Photo – Courtesy of Kyle Busch Motorsports

ARCA Racing Series Winner is ready to tackle the ‘Tricky Triangle‘

Since making the announcement to drive for Kyle Busch Motorsports (KBM) behind the wheel of the No. 51 Tastee Apple/Ingersoll Rand Toyota Tundra in four NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) races in 2013, Chad Hackenbracht has had the 2.5-mile “Tricky Triangle” circled on his calendar. As the 2012 winner of the ARCA Racing Series August race, the 21-year-old New Philadelphia, Ohio native is ready to get back behind the wheel of the No. 51 Tundra and this time, he’s looking for redemption at one of his favorite tracks – Pocono (Pa.) Raceway. 

“It means a lot to be back in the No. 51 Toyota Tundra, especially at a track like Pocono. I got my first ARCA win there one year ago. I have always run well there, so to be in top-notch equipment this week is going to be great and having Kyle (Busch) at the track as well will be a major plus.”

“Pocono has always been a great track for me and does suit my driving style. I will carry over what I know about driving lines and various characteristics of the track, but other than that it will be a totally new experience in the truck.”

Hackenbracht, who made his NCWTS debut behind the wheel of the No. 51 machine at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, had high hopes leading up to his debut at the 1.5-mile track. However, an accident on lap 41 of 167 ended his night early and relegated the rookie to a 26th-place finish. That experience gives Hackenbracht a different perspective in setting his goals going into Pocono.

“My first goal is to finish. My secondary goal is to finish in the top-ten, which I feel is very possible given the caliber of equipment I will be driving and my past experience at Pocono.”

Fortunately, for ‘@Hockensomethin’ he enters his second career Truck Series event with something he didn’t have at Texas – seat time. Although he will sit behind the wheel of a Toyota Tundra for the first time at Pocono, the Truck Series rookie has completed 356 laps around the 2.5-mile superspeedway in the ARCA Racing Series. As a challenging three-turn track, Hackenbracht feels confident that his KBM team, strong equipment and experience will take him places at Pocono. Instead of spending a lot of time getting to know his Toyota Tundra and finding his way around the unique track, he will be able to eliminate one variable in hopes of formulating a solid run for his KBM team. His goals; finish the race and gain the most points possible – to help propel the No. 51 team back into the direction of a NCWTS Owner’s Championship.

Hackenbracht’s crew chief, Rudy Fugle knows just how challenging it is to be successful at the ‘Tricky Triangle.’ But, that knowledge will help Hackenbracht as he prepares for his first race at the track.

“It’s a challenging track. It’s fairly flat – Turn one is kind of bumpy, but since the repave it’s not as bad – and there are three very distinct corners. You have to get through all three of them – there is no compromising a corner anymore – the team that does it the best will benefit the most. It’s considered a superspeedway, but there will be no pack or tandem racing – you may have some drafting on the straightaway, but that’s it. You will need a truck that handles well – it’s very aero dependent, down force and drag will be key.”