CONCORD, N.C. — “He is the reason why I’m sitting here today,” Austin Hill shared about Shigeaki Hattori during his media availability on Wednesday at NASCAR’s Production Facility.
Before Hill made a name for himself winning races and forging a home in the NASCAR Xfinity Series under the Richard Childress Racing banner, he was a young, up-and-coming driver looking for a new opportunity to stay in the Craftsman Truck Series.
It wasn’t until Hattori helped support Hill’s full-time gig with his team, Hattori Racing Enterprises (HRE), six years ago, that Hill started to get solid footing in the national series.
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“The reason I say that is in 2019 when I came over to HRE, I didn’t have the full funding,” Hill said. “We had some funding, but we didn’t have, like, ‘Just write a check for 2.5 million and let’s go race.’ We had a million dollars, he had to help with the rest. He did a lot of work there to get a lot of different sponsorships from over in Japan. And he was able to bring in that extra funding for us to do what we did.”
In his three years driving for HRE, Hill wheeled the No. 16 Truck to eight wins, 26 top fives and three rankings of ninth or better in the final season standings. However, the impact Hattori, or “Shige” as he was referred to in the garage, made on the team was always more than just as an owner.
“All he wanted was what was best for his team, for his group of guys,” Hill said. “He always wanted us to have a good time, have fun. I think if you ask any of the employees that worked for him and the team that I raced for in the 16 truck, they would say the same thing. He was just such a genuine person, he had a passion for the sport. He wanted to win races, win championships and I was glad that I was able to at least get him eight wins in the Truck Series.
“The only thing that I ever regret about racing for him is not getting him that championship. He was able to get it in 2018 and we were oh-so-close for all three years that I was there. We missed making the final four by two points, three or four points, and that championship always eluded us. But just those three years of racing for him was such a fun time, and a lot of memories from that deal.”
Hill found out about Hattori’s death after the Xfinity race last Saturday at Darlington Raceway and is in talks with his former crew at HRE to work out a tribute in Hattori’s honor.
“I reached out to everyone that was on the 16 team when I was racing there. We’re still trying to work out all the details on what we’re going to do,” Hill said. “But, bare minimum, we’re at least going to get all the entire 16 bunch back together one more time, have a toast for Shige and sit out by the bonfire to tell stories. There’s so many fun stories about him that I could share.
“Just what he meant to me in my career. It’s up there at the very top because without him going out on a limb and giving me that opportunity in the 16 truck, I really don’t think I’m sitting here today talking to you guys.”