MALTA – A talented young gun with a last name that is very familiar to racing fans in the Capital Region of New York has announced his intention to run for Champlain Valley Racing Association Rookie of the Year honors in 2011.
Bobby Hackel IV, a fourth-generation driver, will be competing in the NASCAR modified division at both Albany-Saratoga Speedway on Friday nights and Devil’s Bowl on Sunday in an attempt to pocket some of the NASCAR All-American Series bonus money.
The 16-year-old Hackel, a junior at Columbia High School in East Greenbush, N.Y., is the grandson of Bob Hackel Jr., a former national mini-stock champion who made his Friday night home at Albany-Saratoga Speedway in the 1980s. Hackel IV’s father, Bobby, had a successful career in the sportsman division before retiring in 2004.
Hackel IV will also be following in the footsteps of his great grandfather, Bob Hackel Sr., who spent many years racing at Burden Lake and Menands speedways.
For the sake of accuracy, it should be pointed out that there really is no Bob Hackel III or Bob Hackel IV. Let Bob Hackel Jr., the grandfather, explain.
“My wife didn’t want a Bob Hackel the third,” he said. “We’re still all Bob Hackels, and the only difference is our middle initials.”
“The Lebanon Valley announcers started using Bobby Hackel IV,” said Hackel III. “It just makes things easier.”
Hackel IV is coming off a brilliant rookie campaign on dirt, when he finished second in the points chase in the budget sportsman division at Lebanon Valley Speedway. But the addition of Albany-Saratoga and Devil’s Bowl will put him on asphalt for the first time since his days in a go-kart.
“We’re not giving up dirt racing,” said Bob Hackel Jr., who said his role is “to pay the bills.”
“We’re going to have three cars, and still run at Lebanon. Last year, he was running right with (Wayne) Jelley and (Brett) Hearn until an alternator belt broke. He knows how to handle a race car.”
“I ran go-karts at Charlotte, but this is going to be different,” admitted Hackel IV. “The big thing on dirt is that you’re up on the wheel, and you change along with the track. On pavement, you have to be smooth. You’re not up on the wheel as much, and you have to run consistent lap times. You just kind of sit down and float with the car.”
A lot of the pressure of the switch to asphalt will fall on the shoulders of Bobby Hackel III, who handles the setups on the cars.
“I’ve already been reading a lot of books, and taking a lot of notes,” said Hackel III. “Pete Chuckta is helping us. We ran his PMC chassis last year and he’s got asphalt experience, so he’s teaching us a lot.”
“This is going to put a lot of pressure on my whole family,” said Hackel IV. “But the great thing is I have a ton of crew members. Everyone will have to put in a lot of hard work, including me.”
Despite sitting in New York in the dead of winter, Hackel IV is keeping his racing skills sharp by competing in IRacing.com, an online racing game marketed for entertainment, as well as a racing tool for real racers. The IRacing.com list of competitors includes NASCAR drivers Brad Keselowski, Marcus Ambrose and Dale Earnhardt Jr.
“Right now, I’m ranked 26th in the world, out of over 10,000 racers,” said Hackel IV, who spends hours every week on IRacing.com. “It’s something to do that’s racing related during the winter, and the competition level is crazy. Last year, the points champion won something like $10,000.”
Hackel IV says he’s raced Earnhardt Jr. “a couple of times. And I beat him once.”
One of the reasons Hackel is adding pavement to his racing diet this year is NASCAR’s Scholarship Award Program. NASCAR awards three scholarships, ranging from $10,000 to $5,000 per year, to the University of Northwestern Ohio. The scholarships may be used at UNOH’s College of Technologies or College of Business.
“That definitely is something I’m looking into,” said Hackel IV.
But his primary goal is to continue to race.
“I want to go as far as racing will take me,” he said. “When I saw that there was a scholarship available, that really opened my eyes. But I’d love to be in Sprint Cup someday. If I can make a living off racing, that would be great.”