Shigeaki Hattori Dies in N.C. Vehicle Accident
American motorsports fans are in mourning after the tragic loss of 'Shige' Hattori, an open wheel competitor-turned NASCAR and sports car team owner.
The Morning Warmup
April 9, 2025
Today’s Top Stories
1) Shige Hattori dies in motor vehicle accident (NASCAR Trucks)
Shigeaki “Shige” Hattori, a veteran driver-turned team owner, died Saturday after a motor vehicle accident in North Carolina. He was 61 years old.
The Huntersville (North Carolina) Police Department shared the results of its preliminary investigation on Monday, indicating that Hattori’s vehicle appears to have crossed the centerline into oncoming traffic and collided with a vehicle on NC Highway 73, about 20 miles north of downtown Charlotte. Hattori was pronounced dead at the scene, while the driver of the other vehicle was transported to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Neither speed or impairment were believed to be contributing factors to the crash. The investigation is ongoing.
Hattori began racing in his native Japan, where he won the 1994 Formula Toyota title. He moved to the United States to chase his racing dreams in 1995. Over the next nine years Hattori won two races in what is now Indy NXT and rose up to CART, making two appearances in the Indianapolis 500 in 2002 and 2003, with a best finish of 20th (2002).
While he came to America with open wheel ambitions, Hattori made his name in NASCAR. He first tired to qualify for a NASCAR race in 2004, made 10 starts in 2005 and then returned as a team owner with Hattori Racing Enterprises in 2008. That company rose up to become an eventual contender in the Craftsman Truck Series, securing 14 victories in 212 starts and famously securing the 2018 series title with Brett Moffitt.
The program also fielded Xfinity Series entries for 72 starts, hosting drivers including Alex Bowman, Ross Chastain and Bubba Wallace. Austin Hill gave the team its best result of fifth at Kansas Speedway in 2020. The company had also fielded GT4 entries as Hattori Motorsports in both SRO America and Pilot Challenge competition over recent years.
NASCAR released the following statement after Hattori’s passing:
“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.”
Toyota Racing Development U.S.A. president Tyler Gibbs also put out a statement, saying “everyone at Toyota and TRD, U.S.A. is saddened to learn of Shige Hattori’s tragic passing.
“Toyota’s history with Shige spans decades. Through his long run as a driver to his history-making championship success as an owner, Shige’s motivation and work ethic to achieve at the highest level never wavered. His endearing personality was infectious and unforgettable. We are thinking of his family and friends as they process this terrible loss.”
Numerous drivers and figures in the NASCAR garage area chimed in on Hattori’s tragic passing. That included Wallace, who said “damn this hurts.”
“Shige was always going out of his way to say hello at any point in the weekend and always asking if I was ready to race for him again. We lost a good one. RIP my brother!”
(Source(s): Dustin Long / NBC Sports)
News and Notes
NASCAR
With Sunday’s triumph, Denny Hamlin is four victories away from his target of 60 Cup victories. Could he get there this year? (Bob Pockrass / FOX Sports)
Kyle Larson’s early crash was unfortunate for Hendrick Motorsports, but it did allow the team a chance to learn how to operate under NASCAR’s new damaged vehicle policies. (Kelly Crandall / RACER)
You’ve probably heard about the trademark dispute over a No. 8 between JR Motorsports and the NFL’s Lamar Jackson. Allow Dale Earnhardt Jr. to explain how it played out:
IndyCar
President Donald J. Trump’s tariffs are set to impact nearly everything in American society. How will they affect IndyCar teams? (Marshall Pruett / RACER)
Tire strategy is likely to be the name of the game for the IndyCar field in Long Beach. (Marshall Pruett / RACER)
F1
Former F1 Academy champion Marta Garcia has been released from the hospital after suffering a vicious crash in a Le Mans Cup race at Barcelona. (Alex Kalinauckas / The Athletic)
F1 legend Jackie Stewart opened up in an emotional story of his wife forgetting who he was in her dementia fight and more of her modern journey in this piece from the BBC’s Nikki Fox.
Ferrari entered 2025 full of hype. Why isn’t the car living up to the moment? (Jon Noble & Mark Hughes / The Race)
Honda Racing president Koji Watanabe has issued an update on Aston Martin’s 2026 power units, saying it’s on track to this point. (Lydia Mee / Motorsport)
It’s going to be a rookie-filled practice to open the weekend in Bahrain, with five rookies set to run in the Friday session. (Ben Vinel / Motorsport)
Ryo Hirawaka will also make an FP1 appearance as part of a reserve role for Haas F1 Team. (Chris Medland / RACER)
Esteban Ocon was frustrated in Suzuka, with belief the upgrades Haas brought worked for teammate Oliver Bearman, but not his machine. (Scott Mitchell-Malm & Luke Hinsull / The Race)
Max Verstappen was masterful in Japan. His drive exposed a driver dilemma within the McLaren camp. (Madeline Coleman / The Athletic)
Helmut Marko often draws headlines (and controversy) for his comments about Red Bull’s various drivers. But what does Marko actually do?
Supercars
The Taupo Motorsport Park circuit has been given some tweaks heading into Supercars’ return. (Simon Chapman / Speedcafe)
The track is anticipated to incite plenty of ‘argy-bargy’ as Supercars returns this weekend. (Simon Chapman / Speedcafe)
Sports Cars
If you read nothing else today, be sure to make some time for this interview with Robert Wickens ahead of his run this weekend in IMSA’s top flight. (David Malsher-Lopez / RACER)
PONOS Racing has made a change in Super GT, replacing Lilou Wadoux with Takuro Shinohara ahead of this weekend’s season debut. (Jamie Klein / Sportscar365)
There are a capacity 72 cars entered in the Bathurst 6 Hour. (Daily Sportscar)
GT World Challenge Asia is bringing 33 entries for its opener in Sepang. (Daily Sportscar)
The FIA world Endurance Championship has launched its Full Access docuseries for the year with an opening episode focused on Qatar.
Short Tracks
The CARS Tour entry list for Saturday’s showdown at Cordele Motor Speedway has been revealed, with Dale Earnhardt Jr. leading the way. (Rob Blount / FloRacing)
Keelan Harvick, son of NASCAR great Kevin Harvick, will make his series debut on the Pro Late Model side during the event. (Rob Blount / FloRacing)
Moto
The champ is returning. Jorge Martin will rejoin the MotoGP field in Qatar. (Richard Asher / Motorsport)
With his return, Martin will have a key question to answer for Aprilia. (Simon Patterson / The Race)
Eli Tomac isn’t sure when his moto return will come. He’s targeting the opening round of the Pro Motocross season, but could sneak in the Supercross finale with some luck. (Dan Beaver / NBC Sports)
Rally
Early details have emerged for the FIA World Rally Championship’s debut rally in Paraguay. (Tom Howard / Motorsport)
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On Track
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Wednesday, April 9
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Weekly Racing (Millbridge Speedway): 6:15 p.m., DirtVision
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Number of the Day: 6
Brett Moffitt revitalized his NASCAR career with Hattori Racing Enterprises, securing six wins in 23 starts during his title-winning 2018 campaign. Included in that were victories in each of the final two races and four-straight finishes of third or better to close out the year, the No. 16 team ending its season with a series of clutch performances.