Bristol, TN – Hattori Racing Enterprises drivers, Sergio Pena and Brett Moffitt, finished 18th and 32nd in the Widow Wax 125 Presented by SealWrap Repair Tape on Saturday, March 17, 2012, the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East inaugural event .
Winchester, VA native, Sergio Pena had issues during the second practice session on Friday and scraped the wall between turns one and two. A hung throttle was the source of the accident.
“The throttle felt different during the first practice, the 19-year old Pena stated. “The crew looked it over during the break, made an adjustment and thought they fixed it, but when I went on the track at full speed , the cowl flexed against the air box and caused the throttle to hang wide open. “
Because Hattori Racing fields two cars, Pena was able to draw on help from teammate, Brett Moffitt whose # 11 Toyota Camry was 2nd and 5th in both respective practices.
“We were decent in practice,” the 19-year old Moffitt explained. “We were one of the fastest cars and felt we had a solid set-up for the race.”
Pena qualified 16th and Grimes, IA native, Brett Moffitt qualified 8th but was not satisfied, “Our car was good in practice and when we did our mock run we were too tight. Dave (McCarty, crew chief) loosened it up for qualifying but it wasn’t enough.”
Both HRE cars took the green flag and fought a loose condition from the start. Pena pitted for a chassis adjustment on lap 18 and lap 34 but continued to fight an ill-handling race car.
“We just missed it this weekend,” Pena explained. “But I am so proud of my guys. They fought hard the entire race to make the car better and at the half way point they made more adjustments. That got us in position to earn the lucky dog twice and got us back on the lead lap.”
Moffitt was not as lucky in the #11. He too fought a loose race car most of the race and was confident the team would make the right changes at the break. “I just stayed close to the top-10 until the break,” Moffitt said. “They guys made the changes, but were having trouble in the left front. They found a broken oil line while they were changing the tire and tried to fix it before the break was over. However, it was not something we could fix on pit road and I had to pull it behind the wall.”
Moffitt ended his day at lap 69 and finished 32nd.
“It wasn’t the start to the season that we wanted,” Moffitt explained. “But I have faith in my team and their abilities and know we will win some races and be there in the points at the end of the season.”
“We had a tough weekend,” Hattori confirmed. “But I am really proud of my crew and drivers. They overcame adversity and did the best they could do. We will be looking forward to Greenville in two weeks.”
One success Hattori Racing Enterprises had this weekend was the successful launch of their NASCAR Pit Crew Program. Each race, Japanese students and/or mechanics will get a chance to come to the United States and spend a week in Mooresville, North Carolina at the race shop with the team and attend the races and be part of the pit crew.
At Bristol, Hide Masiko, a 33-year old serviceman for Ibaraki Toyopet was in attendance and worked with the crew all week and spent the weekend learning about and enjoying American stock car auto racing.
“This season, we will have 112 students, mechanics and serviceman from Japan come to gain this unique experience, HRE Owner, Shige Hattori explained. “This is a new program with Toyota Japan and one I have every reason to believe will be a great success.”
HRE will be back on March 31, 2012 at Greenville-Pickens Speedway for the 2nd race on the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East schedule.
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