Latest news with #ShigeakiHattori
Yahoo
07-04-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
NASCAR racing team owner dies in Huntersville crash
The owner of a NASCAR racing team died in a crash over the weekend in Huntersville, police said. Shigeaki Hattori, of Mooresville, was driving a 2025 Toyota Crown at about 9:15 a.m. Saturday when he was involved in the two-vehicle wreck on N.C. Highway 73 near McGuire Nuclear Station Road. Advertisement Hamlin takes the lead out of pits and holds off Byron in overtime to win at Darlington Raceway Hattori founded Hattori Racing Enterprises in 2008 and has fielded entries, including the NASCAR Xfinity Series, NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, and the ARCA Menards Series, according to its website. Hattori, who was originally from Japan, won the Japan Formula Toyota championship in 1994 and moved to the U.S. after that to race open-wheel cars. He won a pair of Indy Lights races in 1998 and made two starts in the Indianapolis 500, its website said. The organization made the transition to stock cars in 2005. Advertisement 'Hattori's organization reached its pinnacle achievement in 2018 when Brett Moffitt and the No. 16 team captured the Craftsman Trucks championship in the team's second full-time season,' according to its website. On Saturday, Hattori crossed the center line on Highway 73 and crashed into an oncoming 2024 Lexus GX550. Hattori died at the scene. The driver of the Lexus was taken to Novant Health Presbyterian Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries. investigators do not believe speed or impairment were factors in the crash. VIDEO: Retired NASCAR champion charged with DWI in Iredell County
Fox Sports
07-04-2025
- Automotive
- Fox Sports
INDYCAR SERIES Veteran Shigeaki Hattori Dies at 61
INDYCAR Shigeaki Hattori, one of eight Japanese-born drivers to compete in the Indianapolis 500, died April 5 in a car accident in Huntersville, North Carolina. He was 61. The native of Okayama in southern Japan, Hattori competed at Indianapolis Motor Speedway three times, earning a pair of starts. After serving as the first alternate to the 33-car field in 2001, he finished 20th in 2002 for Bradley Motorsports, completing 197 laps. The next year, he finished 30th driving for AJ Foyt Racing as the car's fuel system failed. Those two races in the '500' were among Hattori's 34 career INDYCAR SERIES starts in a four-year span that ended in 2003. His best series finish came at Texas Motor Speedway when he finished sixth in 2002. At 32, Hattori moved to the U.S. in 1995, first embarking on an opportunity in Indy Lights, now known as INDY NXT by Firestone. He won races at Homestead-Miami Speedway and World Wide Technology Raceway, starting in the top three on both occasions for Indy Regency Racing. Hattori made his INDYCAR SERIES debut in 1999, making eight Champ Car World Series starts for Bettenhausen Motorsports. In 2000, he moved to the Indy Racing League, scoring four top-10 finishes in five races for Treadway Racing. Hattori's INDYCAR SERIES career featured rides with five teams using five different engine badging. Hattori also had a significant career in NASCAR, driving and owning entries. He made 10 Truck Series starts before turning his attention to leading Hattori Racing Enterprises. The team fielded Johnny Sauter, Alex Bowman and Ross Chastain, among other notable drivers. Brett Moffitt won the 2018 Truck Series championship for the team. recommended in this topic
Forbes
07-04-2025
- Automotive
- Forbes
Shige Hattori, Racer And NASCAR Team Owner, Dies In North Carolina Crash
HOMESTEAD, FL - NOVEMBER 16: Brett Moffitt, driver of the #16 AISIN Group Toyota, crew chief Scott ... More Zipadelli and team owner Shigeaki Hattori pose for a photo after winning the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Championship at Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 16, 2018 in Homestead, Florida. (Photo by) Shigeaki 'Shige' Hattori, the Japanese-born racer who made the unlikely journey from open-wheel hopeful to championship-winning NASCAR team owner, was killed Saturday morning in a three-car crash on I-77 northbound in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. He was 61. The accident occurred around 9:15 a.m., just outside of Huntersville — a suburb north of Charlotte and very much in the heart of NASCAR country. According to a release from the Huntersville, NC, police Hattori was behind the wheel of a 2025 Toyota Crown when he crossed the center line and collided with oncoming traffic. The crash remains under investigation, but officials have stated that neither speed nor impairment are believed to have been factors. The news was confirmed Monday by Hattori Racing Enterprises, the team he founded and led for nearly two decades: 'We are heartbroken to confirm that Shigeaki 'Shige' Hattori was pronounced deceased on the morning of Saturday, April 5, in Huntersville, N.C., following a motor vehicle accident. He was 61.' DAYTONA BEACH, FL - FEBRUARY 18: Shigeaki Hattori, driver of the #9 Aisin/Aisin AW Toyota, is ... More kissed by Deborah Renshaw (L), driver of the #8 Easycare Service Contracts Dodge and Kelly Sutton, driver of the Team Coaxone Chevrolet, prior to the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Florida Dodge Dealers 250 on February 18, 2005 at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona, Florida. (Photo by) 'Shige was known for his relentless drive, focus and competitive spirit. Team ownership through HRE and Hattori Motorsports had become both his passion and his life's work. He had a unique gift to constantly inject a light-hearted attitude and one-of-a-kind sense of humor into his race teams that will never be forgotten. We'll miss you dearly. Farewell, Shige.' NASCAR later issued a statement of its own: 'Shigeaki Hattori was a passionate racer and highly successful team owner, but beyond all his team's statistics – which includes a NASCAR Truck Series championship – Shige was a genuine, beloved member of the garage who worked tirelessly to lift our sport and his people. We are deeply saddened by his tragic passing. NASCAR extends its thoughts and prayers to his family and many friends.' In a sport that thrives on big personalities and bigger budgets, Hattori was the sort of figure who earned respect the old-fashioned way — through perseverance, hustle, and an unshakable belief that he belonged. And, against the odds, he did more than just belong. He won. Born in Okayama, Japan, Hattori began his racing career on the open-wheel circuits of his home country before taking a giant leap across the Pacific to chase his dreams in America. He landed in the Indy Lights series in 1995, won twice, and made the climb to CART and the Indy Racing League. His résumé won't set any speed records — 26 IRL starts, 28 laps led, a best finish of sixth at Texas — but it's a testament to his tenacity. The man had guts. Shigeaki Hattori of Japan is helped out of his car after qualifying 19 May 2002 at the Indianapolis ... More Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, IN. The 86th running of the 500 will be held on 26 May. AFP PHOTO/Ann MILLER CARR (Photo by - / AFP) (Photo credit should read -/AFP via Getty Images) In 2004 and 2005, he even tried his hand behind the wheel in NASCAR's Truck Series — a fish-out-of-water moment for a Japanese driver in what was then a very Southern, very V8 world. But it was team ownership, not driving, where Hattori found his true calling. In 2008, he founded Hattori Racing Enterprises (HRE), a plucky little outfit that over the next 15 years would become a staple of the NASCAR Truck Series garage. The team earned 14 wins in total — many with Brett Moffitt and Austin Hill — but their crowning achievement came in 2018, when Moffitt delivered Hattori his first and only NASCAR championship. It was an underdog story so improbable it practically begged for a movie adaptation. A Japanese businessman with a Formula Nippon background, running Toyotas in NASCAR, taking on the juggernauts like ThorSport and Kyle Busch Motorsports — and winning. Not with flashy sponsors or million-dollar facilities, but with razor-sharp strategy, solid engineering, and one very determined team owner at the helm. Hattori's approach was all heart and hustle. He wasn't just calling the shots from the hauler — he was hands-on, sleeves-up, and fluent in every facet of racing life. Those who worked with him speak not just of his racing mind, but his humor, his warmth, and a work ethic that bordered on legendary. DAYTONA BEACH, FL - FEBRUARY 18: Shigeaki Hattori, driver of the Aisin/Aisin AW Toyota, poses for a ... More photo prior to the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Florida Dodge Dealers 250 on February 18, 2005 at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona, Florida. (Photo by) In many ways, Shige Hattori was the embodiment of the American dream — not because he was born here, but because he arrived with nothing and still managed to climb to the top of one of America's toughest sports. He came to race, he stayed to build, and he left a legacy. Motorsports, like life, doesn't always reward the most deserving. But for once, in 2018, it did. Shige got his championship. And now, tragically, it's time to say goodbye to a man who lived for racing — and, more than most, helped redefine what it meant to be a racer in America. And now he's gone. Taken not by a wall at Daytona or a mechanical failure at 200 mph, but by the same random, cruel chaos that takes too many lives on American roads every day. Godspeed, Shige.
