By Caleb Whisler, Staff Writer
There is a small sigh of relief from Brett Moffitt and Hattori Racing Enterprises this weekend at Chicagoland Speedway.
After weeks of uncertainty about whether sponsorship would arrive for Chicago, Hattori Racing Enterprises announced on Wednesday that Fr8 Auctions would be on the No 16 Toyota Tundra for Moffitt. Fr8Auctions was introduced into the NASCAR world by Moffitt in 2015 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
“I cannot thank Fr8Auctions enough. I was introduced to them back in 2015 at Homestead (Homestead-Miami Speedway) and we have always been in contact. They said if we ever need any help, they would love to step up and help out. It means the world to us that they helped get us here to Chicago and hopefully we can go out there and win a race for them,” Moffitt said on Thursday afternoon.
As the week progressed from Gateway Motorsports Park, Moffitt began to wonder if the team, who is in the hunt for the championship, would be able to come to Chicago. However, the deal came together on Wednesday afternoon for the organization.
The past month for Moffitt has been mentally and emotionally draining as the organization is trying to find that sponsorship. Moffitt believes that the truck program at Hattori is strong, but the extracurricular activities of trying to find a sponsor have been a distraction.
“It’s unfortunate for us because I think our truck program is so strong right now. And that’s with all of this as a distraction. I feel like if we could just focus on the race trucks and making our race team stronger and not have to worry about the sponsorships or finances, we could be even better yet,” Moffitt continued.
Although it is a relief to race at Chicago this weekend, Hattori and Moffitt still have a few more races to find sponsorship for including Eldora, Bristol, and Homestead.