Shigeaki ‘Shige’ Hattori, the owner of a well-known NASCAR Truck Series team, died in a highway accident in Huntersville, North Carolina.
After winning the Formula Toyota title in his own country, the 61-year-old race car enthusiast from Okayama, Japan, immigrated to the US in his 30s.
Before retiring and founding Hattori Racing Enterprises, Hattori had a ten-year racing career in the United States, competing in the Indy Lights, the CART World Series, the Indy Racing League, and the Truck Series.
Over the years, HRE has had a number of well-known drivers, like as Alex Bowman and Ross Chastain in the Xfinity Series, Christopher Bell in the Truck Series, and Chastain once more in the ARCA Menards Series East.
  HRE, NASCAR, police release statements on Hattori passing
“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,” said a statement issued by Hattori Racing Enterprises confirming his loss. He was sixty-one.
Shige, a native of Okayama, Japan, came to the US in the 1990s to follow his ambition of driving an open-wheel race car. He started the Indianapolis 500 twice and won two INDY NXT by Firestone races.
His love of motorsports finally brought him to NASCAR, where he participated in the 2004 and 2005 NASCAR Truck Series (NCTS). In 2008, he established Hattori Racing Enterprises (HRE) and made the move to team ownership. As a team owner, he achieved the pinnacle of success by winning the 2018 series championship and winning 14 NCTS races.
“Shige was renowned for his unwavering determination, concentration, and spirit of competition. His life’s work and passion had become team ownership through Hattori Motorsports and HRE. It will never be forgotten that he had the rare ability to infuse his race teams with a continual sense of humour and a light-hearted attitude. We will really miss you. Goodbye, Shige.
“Shigeaki Hattori was a dedicated racer and a very successful team owner, but beyond all of his team’s statistics – including a NASCAR Truck Series championship – Shige was a genuine, beloved member of the garage who worked tirelessly to lift our sport and his people,” NASCAR said in a statement released on Monday. We are incredibly heartbroken by his untimely death.
Huntersville Police officers responded to a two-vehicle collision on NC Highway 73 at McGuire Nuclear Station Road on Saturday, April 5, 2025, at around 9:15 a.m., according to information supplied by the department.
“A 2025 Toyota Crown driven by Shigeaki Hattori of Mooresville, who is originally from Japan, was travelling west on NC Hwy 73 when it crossed the centerline into the oncoming lane and struck a 2024 Lexus GX550,” according to the preliminary inquiry.
At the scene, Mr. Hattori was declared dead. With non-life-threatening injuries, the Lexus driver was sent to Novant Health Presbyterian Medical Centre.
