UNOH Alum Wade Hachey Builds a Career in Motorsports
Posted on Friday, September 11, 2026
UNOH Graduate Wade Hachey
When Wade Hachey graduated from the University of Northwestern Ohio’s High Performance Motorsports Technology program, his next step wasn’t immediately clear. Today, just two years later, the 26-year-old from Pickering, Ontario, operates his own business as an independent contractor, working with three different race teams, and has built a career that takes him to tracks across Canada and the United States.
The difference between then and now, Wade says, came down to persistence, relationships and a willingness to say “yes” to opportunities—even when he wasn’t completely sure where they would lead. “The key to this has been just staying positive and keeping an open mind about what your next move is,” Wade said. “I didn’t say no to anything.”
Wade had already spent time in the workforce and had experience in motorsports before enrolling at UNOH. He knew racing was something he loved, but he wasn’t yet certain whether he could—or wanted to—turn it into a full-time career.
His parents encouraged him to look into UNOH. After reviewing the High Performance Motorsports curriculum, Wade decided to make the move. “I knew I had a passion for motorsports, but there’s only so much you can learn on the job,” Wade said. “If you don’t broaden your horizons at a place like UNOH, sometimes you can end up stuck in the same cycle of not advancing.”
It wasn’t until he was going through the program that he began to appreciate how many of those skills he would eventually use. “As I went through the courses, I realized that there’s a lot more that the instructors teach that actually does end up coming back and being used,” Wade said.
Skills such as welding and fabrication have resurfaced in his work as he repairs chassis, fabricates parts, and creates specialty tools. Even the general education electives he took have become valuable now that he operates his own business. “The business electives helped me with being able to take care of my own business because I have to do a lot of bookkeeping,” Wade said. “I have to deal with customers, send invoices, and deal with taxes.”
Wade’s path after UNOH is also a reminder that a successful career doesn’t always begin with an immediate breakthrough. “After graduation, I had kind of a little bit of a lull period,” Wade said. “I had reached out to teams in Canada and said, ‘Hey, I just graduated. I have racing experience,’ but it just seemed like the gaps were all filled at that point. Everybody knew who they needed to work with, and there was unfortunately no room for me.”
Eventually, Wade returned to Radical Canada, the shop where he had worked before attending UNOH. This time, his previous experience, combined with the skills and knowledge he had gained in college, positioned him for something more. He was offered the opportunity to become a crew chief.
Wade had spent years working on Radical race cars as a mechanic, but the new role required him to step back from turning wrenches and begin leading others. With a race operation that can field as many as 12 cars on a weekend, his responsibilities now include coordinating technicians, helpers, tire personnel, fuelers, driver coaches and engineers.
“The hardest part about this is having the trust in people—understanding when somebody’s struggling, understanding when they need information, but trusting that they can get the job done,” Wade said. The results came quickly. During the 2025 season, the team won a championship in its Masters class and finished second in the championship with its pro driver.
As Wade became established with Radical Canada and their first employee to become a Factory Certified Level 3 technician, other opportunities began appearing. He gained experience with LMP3 prototype cars and began working with LMP3 Canada. Then, while IMSA was racing at his home track in Canada, Wade had the opportunity to assist another team with an LMP3 car. That weekend led to another connection and, eventually, an opportunity to work with a touring car team competing in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge.
What began as a difficult job search after graduation had transformed into something Wade couldn’t have predicted. Today, he operates Hachey Motorsports and works as an independent contractor for three different racing operations. And it all happened because Wade kept taking the next opportunity.
“My boss asked me, ‘Do you know how to work on LMP3 cars?’ I actually had no idea,” Wade admitted. “But I said ‘Sure’. Just always be open to learning something new and pushing yourself to a new limit. Even if there are mistakes made, you’re always going to learn something.”
It is a philosophy he carries into every opportunity that comes his way.
For students preparing to enter an industry as competitive as motorsports, Wade believes that mindset can make the difference. Every new experience expands a technician’s knowledge, every relationship creates another connection, and one seemingly small opportunity can lead somewhere completely unexpected.
“You always have to be on your toes,” Wade said. “It’s never ever going to be the same every single weekend. Every weekend is different.” Wade’s own career is proof. Less than two years after returning home from UNOH unsure of what would come next, he is managing race teams, mentoring other technicians, building his own business and continuing to expand into higher levels of professional motorsports.
He still has bigger goals. Wade regularly thinks in terms of five- and 10-year plans and hopes to continue moving into higher levels of racing in the United States. Through his UNOH classmates and his growing network, he has developed connections with professionals working in LMP2, IMSA’s top-level GTP prototype class and IndyCar.
But he also knows that motorsports careers rarely follow a straight line. For UNOH students hoping to break into the industry, his advice is to keep learning, keep making connections and not become discouraged when the first opportunity doesn’t arrive as quickly as expected. Sometimes the slow start is simply the beginning.
“It’s better to learn through that work experience than to say no and think about what could have been.”
Category: Applied Technologies
Keywords: Alumni, High Performance Motorsports
