NASCAR Truck Series Team Owner Tragically Dies in Car Accident

What’s Happening?

Shigeaki Hattori, owner of the part-time NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series team Hattori Racing Enterprises, passed away Saturday morning following a car accident.

• According to the Huntersville Police Department, Hattori, who was traveling on NC Hwy 73, drifted into oncoming traffic and struck another vehicle. The 61-year-old was pronounced dead on the scene, and the driver of the other vehicle was taken to the hospital with “non-life-threatening injuries.”
• The accident is still under investigation, although a release from Huntersville PD claims that investigators “do not believe speed or impairment were contributing factors to the crash.”
• Hattori made his name in racing via the IndyCar Series and the Indy Lights Series. Prior to a short stent in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series in 2005, Hattori entered 26 IndyCar Races, finishing no better than sixth, and won two of his 37 total Indy Lights races.
• Though Hattori entered races in the Truck Series in 2005, the Okayama, Japan native made his name as a Truck and Xfinity Series owner during the mid-to-late 2010s. With drivers like Austin Hill, Brett Moffitt, Christopher Bell, and Ryan Truex, HRE was always a top competitor in the Truck Series, winning 14 races from 2018 to 2021.
• The team peaked in 2018 when Moffitt brought home the Series championship; however, it fell into irrelevance as the 2020s rolled on. The team moved to part-time in 2024, only entering three races last season.

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