of stock car racing events in the world, visiting tracks ranging from 0.4 mile to 2.66 miles in length, on both paved and dirt surfaces as well as a left- and right-turn road course in its most recent season. This year, the series will visit Alabama’s Mobile International Speedway and Minnesota’s Elko Speedway for the first time; ARCA’s first visit to Minnesota will give ARCA a race in a 29th state.

Founded by John Marcum in 1953 in Toledo, Ohio, the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) is recognized among the leading sanctioning bodies in the country. Closing in on completing its sixth decade after hundreds of thousands of miles of racing, ARCA administers over 100 race events each season in two professional touring series and local weekly events.

- Automobile Racing Club of America Press Release

ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards Thumbnail

Ryan Reed drove the No. 15 Toyota to a best lap of 48.857 seconds (184.211 mph) in the second session of ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards open testing at the 2.5-mile oval, just edging teammates Brennan Poole, John Stancill, and Mark Thompson for the day’s best times. T.J. Duke, driving for Coulter Motorsports, finished the day fifth.

Poole led the three-hour morning period with a best lap of 48.915 seconds, and he and Reed were the only drivers to top that mark in the four-hour afternoon session.

Reed has never competed in the ARCA Racing Series, but is a track champion and super late model Rookie of the Year and race winner at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale in California. Just months past his 18th birthday, Reed enters ARCA with three NASCAR K&N Pro Series starts to his credit. In February, as he prepared to move to North Carolina from Bakersfield, Calif., Reed was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes.

Rick Clifton, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Rookie of the Year Joey Coulter, Chris Windom, Nelson Canache, and Sloan Henderson filled out the top 10 for the first day. Seven-time and defending Daytona winner Bobby Gerhart ended the day 13th, and 2011 Daytona runner-up and ARCA Rookie of the Year Chris Buescher finished 27th.

Open testing for teams and drivers will continue Saturday and Sunday at Daytona International Speedway.

The full list of every driver’s best speed is available below.

CAR # DRIVER TIME SPEED

1 15 Ryan Reed 48.857 184.211
2 25 Brennan Poole 48.862 184.192
3 55 John Stancill 48.921 183.970
4 66 Mark Thompson 48.931 183.932
5 61 T.J. Duke 49.193 182.953
6 11b Rick Clifton 49.340 182.408
7 61 Joey Coulter 49.350 182.371
8 32 Chris Windom 49.360 182.334
9 35 Nelson Canache 49.439 182.043
10 29b Sloan Henderson 49.461 181.962
11 5b Damon Lusk 49.469 181.932
12 82a Sean Corr 49.475 181.910
13 5a Bobby Gerhart 49.502 181.811
14 58 Chad Hackenbracht 49.552 181.627
15 4 Brandon McReynolds 49.553 181.624
16 99 Buster Graham 49.637 181.316
17 14 John Ferrier 49.666 181.210
18 94 Steve Blackburn 49.717 181.025
19 16 Matt Lofton 49.725 180.995
20 00 Ed Kennedy 49.761 180.865
21 12 Jared Marks 49.772 180.825
22 63 Milka Duno 49.787 180.770
23 1 Alli Owens 49.813 180.676
24 69a Fain Skinner 49.862 180.498
25 68 Will Kimmel 50.016 179.942
26 6 Cale Gale 50.034 179.878
27 17a Chris Buescher 50.035 179.874
28 90 Zachary Ralston 50.114 179.591
29 08 Ross Chastain 50.131 179.530
30 69 Chris Brown 50.133 179.522
31 18 Michael Affarano 50.207 179.258
32 10b Ryan Glenski 50.223 179.201
33 90a Grant Enfinger 50.258 179.076
34 75 Ginny Quinones 50.278 179.005
35 11 Paul Harraka 50.403 178.561
36 75a Benny Chastain 50.461 178.356
37 11a Ed Pompa 50.579 177.939
38 11c Trevor Edwards 50.681 177.581
39 04 Scott Edwards 50.695 177.532
40 51 Drew Charlson 50.744 177.361
41 05 Spencer Gallagher 50.903 176.807
42 13 George Cushman 50.928 176.720
43 04a Juan Carlos Blum 51.029 176.370
44 04c Danny Esposito 51.089 176.163
45 11d Bill Coffey 51.162 175.912
46 06 Ricky Byers 51.173 175.874
47 10b Daryl Eustice 51.277 175.517
48 04b Nick Tucker 51.405 175.080
49 40d Larry Barford 51.511 174.720
50 04d Josh Watkins 51.674 174.169
51 40b Roger Carter 51.827 173.655
52 40 Michael Bockler 51.990 173.110
53 05a Derrike Cope 52.067 172.854
54 7 Brent Cross 52.376 171.834

2012 will be the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards’ 60th Anniversary Season, featuring 20 races at 18 tracks. The season begins with the Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200 at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday, February 18. The event will air live on SPEED.

The complete 2012 event schedule is available at ARCARacing.com.

The ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards has crowned an ARCA national champion each year since its inaugural season in 1953, and has toured over 200 race tracks in 28 states since its inception. The series has tested the abilities of drivers and race teams over the most diverse schedule of stock car racing events in the world, visiting tracks ranging from 0.4 mile to 2.66 miles in length, on both paved and dirt surfaces as well as a left- and right-turn road course in its most recent season. This year, the series will visit Alabama’s Mobile International Speedway and Minnesota’s Elko Speedway for the first time; ARCA’s first visit to Minnesota will give ARCA a race in a 29th state.

Founded by John Marcum in 1953 in Toledo, Ohio, the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) is recognized among the leading sanctioning bodies in the country. Closing in on completing its sixth decade after hundreds of thousands of miles of racing, ARCA administers over 100 race events each season in two professional touring series and local weekly events.

- Automobile Racing Club of America Press Release

Ty Dillon (L) and car owner and grandather Richard Childress (R) celebrate the ARCA Racing Series championship during the annual awards banquet at the Northern Kentucky Convention Center (Photo Credit: ARCA)

Dillon and his No. 41 Chevrolet team were officially crowned ARCA champions at the series’ annual Championship Awards Banquet at the Northern Kentucky Convention Center. The 19-year-old from Lewisville, N.C. was among 15 drivers from the top 20 in the final point standings to be honored on stage, and left with more than $100,000 in point fund and special award earnings, as awarded by the numerous series partners at the ceremony.

To honor Dillon’s position as the 29th ARCA Racing Series champion in 59 seasons, ARCA president Ron Drager presented the driver a letter signed by North Carolina Governor Beverly Perdue, as well as a series championship ring and a leather championship jacket featuring the series logo.

As is the custom, a video tribute featured photographs from the champion’s youth and ascent to championship status; special additions to this season’s video included special messages from Richard Childress Racing drivers Kevin Harvick and Jeff Burton, as well as a collection of footage showcasing Dillon’s use of the word “awesome” in Victory Lane interviews.

Joining Dillon on stage were his grandfather and team owner, Richard Childress, grandmother Judy Childress, and crew chief Scott “Flash” Naset, who was joined by his wife Stephanie.

“It doesn’t really hit you, how special it is to do something like this, until you’re up on the stage like this and all these people you’ve worked so hard against all year are staring up at you and you’re getting crowned the champion,” said Dillon, who finished the season with seven wins, 13 top-fives, and 16 top-10 finishes. “It hit me pretty hard, and I’m just proud to be with the group of guys I’m with. It’s almost just surreal, to finally take it in. This experience right here has changed me a lot.”

Among the top awards Dillon and his team received were: $10,000 for winning the Menards Pole Award presented by Ansell after securing seven poles in 2011; $6,000 from Sunoco Race Fuel; $5,000 for winning the Aaron’s Lap Leader of the Year Award; $5,000 from Messina Wildlife Management; $5,000 from Hoosier for most wins by a car owner; $2,500 from the University of Northwestern Ohio; and the Fast Track High Performance Driving School Award. Jeff Abbott of Menards presented Dillon a check representing his winnings from the series points fund.

Naset also visited the stage on his own to accept the Cometic Crew Chief of the Year Award.

David Ragan, a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and ARCA Racing Series race winner, served as the Guest of Honor. SPEED television analyst Phil Parsons acted as the banquet host for the third consecutive year.

Chris Buescher, who drove to second place in the final standings for Roulo Brothers Racing, received the $10,000 ARCA Rookie of the Year Award, as well as $2,500 in cash and product certificates from Print Resources and $500 from JRI. Buescher also accepted the $15,000 Hoosier Tire Superspeedway Challenge Award and the R.E. Lightning Challenge Award, among other prizes.

Buescher won three of the season’s last four races, and the team’s Russell Roulo won the Klotz Engine Mechanic of the Year Award. Gary Roulo joined Buescher on stage when he was introduced for finishing in second place.

The team left with more than $100,000 in point fund and special award earnings after a season in which Buescher drove to three wins, 14 top-fives, and 16 top-10s.

Frank Kimmel was recognized on stage for finishing third in the series standings, as well as for winning the CGS Imaging Hard Charger of the Year Award and the S&S Volvo Laps Completed Award. He was joined for a final time on stage by brother and crew chief Bill Kimmel; the two will separate for the 2012 season with Frank Kimmel moving to ThorSport Racing.

Chad McCumbee, who finished fifth in the final series standings, joined owner Jennifer Belmont on stage to accept the Bill France Four Crown Award for his combined performances at New Jersey, Michigan, Springfield, and Salem.

Fourth-place driver Grant Enfinger and owner Mike Allgaier were introduced, as were fellow pairs from the top 10 in the final standings: Tom Hessert and team owner Ken Schrader (sixth); Tim George Jr. and crew chief Gere Kennon (seventh); Chad Hackenbracht and team owner Greg Hackenbracht (eighth); Sean Corr and team owner John Corr (ninth); and Darrell Basham (10th).

The top-10 honor – Basham’s first since 1976 – turned out to be the second recognition of the night for Basham. Earlier, he was honored with his second Spirit Award, following the same honor in 2003. The Spirit Award is given to a person for dedication and support of ARCA, uplifting spirit by way of example, perseverance, and positive attitude. Despite a late 2010 garage fire that destroyed nearly all his race equipment, Basham displayed all of those characteristics in driving to his best season finish in 35 years.

Nick Ramey accepted the Crane Cams Engine Builder of the Year Award on behalf of Roush Yates Engines, and Ramey himself was presented the H.G. Adcox Sportsman of the Year Award for his consistent willingness to assist any team in the garage.

In addition to stepping to the stage with Hessert, Schrader appeared to accept the Marcum Award, annually presented to an individual or entity whose positive efforts have elevated ARCA’s motorsports stature to the benefit of all associated. Schrader is a 15-time winner in the ARCA Racing Series, and continues to promote the series today as a team owner and television broadcaster.

Cathy Venturini and Nate Thiesse, the fourth and 10th-place owners, respectively, both spoke on stage.

To complete the honoring of the top 20 drivers, James Hylton (11th), Brad Smith (12th), Levi Youster (14th), Will Kimmel (15th), and Maryeve Dufault (16th) visited the stage to receive congratulations.

Jeff Kettman accepted the Manufacturer Championship on behalf of Chevrolet.

Andy O’Neal, dean of the College of Technology of the University of Northwestern Ohio – ARCA’s Official High Performance Education University – awarded a group of ARCA scholarships on behalf of the university.

Likewise, Parsons announced the winners of the Bob Loga Memorial ARCA Scholarships. Brianna Peterson – granddaughter of ARCA competitor Wayne Peterson – won $1,500. Peterson, of Hoover, Ala., holds a 4.23 grade point average as a sophomore veterinary student at Auburn University. Brittany Gaddis of Romulus, Mich. won $500. She is the daughter of ARCA Figure 8 driver Danny Gaddis, attends Romulus High School, and plans to study nursing at Wayne State University in Detroit.

The ceremony concluded just after 10 p.m. with a special video featuring an interview with Mildred Marcum, known widely as an ARCA founder. The interview led into a short mention of ARCA’s 60th Anniversary Season and the surrounding celebrations that will occur throughout 2012. A press conference in the afternoon included major series and team announcements.

The ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards featured 19 events at 16 tracks on its 2011 schedule. The series has crowned an ARCA national champion each year since its inaugural season in 1953, and has toured over 200 race tracks in 28 states since its inception. In 2011, the series has tested the abilities of drivers and race teams over the most diverse schedule of stock car racing events in the world, visiting tracks ranging from 0.4 mile to 2.66 miles in length, on both paved and dirt surfaces as well as a left- and right-turn road course.

The 2012 ARCA Racing Series schedule is currently available at ARCARacing.com. Testing for ARCA’s 60th Anniversary Season will begin Friday, December 16 at Daytona International Speedway. The season’s first race is scheduled for Saturday, February 18 at Daytona.

Founded by John Marcum in 1953 in Toledo, Ohio, the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) is recognized among the leading sanctioning bodies in the country. Closing in on completing its sixth decade after hundreds of thousands of miles of racing, ARCA administers over 100 race events each season in two professional touring series and local weekly events.

- Automobile Racing Club of America Press Release

Chad Hackenbracht

So as I’m sitting here writing this blog entry I am chewing on a piece of deer jerky from my recent hunting trip to Ohio and unwinding at home. Besides for my trip to Ohio and trip to Las Vegas for the SEMA show not much has happened since the last blog.

First was the SEMA show out in Vegas for a week. It was a ton of fun and I saw a bunch of neat things out there. Aside from all the glitz and glam that come with the SEMA show, we met a ton of great people, created some new contacts and relationships for the upcoming 2012 ARCA Racing Series season. We spent about the first three days of the show wandering around meeting people and seeing some we had existing connections with. There is a lot of things looking up for the 2012 season, and a lot of things still left to figure out and piece together.

When we got home from the SEMA show I turned around the following week and went to Ohio for a hunting trip. I try my best to make it up to hunt for about one week a year if the schedule allows for it during the right time of year. I go up about an hour from my hometown and stay with my uncle on my dad’s side of the family. It was a really good time and I wound up getting one deer, which I am satisfied with. It wasn’t the big buck that we all hope for, but nonetheless it was a deer and some good meat! I spent an entire week in Ohio and even went and saw an old friend of mine that I haven’t seen since around fifth grade, it was pretty crazy but all in all, my trip was good.

Now, it’s hard to believe that it’s Thanksgiving week! I’m thankful for a lot this year, as I am sure you all are as well. From being able to race, to having a supporting and loving family, you try and take in the true meaning of Thanksgiving. We’re going to be together as a family on Thursday, so it will be nice.

Chad Hackenbracht

Our schedule slows down just a tad as I’ll be back in North Carolina for a couple of days before we head to Covington, Kentucky for the annual ARCA Racing Series championship awards banquet. I attended last year as a proud ARCA driver but was just a normal attendee. This year, we’ll be on stage accepting our eighth place championship effort.

I’m still working on a speech, but I’m hoping that recently with my three-day experience at the Dale Carnegie conference, the strategies I learned will pay off.

I’ll be back soon to catch everyone up on these upcoming experiences and talk about the three-day test coming up for the teat at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway in mid-December to prepare for the 2012 season.

Count Your Blessings and have a safe, happy and healthy Thanksgiving!

Sincerely,

Chad Hackenbracht

No. 58 Tastee Caramel Apple Chevrolet Impala

The Mooresville, North Carolina-based team led by crew chief Kevin Reed were among the list of pre-race contenders for the 19th event of the season, especially after a private test session earlier in the week boosted the team’s confidence level for their second tango with the Northern Ohio short track.

With the United States Auto Club (USAC) sharing Saturday with the ARCA Racing Series at Toledo Speedway, practice which was normally run as one session would now be combined into two forty minute-efforts. Mounting the seventh and third quickest laps in each practice respectively, the CGH Motorsports team was looking forward to qualifying.

The New Philadelphia, Ohio native whipped his No. 58 Tastee Caramel Apple Chevrolet around the half-mile oval to post the ninth fastest lap overall to start on the inside of row number five. After a long day, the team was ready to recharge their batteries and prepare for action on Sunday afternoon.

Unfortunately, teams returned to the ARCA-owned racetrack on Sunday under gloomy skies and consistent rain showers. Ultimately, the start of the contest would be pushed-back nearly two hours before the command to fire engines was given. ARCA would choose to utilize the 35-car starting field to finish the track drying process throwing both the green and yellow flags simultaneously for the first 40 circuits of the contest. With the yellow flag retracted and the green “officially” given to the field, Hackenbracht quickly tried to filter his way through traffic and mix himself into the lead pack.

Patiently working his way up through the field, Hackenbracht had guided his No. 58 Tastee Caramel Apple machine up to the sixth position by lap 92 where he remained until lap 118, when the yellow flag waived offering Reed the opportunity to bring his driver to pit lane.

The 2010 ARCA crew chief of the year made a gutsy call for just two right side tires and fuel which propelled Hackenbracht to become the leader off pit road but find himself fifth overall on the track as several automobiles elected to stay on the racetrack.

Restarting fifth, Hackenbracht attempted to saw his way to the lead but would find himself hung up in a wad of racecars which consumed of both lead lap and lap down machines, forcing Hackenbracht to back off and regroup and settle into the eighth position just three laps later.

Again showing patience from a rookie driver allowed the opportunity to climb back into the top-five by lap 144 where the No. 58 Tastee Caramel Apple car found itself behind the No. 52 of Tom Hessert. Hackenbracht would stalk his fellow competitor for several laps before using a nudge in traffic on lap 177 to maneuver around the No. 52. By the time the two cars returned to the frontstretch the next lap, Hessert retaliated by spinning the No. 58 on lap 178 and making light contact with the wall.

Hackenbracht was able to drive away from the scene of the incident under his own power but would have to come to pit road where four tires and damage control were on the agenda for the family-owned team. While the CGH Motorsports organization remained on the lead lap, they found themselves mired in the 16th position for the lap 183 restart.

Quickly slicing and dicing his way through traffic, Hackenbracht would hover in the 11th position but with laps quickly running out. A caution on the final lap threw the event into overtime which allowed Hackenbracht to tag onto the back bumpers of the lead-lap contenders for a green-white-checkered restart.

A man on a mission when the green and white flags flew together, Hackenbracht craftily maneuvered around the cars of Charles Evans Jr., Jared Marks and Chrissy Wallace knocking off three cars in one lap and propelling from 11th to eighth where he took the checkered flag, six laps after the scheduled distance of 200 circuits.

Chad Hackenbracht

When asked about the incident with the No. 52 of Hessert, he remarked, “We were running fifth all day and we go into Turn three (on Lap 168) and a lapped car was in front of the 52 (Hessert) and I was behind the 52,” he said. “He blocked (Hessert) coming up out of Turn two, and we go down into three, and the 52 just straight turned the lapped car. It wrecked me; it wrecked the No. 52, and so I went up beside the car on caution and let him know I didn’t like it. There on the next start, we were faster anyway and I moved him. I got by him, he got loose and shuffled it up. We come around, and I don’t know if he tried to move me and didn’t know how, but he just flat out wrecked us. I really didn’t like it at all, so I went up and let him know again. We’ll live and learn from this and move on.”

With his eighth place run, Hackenbracht was able to unofficially secure eighth in the final 2011 ARCA Racing Series championship standings tallying 19 starts, three top-fives, 10 top-10, 67 laps led in four races (Chicagoland, Winchester, Berlin and DuQuoin) and accumulating 4,145 points.

Next up for the ARCA Racing Series is the 2011 championship banquet which is set for Saturday, December 10th at the Northern Kentucky Convention Center in Covington, Ky., near Cincinnati. The top-20 drivers and top-10 owners and drivers will be recognized for their participation in the series this year.

CGH Motorsports still has marketing partnerships available for the 2012 ARCA Racing Series season. 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 and ran a full-effort in 2011, with the prospects of a potential two-car operation in 2012.

- CGH Motorsports Press Release

The No. 52 Pink Federated Auto Parts Chevrolet Impala driven by Tom Hessert III in the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards for Ken Schrader Racing (KSR).

Federated Car Care, a division of Federated Auto Parts showcased the title sponsorship of the 19th race of the season giving the team an added incentive to return to the half-mile oval stronger than ever.

With the United States Auto Club (USAC) sharing Saturday with the ARCA Racing Series at Toledo Speedway, practice which was normally run as one session would now be combined into two forty minute-efforts. Mounting the fifth and 13th quickest laps in each practice respectively, the KSR driver and team were looking forward to qualifying.

It was Hessert though who stunned the field after maneuvering a lap of 16.080 seconds at 111.940 miles per hour good enough to land his decoratively pink Chevrolet Impala to commemorate National Breast Cancer Awareness Month to his second career ARCA pole, the other occurring at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway in 2009.

Tom Hessert III

Unfortunately, teams returned to the ARCA-owned racetrack on Sunday under gloomy skies and consistent rain showers. Ultimately, the start of the contest would be pushed-back nearly two hours before the command to fire engines was given. ARCA would choose to utilize the 35-car starting field to finish the track drying process throwing both the green and yellow flags simultaneously for the first 40 circuits of the contest. With the yellow flag retracted and the green “officially” given to the field, Hessert controlled the field until lap 42 when eventual series champion Ty Dillon taking the top spot by lap 43 and sending Hessert back to runner-up position.

On a lap 56 restart, Dillon led Hessert by 0.454 second the first time around, using a strong jump to his advantage. Hessert closed the gap over the next several laps, though, and took advantage when Dillon encountered Milka Duno when trying to lap her on lap 62. Hessert and Enfinger drove to the right and around Dillon and re-secured the lead, controlling the half-way point but with the No. 17 of Chris Buescher hunting for the top spot. On lap 106, Buescher made a move going into turn three sending Hessert back into second only to be passed by Dillon a lap later to occupy the third position by lap 108.

Hessert would remain in a podium finishing position until the yellow flag waived 10 laps later which allowed the Cherry Hill, New Jersey native the opportune time to enter pit road for tires and fuel under the guidance of long-time Motorsports crew chief Donnie Richeson.

A solid effort for KSR on pit allowed their driver to return to the track in the 10th position and begin a charge back towards the front on lap 124. By lap 132, Hessert had brilliantly crafted his Chevrolet to sixth and closing. Just six laps later, the former CARS Pro Cup star found himself in the same position he did entering pit road sitting on the tails of leaders Buescher and Dillon.

As racing pressed on, the action heated up with Hessert now having to battle Brendan Poole for the third position. Poole would eventually win the spot bypassing the No. 52 on lap 153.

Hunkered in fourth, the pressure would be put on the 25 year old approaching lap 177 when battling the No. 58 of Chad Hackenbracht. Unable to maneuver around Hessert, Hackenbracht offered a shove from behind which knocked the No. 52 Federated Auto Parts Chevrolet Impala sideways igniting a short track feud with Hessert returning the favor a lap later but with Hackenbracht spinning out on the frontstretch, bringing out the yellow flag.

By lap 183 Hessert had fell to fifth after being passed by Chad McCumbee with Hessert finding his groove on the track. A green-white-checkered finish allowed Ryan Wilson and Grant Enfinger the opportunity to pass Hessert who by then had moved back into fourth after the leaders collided on lap 199, but to no avail. Hessert took the checkered flag in fourth, notching his fourth top-five finish at Toledo Speedway.

“We would have liked to close out the season with a win, but we just didn’t have the car at the end of the race,” said Hessert, who led a race-high 86 laps. “Everyone at Ken Schrader Racing put their heart and soul into this car this weekend and we were able to score the pole and run upfront all day long. I want to thank Federated Auto Parts and all of their partners for their support of our team all year long.”

Hessert’s pole which rewarded him with 15 bonus points toppled with his 13th top-10 of the season allowed the NASCAR Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car ace to slide past Tim George Jr. in the ARCA Racing Series championship standings to claim sixth overall.

In all, Hessert made 19 starts this season posting one pole, seven top-fives, 13 top-10s and 114 laps led in two races (Salem (Ind.) Speedway and Toledo Speedway).

Next up for the ARCA Racing Series is the 2011 championship banquet which is set for Saturday, December 10th at the Northern Kentucky Convention Center in Covington, Ky., near Cincinnati. The top-20 drivers and top-10 owners and drivers will be recognized for their participation in the series this year.

In addition to Federated Auto Parts, Cherry Hill Classic Cars served as an associate marketing partner for Hessert’s 83rd career ARCA start. In those outings, he has maneuvered two poles, one win, 19 top-fives and 43 top-10s.

For more on Tom Hessert III, please visit tomhessert.com.

To join Hessert and Ken Schrader Racing in their plan to spread the message about Breast Cancer awareness and to order you own “Pink” KSR memorabilia, please visit SchraderRacing.com.

CGH Motorsports Thumbnail

The New Philadelphia, Ohio native has surely made a name for himself throughout his freshman year of fulltime competition. From an ugly incident in the season-opener at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway to nearly pulling off an upset win at Chicagoland Speedway and blasting to a career-best finish of third at Winchester (Ind.) Speedway in-between, the driver of the No. 58 Tastee Caramel Apple Chevrolet would like nothing more than have another solid outing Sunday afternoon to give his team some confidence and motivation heading into the short off-season.

No. 58 Tastee Caramel Apple Chevrolet Impala

In order to give the Mooresville, North Carolina-based team a shot at their 10th top-10 finish of the 2011 season, the team partook in a private test session at the Northern Ohio racetrack this past Monday. Throughout the day, the rookie team worked on their setup of the No. 58 Tastee Caramel Apple automobile – hoping to find the ideal strategy that will put the team in contention in the 19th race of the season.

“Overall, the test was extremely productive,” Hackenbracht offered. “We changed a lot of things on the car; just trying to get it hooked up to the racetrack and more importantly have that grip coming out of turn four to give you the momentum on the frontstretch.

Kevin (Reed, crew chief) and all the guys on the CGH Motorsports team want to end the season with a big finish and so do I. I think testing will pay off for us and everyone should see the benefits this weekend.”

For Reed, the 2010 ARCA Racing Series crew chief of the year, he is also antsy regarding Sunday’s season finale.

“The test at Toledo went very well and with having another car there to compare with, we think we know where we need to be by Sunday afternoon. I strongly believe that we should have a solid if not race-contending run this weekend,” he spoke. “Chad (Hackenbracht) has continued to grow as a driver and step up to many challenges and I see the race on Sunday being potentially his best outing of 2011 and will allow us to carry the momentum into 2012.”

He added, “Greg and Susan (Hackenbracht, team owners) have went above and beyond what we set out to do this year and as a team we owe them a second-to-none effort.”

Chad Hackenbracht

“Sunday’s race will be intense,” Hackenbracht predicted. “While the championship is pretty much wrapped up, there are still a lot of spots inside the top-10 that are still up for grabs. Points are important this weekend – but so is a good finish. As a team, we’re just focused and stern on going to Toledo and giving nothing less than 100 percent and hope we’ll be rewarded all the way around.”

Come And Get ‘Em: Before participating in the autograph session (12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.) on Sunday afternoon at Toledo Speedway, Chad Hackenbracht will welcome fans to Toledo Speedway by selling tickets to the Toledo ARCA 200 presented by Federated Car Care from 11:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. at the Toledo Speedway ticket booth. Not only will Hackenbracht himself be in attendance, but he’ll also have a sweet surprise for the lucky fans to get their juices flowing for the concluding chapter of the 2011 ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards season.

“We’re not going to give away all the details just yet about Sunday morning, but I encourage everyone to keep checking my personal twitter account and our team Facebook page to see exactly what we’re up to,” he said. “It’s going to be fun.”

The Federated Car Care 200 (200 laps / 100 miles) is the 19th of 19 events on the 2011 ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards schedule. The 70th ARCA race at Toledo Speedway is a two-day show. Practice begins Saturday, October 15 with a forty five minute practice session planned from 12:00 p.m. – 12:45 p.m. A final forty five minute “happy hour” session has been etched in from 1:40 p.m. – 2:25 p.m. Menards pole qualifying presented by Ansell is set for later in the day slated to begin at 4:00 p.m. A one hour on-track autograph session has been etched in from 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. on race day (Sunday). The contest will take the green flag shortly after 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, October 16. The event will be televised live on SPEED with additional race coverage including live timing and scoring throughout the 1,331st 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.

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.
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.

- CGH Motorsports Press Release

Win-Tron Racing

Returning to the cockpit for the Lakeville, Minnesota for the first time in two months, Wilson was antsy to get behind the wheel of his No. 32 Champion Brands Toyota Camry on Friday morning to get his fourth career ARCA start wrenched up.

Under the leadership of Mike Chaffee, considered a wizard by many in the ARCA Racing Series garage, the team spent practice getting Wilson comfortable with the track and improving their No. 32 Champion Brands Toyota Camry from the open-test at the 1.5-mile speedway last month. Mounting the 13th quickest lap overall at a lap of 32.591 seconds at 165.690 miles per hour, Wilson was content but ready to confer with his team in order to find more speed for Menards Pole by Ansell qualifying.

No. 32 Champion Brands Toyota Camry

Despite a quicker lap, Wilson advised the team that his car was a little tighter than practice but also had some looseness as well.

From the drop of the green flag, Wilson hovered comfortably in the top-15 being advised by Chaffee that his lap times were very consistent. The 19-year old driver noted to his team that his left front of the car was hooking the apron and he was backing up his corners in turn three and four in order to and improve the handling of his Japanese nameplate.

When the first caution flag of the day waived on lap 24, Wilson sat 13th. While the other 12 cars ahead of him in the field elected to take the trip down pit road, Chaffee made a bold move and kept his rookie on the racetrack which allowed the driver of the No. 32 Champion Brands Toyota Camry to inherit the lead on lap 26.

Wilson, winner of last Fall’s Richard Petty Driver Search II would lead the field back to green but quickly be swallowed by his competition of fresher tires but he continued to fight for respect and a place inside the top-10.

Slipping back to 11th by lap 31, Wilson would hunker down and remain there until a caution on lap 36 allowed Chaffee to bring his protégé to pit road for tires, fuel and a track bar adjustment to battle a loose condition that Wilson was battling.

Restarting in the 19th position on lap 39, Wilson picked up four positions on the race track to lock the 15th spot when the third yellow of the night waived. Under the caution, the rising phenom advised his team that his car was free up off but extremely loose in traffic. The team acknowledged their driver’s explanation and would make another adjustment on their final pit stop.

Racing resumed with Wilson focused on motoring his, No. 32 Champion Brands Toyota Camry back towards the top-10. From laps 64 to 85, Wilson would flirt between 12th and 13th before the caution flag flew on lap 88 allowing Chafee to bring his young pilot to pit road for the final stop of the night.

Loaded with four tires, a splash of fuel and a wedge adjustment, Wilson restarted the race in the 12th position but immediately found himself moving forward and battling with Tom Hessert, Chad Hackenbracht and John Blankenship. Coming to the white flag, Wilson attempted to pass Hackenbracht for a spot inside the top-10 but a lousy move by a lap-machine trapped Wilson from completing the pass. Instead, he would have to duck behind Hackenbracht coming to the checkered flag and be forced to settle for 11th.

Ryan Wilson

He added, “On the bright side, we had a solid night and we’ll go to Toledo next and see if we can’t put our No. 32 Champion Brands Toyota Camry back in the top-10.”

Nate Thiesse, co-car owner of Win-Tron Racing offered his sentiments on the outcome of the 18th race of the season.

“We could not be more proud of Ryan,” Thiesse sounded. “We utilized some strategy and he led some laps and found himself in a lot of situations he had never experienced before in an ARCA car. He is a good kid with a tremendous amount of talent. His feedback was very impressive, especially with his inexperience in these heavier type of stock cars. All in all, we’re more than satisfied with the run and extremely proud of Ryan and we’re all anxious to get to Toledo Speedway, a type of track that is ideal to him.”

Next up for the ARCA Racing Series is the 19th and final race of the 2011 season. The ARCA Toledo 200 presented by Federated Car Care is set for Sunday, October 16th set to launch at 2:00 p.m. local live on SPEED. Earlier in the year driver Matt Merrell started fifth before rising to a podium finish of third.

Further information including driver opportunities with Win-Tron Racing is available by visiting win-tronracing.com or contacting Nate Thiesse at 612.306.1641

For more on Champion Brands LLC and their extensive line of products, please log on to championbrands.com or championsusechampion.com.

Additional input on Ryan Wilson is available by logging on the web at RyanWilsonMotorsports.com.

- Win-Tron Racing Press Release

The No. 52 Pink Federated Auto Parts Chevrolet Impala driven by Tom Hessert III in the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards for Ken Schrader Racing (KSR).

The final one-day event for the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards started off on a solid footing for Hessert and KSR. Hoping to utilize some of their knowledge from the open ARCA test last month, the team made a series of adjustments throughout practice before the Cherry Hill, New Jersey native landed the eighth quickest lap overall.

Still knowing that he had to consult with his team on changes to his pink No. 52 Federated Auto Parts Chevrolet Impala, the team remained optimistic heading into Menards Pole by Ansell qualifying. Hessert’s lap of 31.929 seconds at 169.125 miles per hour was good enough to land the KSR machine 10th on the starting grid, a personal best in the “Land of Oz.”

Confident about the ability of his racecar, Hessert joined 37 of ARCA’s finest to take the green flag just after 7:45 p.m. local. Quickly, the former CARS Pro Cup driver had moved into the ninth position by lap three and rose to eighth by lap five – proving that he had a fast machine under the Sunflower State skies.

By lap 15, the 25-year old had slipped back to the ninth position but remained in the clutches of Chad McCumbee. Seven laps later, a loose condition on the No. 52 Federated Auto Parts Chevrolet Impala allowed Chad Hackenbracht to overtake him for the ninth position and settling in 10th.

The first caution flag of the night waived on lap 24 for debris allowing ample opportunity for Hessert to bring his KSR automobile to the attention of his team assisted by David Hyder, as crew chief Donnie Richeson played the double-duty role Friday night as both team leader and spotter. After receiving four tires, fuel and a chassis adjustment, Hessert returned to competition. Unfortunately, the team informed their driver that they had to serve a penalty under the yellow for a tire escaping from pit lane which also forced the former NASCAR Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car ace to start the contest from the tail end of the longest line.

Restarting 17th on lap 29, Hessert blasted his way through the pack and moved into the 16th position six laps later before finding himself entering the top-15 two laps later. A yellow flag would halt the field from racing conditions with Hessert occupying the 12th position.

Racing resumed on lap 40 with Hessert quick to get on the gas and determined to slice his way back into the top-10. When the next caution flag waived just after the halfway mark, Hessert sat 11th on the track. However, he would join the rest of the field for a routine pit stop when it opened.

Nestled in the 14th position on the restart, Hessert made quick work of Milka Duno and set his sights on Hackenbracht for 12th. With 40 laps remaining, the No. 52 Federated Auto Parts Chevrolet Impala made an impressive move by bolting around both Hackenbracht and Ryan Wilson to claim 11th.

Five laps later, Hessert’s machine continued to throttle forward passing McCumbee and Tim George Jr. to hoist the ninth position where he would hover until his race took a dramatic turn in the closing laps.

When championship point’s leader Ty Dillon and Michael Leavine collided on the frontstretch with 12 laps remaining, a piece of debris struck Hessert’s Chevrolet bowtie creating a hole in the frontend of the No. 52 Federated Auto Parts Chevrolet Impala.

Despite the damage, the team elected to keep their driver on the racetrack where he would restart seventh. When racing resumed, the damage would prove to dramatically change the handling of his General Motors automobile which meant that cars were passing Hessert left and right. A gallant effort behind the wheel allowed the team to take the checkered flag on the lead lap but having to settle for a discouraging 13th place finish.

Tom Hessert III

He added, “I also want to remind everyone to log onto SchraderRacing.com. and help us spread the word about Breast Cancer Awareness month. I was told that the car looked pretty slick on the track and it’s all for a good cause, so I’m excited to carry the paint scheme over to Toledo.”

With just one race remaining on the calendar, Hessert sits seventh in the championship standings 80 markers behind sixth place runner Tim George Jr. The curtain will fall on Hessert’s fourth year of full-time competition in the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards season on Sunday, October 16 when the checkered flag falls 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 addition to Federated Auto Parts, Cherry Hill Classic Cars served as an associate marketing partner for Hessert’s 82nd career ARCA start. In those outings, he has maneuvered one win, 18 top-fives and 42 top-10s.

For more on Tom Hessert III, please visit tomhessert.com.

To join Hessert and Ken Schrader Racing in their plan to spread the message about Breast Cancer awareness and to order you own “Pink” KSR memorabilia, please visit SchraderRacing.com.

- Tom Hessert Racing Press Release

Chad Hackenbracht

It’s been a few weeks since the last edition to the blog here, but here comes another blog. Since last time, we’ve been to Salem to race and Kansas to test. Both went fairly well for us.

The Salem race I had high expectations of because we ran so well in the spring. Sure enough we unloaded and we were very fast off of the truck, at one time being the fastest in practice. We worked on the car just a little bit, but wound up changing back to close to what we unloaded at. After practice Kevin and I discussed different changes we made and what they did. We also talked about our qualifying effort coming up, and our expectations and goals for the run. Going out to qualify third was not the best way to start off, because as the day went on the track would get cooler and faster. However, I laid down one heck of a lap and qualified fourth surprising most everyone on the team and maybe a few people in the garage as well. Starting the race I was looking forward to starting up front again for the second week in a row. Everything seems to go a lot smoother when you are racing around cars more your speed. After the drop of the green flag, I started to pick off a position or two. Around lap ten, the 25 car and I got together racing for position off of turn two, eventually leading to a flat tire for the 25 going into turn three. The incident was a racing incident in my eyes, being that I gave him plenty of room coming off of the corner and we both sort of came together. Moving forward in the race we ran second for over half of the race keeping pace with the leader. After a pit stop I was taking my time coming back up through the field until the car became wicked loose all of a sudden. I was slipping and sliding like I was on the dirt track for two laps until the car finally hooked and sent me into the outside wall in turn two. This brought out the caution and I came down pit road, at this point we realized we were leaking oil. The eventual cause of the problem was a hole in the bottom of the oil cooler, dumping out all of the oil in the motor. This ended our night and put us finishing in seventeenth position.

From the Salem race, we went straight to Kansas for the open test on Tuesday. I was looking forward to the test because I knew we would be fast. We were fast in Chicagoland earlier in the year, and Kansas is a similar track so it was bound to be fun. Also for this test we had data acquisition on the car to give us useful information about the car and what it was doing on the track, as well as me. After a few runs we were third on the board and making different changes not worrying about speed, just about learning different aspects of the car and myself. The morning went extremely well and so did the afternoon session. A few cars went out and made some mock-qualifying runs, but we decided not to worry about our overall time and try to win practice. This put us fourth out of twenty-one cars that were at the test between the morning and afternoon sessions. I’m very excited to head back for the race, as is the team.

Chad Hackenbracht

Until next time,

- Chad Hackenbracht

CGH Motorsports Thumbnail

The family-owned team led by crew chief Kevin Reed has anxiously been waiting for a return to a mile-and-a-half track after their last outing at Chicagoland Speedway in June saw a dominating performance disappear after a blown-tire shredded a nearly nine-second lead. With the outcome still vivid in their minds, the opportunity at redemption in Kansas is clear with another night race with ideal racing conditions at a track that embraces similar characteristics as Chicagoland Speedway. To further aid fuel to their well-controlled fire, the team logged one of the quickest laps in their No. 58 Tastee Caramel Apple Chevrolet Impala during the open ARCA test last month at the 1.5-mile oval, giving them a welcomed boost heading into their second ever ARCA race in the “Land of Oz.”

No. 58 Tastee Caramel Apple Chevrolet Impala

Hackenbracht, the New Philadelphia, Ohio native knows that despite tracks showing similar characteristics doesn’t always mean identical outcomes. Still, he is focused on putting his CGH Motorsports team back on the path of success after strong runs in the last three ARCA events have been foiled by an array of racing bad luck.

Chad Hackenbracht

Another reason that the 19-year old is set to battle back at Kansas Speedway is proving that the team’s performance at the speed plant in 2010 wasn’t a fluke. After qualifying a strong ninth last October, Hackenbracht found himself surging into the top-five and attempting to pass eventual series champion Patrick Sheltra before another tire failure erased the team from battle.

“I feel like the mile-and-a-half tracks owe us,” Hackenbracht sounded. “We don’t get a lot of chances to compete at these types of tracks and we’ve been extremely competitive in the last two races, but don’t have a lot to show for it. I would like to see what type of finish we are able to maneuver if everything should go our way start to finish. Hopefully, Friday night is that night”

With a top-five finish in the championship standings still feasibly obtainable in the final two races, Hackenbracht isn’t so much focused on points but rather putting his CGH Motorsports on a strong pedestal entering the off-season that they can carry over into the 2012 season.

“Believe me, points are still important but we’re going for the strong finishes right now,” Hackenbracht said. “We know that with good, positive finishes points will come along as part of the reward. We’re sitting eighth right now. If not for some bad luck, we would be already sitting in the top-five. But, we can’t dwell on that. All we can do is to go out there and fight like we’ve never fought before and hope for nothing but success at Kansas and Toledo and see where we stand when the curtain is drawn.”

Give And Take: Continuing to shed a personal angle on Chad Hackenbracht, this week the rising star talks about one of the greatest impacts of his personal life that he had to sacrifice in order to race, school.

While most students spend their teenage years living the life in the halls of a local High School, Hackenbracht found himself in a home-schooled situation which shifted what would be a normal routine student path into a secluded portion of his life which involved shelter but allowed the grand opportunity for him to race.

“Home-schooling was never easy, but it was part of the reality to make a dream come true,” Hackenbracht recalled. “It had its good points and bad points and there are things I wasn’t able to experience because of that choice but the end reward was fulfilling and I wouldn’t change any of it.”

Lifting himself out of the Public School system allowed Hackenbracht to turn his attention towards the Buckeye Quarter Midget Association where over the course of three years he won close to 40 races. From there, he moved up the ladder and competed in the INEX Legends Car Series. In addition to one year of racing at the Summer Shootout, Hackenbracht also raced at tracks throughout the Midwest which included the states of Indiana, Ohio and Michigan.

From Kansas Speedway, the team will promptly fly home to quickly-turn around and head to Toledo, Ohio on Sunday to partake in a private test session at Toledo Speedway on Monday, October 10 in preparation for the season-finale on Sunday, October 16 for the running of the Toledo ARCA 200 presented by Federated Car Care.

The Kansas Lottery 98.9 (99 laps / 148.5 miles) is the 18th of 19 events on the 2011 ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards schedule. The 11th ARCA event held at Kansas Speedway is a one-day show. Practice begins Friday, October 7 with a two hour and 15 minute practice session planned from 9:00 a.m. -11:15 a.m. Menards Pole by Ansell qualifying is slated to begin later in the day at 5:35 p.m. The field will take the green flag approximately two hours later at 7:30 p.m. The event will be televised live on SPEED with additional race coverage including live timing and scoring throughout the 1,330th 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.

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.

- CGH Motorsports Press Release

Allgaier Motorsports Logo Thumbnail

After taking two races to trade his radio for a driver’s uniform, Kelly Kovski returned to the role as crew chief of the No. 36 Hoosier Tire Midwest / racetires.com Dodge Charger for the 17th race of the season.

With a plan of attack for Enfinger’s second tango with the intimidating half-mile oval, following the lone practice session of the day, the team owned by ARCA veteran and 2008 champion owner Mike Allgaier were pleased with their direction.

No. 36 Hoosier Tire Midwest / racetires.com Dodge Charger

Comfortable with the racecar after conquering a little bit of tight condition in practice, the team shifted their concentration towards the next-to-last short track battle of the season.

The green flag waived for the 90th ARCA race at Salem Speedway with the No. 36 Hoosier Tire Midwest / racetires.com Dodge Charger holding its ground safely inside the top-five.

A caution inside the race’s first 10 laps of competition would keep Enfinger on the bumper of the lead pack. When racing resumed, leader Chris Buescher would stretch his lead with Enfinger left having to battle the No. 52 of Tom Hessert for fourth.

Despite a gallant effort, Enfinger would give-way to his fellow racer, quickly dipping behind Hessert but remaining in the fifth position. With the field stretched out by the completion of the first quarter, Enfinger hovered in fifth while also strategizing with Kovski on what to do with their racecar during their mandatory pit stop.

The team’s opportunity to come to pit road came to life when the yellow flag flew on lap 65 when second-place runner Chad Hackenbracht cut down a tire. Subsequently, Hessert also suffered misfortune which quickly rose the team up in the running order. Though, Kovski would bring his driver in where he granted Enfinger two new tires and fuel exiting pit road in second place behind the No. 68 of Will Kimmel.

The duo though would be in the treks of new leader Frank Kimmel II who elected to stay out during the caution. When racing resumed, Enfinger held his own inside the podium standings and in the clutches of second-place runner Kimmel II before the team’s night took a sudden turn on lap 96 when the No. 36 Hoosier Tire Midwest / racetires.com Dodge Charger began to slow on the backstretch.

Slowly making his way to his pit stall, Enfinger would advise his team that he thought the problem was mechanical. After inspecting their Chrysler nameplate, the team identified their problem with the rear gear. Unable to successfully repair their automobile, the team would be forced to withdraw from the event and be credited with completing 99 of the scheduled 200 laps and a disappointing 23rd place finish.

Grant Enfinger

He added, “Kelly (Kovski, crew chief) and my Allgaier crew deserve a lot more credit than they have been receiving. Every week, we’ve put solid racecars on the track and most of the year have been able to turn those into top-10 finishes. I still would like to get a win for them by the end of the year and we have two races to do it. So we’ll go to Kansas next and see what we can do.”

With two races remaining on the ARCA Racing Series schedule, Enfinger sits fourth in the championship standings sitting 155 markers behind third place holder Frank Kimmel and a 105-point cushion on Chad McCumbee who controls fifth. To prepare the family-owned team for the final speedway race of the year, the team will participate in an open-test at the 1.5-mile oval of Kansas Speedway on Tuesday, September 20th in preparation for the Kansas Lottery 98.9 which is set to launch on Friday, October 7 live on SPEED.

For more on Grant Enfinger, please visit grantenfinger.com.

Additional input on Allgaier Motorsports is available by logging on to AllgaierMotorsports.com.

- Allgaier Motorsports Press Release

CGH Motorsports Thumbnail

The Mooresville, North Carolina-based team was dubbed a pre-race favorite based on the team’s spring performance and their recent surge of the rookie team at the front of the limelight. Those two factors had the team anxiously awaiting the 17th race of the season.

After practicing exceptionally well, crew chief Kevin Reed made some routine changes to their No. 58 Tastee Caramel Apple Chevrolet hoping to give the New Philadelphia, Ohio native a shot at his first career pole.

No. 58 Tastee Caramel Apple Chevrolet Impala

With the leaders clearly visible from his windshield, Hackenbracht and his team were highly optimistic about the final short track race run under the lights. Taking the green flag shortly after 7:15 local, it didn’t take long for the No. 58 Tastee Caramel Apple machine to surge to the front, immediately Hackenbracht overtook the No. 55 of Max Gresham on lap one before setting his sights on the No. 25 of Clint King.

Typical short track racing saw the No. 25 and No. 58 swap paint before Hackenbracht was able to overtake the runner-up position on lap seven. Meanwhile, the yellow flag waived coming to the start-finish line, putting the 19-year old on the rear bumper of leader Chris Buescher.

When racing resumed, the CGH Motorsports pilot tried to overtake his fellow competitor but had to fall-in behind and follow in his footsteps through the race’s first quarter of the event.

Maintaining respectable lap times and riding comfortably in the second position, the team’s night took its first dramatic turn when on lap 65, the No. 58 Tastee Caramel Apple automobile cut a tire which initiated a yellow flag. Despite the caution, the team would lose a lap to the leaders which for the moment shifted the team’s agenda to get back on the lead lap.

Proving to the field that he still had a well-built machine, Hackenbracht would have to wait until just after the halfway point before timing and position proved to be pivotal as the rising star found himself back on the lead lap.

Hovering in the top-half dozen on lap 120, the Tastee Apple Racing team would peek back into the top-five on lap 125. Setting his sights again towards the leaders, a yellow flag just before fifty laps remaining would send the team to pit road where Reed called for four new tires, hoping the new rubber would give his protégé the grip he needed to master the half-mile oval.

Racing restarted on lap 153 with Hackenbracht in sixth. Just five laps later, he had climbed into fifth and began closing on the competition ahead of him before his reversal of early race setbacks would come back to haunt him.

Motoring towards moving into fourth on lap 161 as Hackenbracht entered turn two, the oil cooler suffered damage from contact with the track’s surface which immediately saturated the track with fluid and forced the No. 58 to pit road. After close examination, the team’s deemed the issue terminal forcing them to settle for a disappointing 17th.

Chad Hackenbracht

I want to thank Kevin (Reed, crew chief) and the whole CGH crew for putting together another extremely fast racecar. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to give them or all of our sponsors a finish that we were worthy of. But, we flexed our muscle and have to try and remain positive and chalk this race up to another finish which doesn’t actually reflect the performance of CGH Motorsports.”

Reed offered his sentiments on the team’s second outing at the legendary short track.

“This season has had as many highs as lows but we keep building on the positives on a weekly basis as the overall performance of the race weekends have proven that,” offered Reed. “We have unloaded good, qualified well and raced extremely well. The best thing about Salem is that we have raced here earlier in the year and was very good and we surpassed that performance this time around. We have two races left and we are extremely prepared for them as we are testing for both events. Chad has continued to show a lot of maturity as the year has progressed and continues to be a good student as he is constantly doing something to better himself which includes watching past races, utilizing the dartfish program, working out and running laps on the simulator.”

With two races remaining on the ARCA Racing Series schedule, Hackenbracht remains eighth in the championship standings with further advancement still possible at Kansas Speedway and Toledo Speedway respectively. To further aid the family-owned team towards that mission and in search of their ninth top-10 finish of the season, the team will participate in an open-test at the 1.5-mile oval of Kansas Speedway on Tuesday, September 20th in preparation for the Kansas Lottery 98.9 which is set to launch on Friday, October 7 live on SPEED.

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.

- CGH Motorsports Press Release

CGH Motorsports Thumbnail

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.

No. 58 Tastee Chocolate Apples Chevrolet Impala SS

“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.

Chad Hackenbracht

“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.

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.

- CGH Motorsports Press Release

Chad Hackenbracht

Blogs are beginning to get a little spaced out these days, but I always follow up with one that covers all of the lost ground. This time it’ll be Springfield, Madison, and DuQuoin. All of these races were a blast and unfortunately most of them didn’t go as planned starting with Springfield.

Springfield I was looking forward to because my crew chief Kevin Reed had run so strong at the dirt races last year. At Springfield I talked with a few drivers on what to do and what to expect being that I had never been on dirt before, and an ARCA car on dirt was something totally different. I was told to try and keep the car as under control as possible and not to run it sideways like you see the normal dirt cars run.

Practice went fairly decent and we were all pretty satisfied so far. We qualified eleventh which was alright, but we were hoping for a top ten qualifying run. In the race we just wanted to get a solid finish with a clean race car to take to DuQuoin. The race was crazy; I have never been in a race where I cannot see the car in front of me until that weekend. Going down the back stretch the dust cloud was so bad, that I was two car lengths behind someone and I could not see them in front of me. This made it difficult to hit your marks going into turn three, but everyone made it work. Wound up scraping a top ten finish out of the day with a fairly clean race car to take to DuQuoin.

From Springfield, we went straight up to Madison, Wisconsin. We decided to not go back to North Carolina and just head straight to the next race. Also, because we had an appearance for our partner, Hampton Farms. The Wednesday after Springfield, we showed up to a Copps Supermarket with the hauler and unloaded the car in front of the store. I was there handing out samples of the SmokeHouse flavor peanuts, and signing autographs with the car on display. We hung out and did a lot of nothing until Thursday when we unloaded at the track in preparation for Friday morning. Friday morning rolled around and we showed up to the track, ready for tech and practice to begin. I looked at the track on Friday and realized it was going to be a tough little bull ring.

The corners were extremely tight and the track was hardly wide enough for us to be side by side. Practice began and we made minor adjustments, finishing out the practice sixth overall. Going into qualifying I had hopes and expectations of qualifying in the top-five without a doubt, unfortunately we slipped back a few positions to a ninth starting position. I was at least happy that I qualified on the inside row because of how tight this race track was. After the autograph session on the track, we began the race under the lights. I personally really like the night racing for some reason. During the race I held my own on track and saved my brakes for the end of the race, knowing that the track was hard on brakes. Unfortunately, on a restart I got spun going into turn one, and then hit in the right front by a lap car. We came down pit road to fix the damage and went one lap down during the process. I went back out on track in the lucky dog position, and ran away from the leader until the motor blew eight laps later. We think that when I spun in turn one, that I spun the motor over backwards, causing it to blow up later. Another night that didn’t go our way, but we kept our heads up going into DuQuoin.

Chad Hackenbracht

However, when me and the 39 (Kelly Kovski) were able to keep up with him I second guessed myself. We got a caution not too long into the race and I restarted third, knowing that I was a top-three car at the time. On the restart, I jumped to the outside and passed both the 39 and 41 by the time we got into turn one.

I then kept the lead and tried to drive away. When we got to lap traffic, the 41 passed me, and then I passed him back. The 39 started to get in the mix and we were all just swapping the lead back and forth having a blast. After we pitted, I couldn’t make up any time in traffic and slowly started to slip away. Then with three laps to go, I spun off of turn four and side slapped the outside wall, never losing a position. This set us up for a green white checkered finish. At this point, we had a tire rub and I was just trying to hold my position in the top-10, unfortunately I got shuffled back into finishing 14th. It was a day of ups and downs but overall fairly good.

Onto Salem Speedway next and I am very excited for the race on Saturday night. We were running third in the spring race until a transmission took us out of the race just past halfway. Having past success at Salem, I’m really looking forward to going back. There’s also still a slight chance I could get the Bill France Four Crown, but it’s not a very big shot, however I’m still excited about it and aiming to take it away.

So, that’s catching you all up on what’s happened with me within the past couple of races. I just wanted to remind everyone that our contest on Race Talk Radio continues every Tuesday night where the Thunder Crew will ask a question pertaining to myself or our race team. The show starts at 8:00 p.m.

The first person who correctly answers receives one of our “What’s A Hacken-bracht” tee-shirts plus some of our very own Tastee Apples. The contest lasts until mid-October, so please tune in and win!

Until next time,

- Chad Hackenbracht