Okayama, Japan’s Shigeaki Hattori didn’t make it as a NASCAR driver, but instead of folding up and heading back to his native country, Hattori has worked hard, and with help from his Japanese connections has built a successful NASCAR program in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East.
But, Shige Hattori as he’s known in the garage wanted more and had hinted in the past that he was working harder than ever to make his team, Hattori Racing Enterprises (HRE) a staple inside the top-three National levels of NASCAR.
Slowly, but surely he’s getting there.
Last year, Hattori, a former IndyCar driver elevated his young program to the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series in a few starts with Michael Waltrip Racing development driver Brett Moffit. While the results were mediocre, Hattori decided he wants to expand his team to include the NASCAR Nationwide Series.
Over the off-season, Hattori purchased some equipment from Kyle Busch Motorsports and made their debut in the season-opening event at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway, with former Daytona NCWTS winner Johnny Sauter at the helm.
Having to make the field on time, Sauter qualified his No. 80 Goodyear Toyota Camry ninth, but had to make an unscheduled pit stop for the loss of his right-side window. The team was unable to recover from the setback, finishing 28th.
Next, the team tackled Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway with Sauter back behind the wheel, where the team once again qualified on time to start 24th. During the race, Sauter had a quiet, but productive race, scoring 16th.
Then came Michigan, a place where Sauter would be unavailable to drive the team’s No. 80 Toyota Camry because of his full-time commitment to ThorSport Racing in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series at Gateway (Ill.) Motorsports Park. Instead of skipping the race, HRE elected to put Ross Chastain, an Alva, Florida native behind the wheel.
Hattori was vocal that Chastain impressed him at Charlotte in May, where he made his NNS debut driving the No. 55 Chevrolet Camaro for Viva Motorsports. He battled Sauter hard, but clean for a finishing spot inside the top-20.
Chastain did well in the No. 80 AISIN Toyota Camry. He qualified a career-best 17th and backed it up with a strong performance, finishing 12th in just his second NNS contest.
While things were taking off well for the Nationwide program, the K&N program, however, was struggling. With drivers David Garbo Jr. and Lee Pulliam at the wheel, the teams failed to compete for race wins and Hattori made the decision in early spring to scale-back one of the team, leaving Pulliam, a late-model standout on the sidelines.
“It was too much,” offered Hattori on the situation. “It was just a lot for us to handle.”
Despite the tough choices then, the team is surging ahead to tonight (Friday night) at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway, Hattori’s team has been considered a dark horse. A fast car, a talented driver and experience on the box with crew chief Bruce Cook, Hattori knows that his “little team” could surprise and win in the Subway Firecracker 250, but he’s staying humble.
“Johnny is good for us,” Hattori said. “He has experience and that’s what I wanted for here at Daytona. He knows what he needs to do.”
Following Daytona, Hattori plans to run several events near the end of the season including, Chicagoland Speedway, Kentucky Speedway, Dover (Del.) International Speedway and Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway. He also said that the season-finale at Homestead-Miami (Fla.) Speedway was possible too.
“We know we’re going to those races, but who’s driving? I don’t know yet,” Hattori added. “I would like to use Johnny, but I was also impressed with Ross. He was fast.” Sauter thinks he’ll be in the ride for Chicagoland Speedway in September, while Chastain would be honored for another opportunity, but Hattori reiterated there’s still plenty of time to decide who will race what.
When asked if Hattori would (ever) consider bringing a talented Japanese racer, like a Kyle Larson (1/2 Japanese descent) to his platform, he was quick to answer the question.
“No, “as he shook his head. “The sponsors wants experience. In the Nationwide Series, the sponsors want experience like Johnny and Ross bring. We have the K&N Pro Series program, so maybe there, we’ll see.”
As for next year, Hattori is already hard at it.
“We want to race full-time Nationwide next year and I’m talking to sponsors, hopefully it happens.”
Follow Chris Knight on Twitter @Knighter01.
