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[/media-credit]POCONO, Pennsylvania (June 10, 2012) – – Let the good finishes continue to roll in. Even under threatening skies, Chad Hackenbracht in his sponsorless No. 58 Chevrolet delivered an outstanding second-place effort at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway in the Pocono ARCA 200 Saturday afternoon.
The 80-lap shootout would fill a lot of voids for the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards since the track dubbed as “The Tricky Triangle” had been completely repaved since the off-season which produced new speeds and a lot of unanswered questions. It was evident to the field at the beginning of the weekend that the CGH Motorsports team led by veteran crew chief Kevin Reed would be one of the teams to beat.
After qualifying third, which rewarded the Mooresville, North Carolina-based team five crucial points towards the championship chase, the seventh race of the season would take the green flag shortly after 2:00 p.m. local time.
Within the first 10 laps of the event, Hackenbracht’s automobile would mount similar lap times to leader Brennan Poole – but with a competition caution on the horizon courtesy of the ARCA officials, Reed informed his driver not to “push” the issue until they could survey the tires.
That “free” caution would waive on lap 16, which allowed Hackenbracht to bring his machine to pit lane where Reed called for four tires, fuel, two rounds up on the track bar and an air pressure adjustment.
On the impending restart on lap 20 and a few cars electing to use a different strategy, Hackenbracht lined up sixth but was able to climb back into the top-five just two laps later and was preparing to make the move on fourth place runner Josh Williams when, the yellow flag was displayed for an incident on the track.
Restarting the race on lap 32, Hackenbracht made quick work of Williams moving into fourth then coming to the start-finish line moved into third for lap 33 and then moved into the runner-up position on lap 36 trailing leader Brennan Poole.
Through the halfway point, the New Philadelphia, Ohio native would continue to hoist the runner-up position as coaching from spotter Tim Fedewa would inspire him to do whatever he could to decrease the gap between himself and the lead machine.
The final caution of the event occurred on lap 59 which offered the prime opportunity for Reed to bring his protégé down pit lane for their final stop which would consist of four tires and fuel – good enough to make it to the end. An uncharacteristic fumble during the pit stop cost them a few seconds inside their pit stall which had the team lining up third for the lap 62 restart.
Encouragement from the cockpit by Hackenbracht informed his team not to worry about the hiccup and that he would pass second-place competitor Ryan Reed quickly. Indeed he quickly passed the Reed machine on lap 64 putting him back into the runner-up position and producing quicker times than the leader.
As the final run set into play, Hackenbracht’s racecar would post quicker lap times than Poole’s Toyota before the 20-year old would have to settle back into his race-pace which had him seeing Poole through his windshield but unable to latch onto his rear bumper. For several of the closing laps, Cunningham Motorsports driver Alex Bowman put pressure on Hackenbracht trying to overtake him for the coveted number two spot – but the combination of driver and spotter would have none of it as the two would play defensive and keep Bowman at bay and eventually cruise away from Bowman and finish second for the second time in 2012.
Earlier this year, the race at Mobile (Ala.) International Speedway, Hackenbracht nearly collected his first career victory but came up a little short to hometown runner Cale Gale. In all, it was the team’s third top-five effort of the year and fifth top-10 in seven starts in 2012. Last month, the team drafted their way to a third place finish at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway, their previous best speedway finish.
“We had a real good car all weekend long, we just didn’t quite have the whole package, but I’m super proud of everyone on this CGH Motorsports team,” said Hackenbracht. “We learned a lot about this car, the track and when we come back in August, I think we’ll be even a little better. I want to thank PME (Pro Motor Engineering) for giving us a good engine; we had some power under the hood. I think we’ve proven this year that even without a sponsor we can get the job done – if we could just find someone to jump onboard – the possibilities I think would be like endless. We are just going to keep digging and hope that with time something will come along. We’ll dig for a win next Friday afternoon at Michigan, I feel confident about our chances!”
Next up for the ARCA Racing Series is the RainEater Wiper Blades 200 at Michigan International Speedway (MIS) set for Friday, July 15. This will be the second consecutive race that the teams will embrace brand-new asphalt on a racetrack. The two-mile oval was also completely repaved during the off-season. Last June, the team finished fourth after starting eighth at the track nestled in the Irish Hills.
Unofficially, Hackenbracht will enter the eighth race of the season this upcoming week third in the championship standings 75 markers behind Brennan Poole but only 20 points behind second place holder Chris Buescher.
CGH Motorsports still has marketing partnerships available for the 2012 ARCA Racing Series season. Interested parties can contact Jordan Dahl atJordan@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, and will attempt another full season of competition in 2012.
