I met Kris Hackenson for the first time early in the 2010 season at an MDU event in Indianapolis.  Where do I start? A few words came to mind.  Zombie was the first and most prevalent. My immediate second thought was to hide my puppy for fear Hackenson would bite him. The very next thing I did was make sure that there were no small children around so that Hack would not devour them whole. 

He then approached me, asking if I had any baby meat and I replied that I was fresh out;  he looked very disappointed.  I figured I would use this time to talk to the man a little about his car since mine was ready to go for the track day.  His car was insane.  Built LS1, with all the bolt on goodies in a tattered, widebody, bassboat silver flake S14 chassis.  The thing looked it it had been to Hell and back, sideways, and hit everything on the way there.  You could tell by looking at it that it was a serious piece of machinery.  Then I heard Blackbeard fire up for the first time and I knew then that the car was all business.  When I saw him drive for the first time, I was awe struck.  The guy is on pure attack mode at all times on the track.  He is fearless beyond fearless, and has a style all of his own. He drives the way he looks, scary. His car matches him perfectly and sounds like something Satan himself would slide.  

Kris doesn’t drift for the same reasons others do, he does it purely for the love of the game.  I think we all get into it for the fun factor, but as skills increase and competition increases, lots of people’s attitudes change. Just like in any sport as tensions rise, the love of the game tends to lessen, but not with Hackenson. He is the nicest guy you’ll ever meet and is definitely a unique individual.  I have been lucky enough to see him drift at a few different tracks in Indiana and Illinois. Frankly, I can’t wait to share the track with him again in 2011.  I would like to say that when I set up the interview with him that I knew it would be a different type of Q&A setup than I’m used to;  and he didn’t diappoint me at all.  I usually do some editing on responses I get from people, but this interview was taken directly out of the email I recieved from Kris.  I was going to do the interview with him in person last time I was in Chicago but we had conflicting schedules.  This may have been a good thing, due to the fact that we probably would’ve consumed so many beers in the process that I wouldn’t have be able to write and he’d forget how to speak. So yeah, this is straight from most rad cat at the track, Chicago’s finest Kris Hackenson.  

yo yo yo:)
 
my name is kris hackenson bla bla bla.lol,drive a ls1 s14 called blackbeard.its gone through 6 color changes an more wall hits than miles.i got in2 drifting when i saw videos an whatnot, so i decided 2 give it a try.an now its a huge part of my so called life.started on the streets,then events,then competing.drifting is like making music.being able 2 create an start new styles,or trends,personal expressions.its alot different than other motorsports an thats why i like it.all the adrenaline an insanity.an a hell-of-alot-of-fun 2 watch also.wasnt hard for me 2 b hooked.anywho.for 2011 JTP is is spawning me a 90 madza turbo2 fc at his shop HOT LINE in sunny so cal..it will b powered by a turbo ls1.building a car isnt cheep so im hoping i can afford 2 get it done by the beginin of this season.if not ill b in the blackbeard for jus the start of the season.drifting is bout doin somthing fun.if its out on the streets alone,messin around on the track,or goin at it during a tandem..diff strokes for diff folks.i love it all.if u jus startin off or your the big dog in the pro series i treat u the same.i dont hate if some1 is jus startin an spinning out every turn.i like talkin 2 those plp an tryin 2 help.trust me when i 1st got in2 this crap,it was pretty embarrassing hittin the grass every turn while every1 was watching.but we all gotta start somewhere an thats what keeps the love an the sport alive.lets hate the world but not hate on drifting.lets face it,people that dont drift usually jus suck:)run what u got an dont give a fuck bout all the fancy latest/greatest/an most expensive parts/trends.put a match in that hay stack an u will find your needle quicker. i love u all.live 2 die,die 2 live ,and remember…clean your fucking socks dammit<3

car specs. 1995 nissan 240sx  aka”blackbeard”

ENGINE&DRIVETRAIN

04 gto ls1 with 98 t56 6speed
tune from speed inc.
magic stick 3 cam
comp cam springs,retainers,pushrods
cometic head gaskets
255 fp with stainless braided lines
fluidine radiator with 1 18in fan mounted in front
oil cooler
arp holding everything 2gether
ram clutch an al flywheel

sikky swap kit with their headers an 7 quart oil race pan
kazz 2way diff
custom sikky solid engine an trans mounts

SUSPENSION

stance coilovers. 8k front with 10 clicks in.6k rear with 0 clicks(all the way soft)
every arm ,link,underbraces an tower braces are megan including front arms an rear lowers. no swaybars.
ma motorsports knuckles
custom stance rack spacers
poly steering rack bushings
stance solid subframe and diff bushings
brembo drilled/slotted rotors
hawk pads
stock calipers with stainless braided lines
stock an hydro e-brake…(never really use the hydro)

BODY

origin agressive kit
origin widest an tallest gt carbon wing
origin wide fenders all around
siebon hood
dry carbon sunroof delete
lexan side an quarter windows
97 lights

INSIDE

personal steering wheel with momo hub
haggard spec cage
recaro seat
team tech 5 point harness
oil pressure,water temp,plx wideband,an boost gauge still left over from old sr:)
moroso switch panel with push button start

WHEELS/TIRES

245/40/18 front.usually use dunlop star specs or falken rt615′s
275/35/18 rear.nexan
ENKEI pf01 wheels
front 18×9/12 +18 with 25 ml ichiba spacer
rear 18×10 1/2 +15 with 20ml ichiba spacer

ALIGNMENT

FRONT
anywhere from 0 to about .3 toe out
-3 camber
7.8 to 8 caster
REAR
0 toe
.5 to -1 of camber
0 thrust

super godzilla style tweeked front an rear frame rails….lol

Kris Hackenson aka Zombie Drifter. from Mark Lenardon on Vimeo.

Zombie Drifter 2 from Mark Lenardon on Vimeo.

I’d like to thank Kris for taking the time out of his night to do this interview. The picture from the Pro-Am event in Irwindale was taken by Brad Sillars a photographer from Chicago (Hack requested we use one of the pics from the Pro-Am). I jacked the picture of Hackenson holding the glass off of his website becasue it pretty much sums him up, so I give credit where credit is due but I know not who to give it to.  Make sure to check out his website streethookertrash.blogspot.com/. 
The videos are courtesy of Mark Lenardon, a very talented videographer on the scene. I will be sure to keep Hackenson on tap for this coming season and I for one am very excited to see how his boosted LS1 FC turns out. Ill see it soon enough.  The GarageSpec readers will definitely be hearing more from this man this coming year.  See you on the track this season Kris!