TriStar Motorsports has signed former
ARCA Racing Series winner Chad Hackenbracht to a driver development contract. Hackenbracht
spent the 2012 season competing full-time in the ARCA Racing Series for his
family owned team, CGH Motorsports. Last season, the New Philadelphia, Ohio
native recorded one win, two pole positions, five Top-5 and 12 Top-10 finishes,
before finishing fifth in championship points.
“I am excited for the opportunity to
race with TriStar Motorsports in the Nationwide Series,” said Hackenbracht. “I
have not run any NASCAR events and I'm excited to make my debut in the Nationwide
Series with an established team. My expectations are to finish every race I run
this year, qualify in the top-20 and pull off top-15 finishes. The Nationwide
Series is going to be very competitive this year but I'm ready for the
challenge with the help of a few veterans both in the series and at TriStar
Motorsports to help my learning curve at tracks I have never been on.”
A veteran of quarter midgets and
Legends cars, Hackenbracht will continue his climb up the racing ranks by
joining TriStar Motorsports. The 21-year-old driver is expected to compete in a
minimum of five NASCAR Nationwide Series events for the team. His schedule will
be released at a later date.
“We are really looking forward to
having Chad join our team,” said Team Owner, Mark Smith. “He has already shown
that he has a lot of talent behind the wheel of a stock car. We are excited to
help him develop his skills and give him his first opportunity to race in
NASCAR. He will have some veteran guidance in his new teammates, which should help
him as he takes the next step in his racing career.”
Hackenbracht, who has competed in
the ARCA Racing Series full-time the past two years, has 47 career starts in
that series with eight top-five and 22 top-10 finishes - including a win at
Pocono Raceway last year.
Hackenbracht’s lifelong focus on
racing has led to 35 career quarter midget wins across six divisions and the
2008 Legends National Semi Pro Championship with 17 wins at nine tracks in four
different states. Hackenbracht, who has typically competed in cars fielded by
his family owned team, has 76 top-10 finishes in 98 Legends Cars starts in 2007
and 2008.
I think TriStar is doing a good job of building their team by their recent hires. They've now signed two young drivers in Chad Hackenbracht and Hal Martin to go along with veteran drivers Eric McClure, Mike Bliss, and Jeff Green (although I don't think it's been announced whether or not the latter two will return). Hopefully they continue to build this season as I think they are the best independent team on the circuit.
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