Defending NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series (NGOTS) team Hattori Racing Enterprises has tapped NASCAR Next alumnus Austin Hill to pilot the team’s No. 16 Toyota Tundra for the 2019 NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series season.
Hill, a native of Winston, Ga. will be guided by 2018 Truck Series championship crew chief Scott Zipadelli and brings support from United Rentals in his pursuit to chase his first driver’s championship this season.
“I’m thrilled to join HRE this season,” Hill said. “Shige (Hattori, owner) has built a great team and what they accomplished last season has me extremely optimistic heading to Daytona. I’ve had the pleasure to work with great teams in the past, including my family’s team in the K&N Series, but this is an opportunity of a lifetime at HRE.
“Scott and the team proved what they’re capable of last season, and I can’t wait to get to work and see what we can accomplish this season.”
As a graduate of the 2014 and 2015 NASCAR Next classes, Hill has accumulated 51 NGOTS starts over five seasons and completed his first full-time year of competition in 2018. The 24-year old brings a wealth of success in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East (NKNPSE), where he captured five victories in 39 career starts with his family-owned team.
In 2018, Hill notched a career-best fifth place result at Texas Motor Speedway and earned six top-10 finishes driving for Young’s Motorsports.
The 24-year-old replaces Brett Moffitt who acknowledged following his championship run at Homestead-Miami (Fla.) Speedway in November that he would not return with the Mooresville, N.C.-based team unless adequate sponsorship could be found. HRE officially announced in December that Moffit would not return to the organization for 2019.
While team owner Shigeaki Hattori brings a plethora of support from Japanese companies, the additional sponsorship dollars from Hill promoted the driver change.
It was no secret that during their 23-race championship run last year, the team often struggled to find adequate funding to make it to certain races. With the solid support of United Rentals, the team can continue to focus on competition rather than dwell on finances.
“We’re proud of what all of our team members did last season, and I’m looking forward to having Austin drive our trucks and work with United Rentals and all of our partners,” Hattori said.
“Austin had a great career in the K&N Pro Series and did well in his first full-time truck series season last year. I’m looking forward to what we can do together this season.”
Zipadelli shares Hattori’s eagerness to start the season and continue the team’s success with Hill behind the wheel.
“I’m really looking forward to racing with Austin and continuing our team’s success,” Zipadelli said. “Austin is a great kid and has a lot of potential. He has a great track record in the K&N Series and put together a strong year last season with Young’s Motorsports. I think he’ll transition well into our program and fit right in with our group.”
Chiba Toyotpet will sponsor the organization in the season-opening NextEra Energy Resources 250 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway on Feb. 15. 2019.
Additional sponsorship information will be announced at a later date.
Follow Chris Knight on Twitter @Knighter01.
