WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. – Their relationship kicked off with a near upset at Daytona International Speedway last February, since then Ryan Truex and Hattori Racing Enterprises owner Shigeaki Hattori have risen above the trials and tribulations to become a mainstay in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.
Following last Saturday’s third-place performance in the Overton’s 150 at Pocono Raceway, the best since their runner-up in Daytona in 2016, the commitment and dedication from Truex and Hattori could very well send them into the NASCAR playoffs come New Hampshire Motor Speedway in September.
“I wish we had more (laps), it was just tough to pass.,” said Truex. “Our ShopRite Tundra was really fast and I have to thank these guys, everybody back at the shop. It was a lot of hard work to get this truck on the track – this is a brand-new truck.
“Honestly, after we wrecked our truck at Kentucky, that was the best one and we had to thrash to get this one ready. Hats off to them, I’m just lucky I got to drive it. Restarts were really important and I felt like I just didn’t have the right lane at the end today.”
While Truex didn’t have the right lane on Saturday, he did find himself in the right lane when he landed at Hattori Racing Enterprises, the first place he has called home on a full-time basis since winning back-to-back NASCAR K&N East Series championships in 2009 and 2010.
Finding his footing at HRE’s Mooresville, N.C.-based shop at the beginning of the 2016 season, Truex and Hattori attempted to run the full season, but only made it to 15 races. Following HRE’s best finish of second, the team landed just three more top-10 finishes throughout the year, but Hattori knew Truex was the right ingredient behind the wheel.
“He’s a really good driver,” said Hattori. “You know we went to Daytona and almost won the race. We didn’t have enough budget to run the whole year, so we just went to race. You know, we had sponsors for 12 races or so and we did the best we could.
“This year, we have all new people. We hired a team manager (Mike Greci), and a crew chief (Scott Zipadelli) and we really start to work on the development of the team.
“I really think that Ryan is a good driver. Always has been. But we didn’t provide him good equipment to be a good driver last year. This year we are. We built three new trucks.”
Truex says that Hattori has been the best owner he’s driven for during his NASCAR tenure.
“He really flies under the radar,” said Truex of Hattori. “Honestly. I never met him until last year. And he’s been in the NASCAR world for the past five or six years as owner through the K&N Pro Series and stuff like that.
“He’s very, very passionate about racing and NASCAR and very, very committed to his team.”
Hattori’s commitment to his team extends more than just 9 to 5 hours at his shop.
It stems from lengthy trips abroad to Japan where he is sometimes gone for weeks to a month at a time securing new partnerships with Japanese companies to keep the No. 16 Toyota on the track.
“If he’s not in our shop in his office, he’s in Japan keeping our sponsors happy and working on new deals and doing things like that,” added Truex.
“Every two weeks I think he’s back in Japan. So, he’s back and forth a lot. He has a lot of frequent flyer miles. Like a lot. Like a million. Something crazy. He has like free flights for life, I think.”
Hattori said he made 17 trips to Japan last year. So far this year, he’s been eight times and will make his ninth stop for a week following the Truck Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway in August.
“A lot of our sponsors are there,” added Hattori. “I spend time with them and I look for new partners. Most of the sponsors have branches in the USA. Like AISIN, the have eight big plants in the United States and employ over 50,000 people. There’s a connection.”
AISIN has enjoyed a long tenure with HRE. Not only has AISIN been a partner for Hattori in his team, but they sponsored the Okayama, Japan native during his IndyCar and Truck Series stance.
Even with his frequent trips home, Truex says his relationship with Hattori, who competed in a limited Truck Series schedule in 2005 for Germain Racing is strong.
“He really is a great owner,” sounded Truex. “He’s very hands on. I love having him as an owner.
“He’s a very kind guy, very easy to get along with. Very easy to talk to and he’s at the track all the time.”
Truex, a five-time winner in K&N East admits while he is focused and determined to get back in Victory Lane, he says that Hattori is just if not more eager to see his team relish in the joy of winning a race.
“You can tell he really, really cares about it and he wants to succeed. It feels good for him to see the results now. I feel like he’s invested a lot of money and it’s taken a while for him to see that.”
While committed to a full Truck Series schedule this year, Truex and crew chief Scott Zipadelli have meshed well. The respect for one another has propelled the No. 16 team to three top-five and seven top-10 finishes through 12 races.
The addition of Greci as Hattori Racing’s general manager has instantly brought a family dynamic to the race shop. Previously, Greci worked with Truex as crew chief K&N for his championship seasons at Michael Waltrip Racing.
“Honestly, my team feels more like a family than anything,” Truex told Motorsport.com. “It’s all guys I’ve worked with before…it’s kind of got an old school feel to it where everyone works really hard and wants to be there and builds on each other.”
The family atmosphere approach in 2017 has worked to Hattori’s advantage.
“I don’t have to worry about everything anymore,” added Hattori. “You know I used to be involved in everything and now I’m working a lot on the sponsor stuff
“That’s definitely been great. We’ve had a good year. Unfortunately, if not for the Daytona crash, losing the motor at Iowa and the crash at Kentucky we might be higher in points. But we are so competitive right now and I’m happy and so are the sponsors.”
Truex feels the same.
“Last year when he started in the truck series, it was pretty rough with me driving,” he said. “We had a lot of things out of control happen and a lot of little silly things that would happen that would keep us from getting a good finish.
“It feels like now he has gotten the right group together, our whole team. We just gel very well together. That makes everything a lot easier. It’s good to see him finally see that investment return.”
With an off weekend for Trucks, Hattori and Truex are in Watkins Glen partaking in Friday afternoon’s Finger Lakes Wine Country 100 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East race aboard the No. 01 GUNMA TOYOTPET Toyota Camry for HRE.
Follow Chris Knight on Twitter @Knighter01.
