By Caleb Whisler, Staff Writer
It was a victory celebration that possibly would not have happened for Brett Moffitt and Hattori Racing Enterprises at Chicagoland Speedway in the Overton’s 225.
With Chicago sponsorship coming down to the last minute, Moffitt and HRE were able to secure funding from Fr8Auctions on Tuesday afternoon to keep the hopes of racing for a championship alive after scoring two victories at Atlanta Motor Speedway in February and Iowa Speedway. Per the NASCAR rule book, a team must attempt in every regular season event to be eligible for the Playoffs.
With the uncertainty of sponsorship, there was speculation about whether the No. 16 team would come to Chicago without a sponsor and just start-and-park to keep the playoff berth alive. According to Scott Zipadelli, crew chief for HRE, there were many different scenarios discussed.
“We have discussed many scenarios. That was probably the least favorable one. At the end of the day, there was probably a good chance we had to do something like that. It’s never good to be in a position where you don’t know if you’re going to race with funding for this week or next. We did talk about that, Zipadelli stated after the win.
In a media availability on Thursday, Moffitt told reporters that the organization still needed to find sponsorship for Eldora, Bristol and Homestead. According to Shige Hattori, team owner, the sponsorship for the season finale at Homestead is close to being signed. With the team scoring victories and finishing strong, the sponsor search becomes a little bit easier.
“Every win definitely helps. We’re working really hard to find more money. It’s tough. We’re a really good team. We want to keep going. Definitely, Moffitt is a really good driver and racer. That’s a big help for sponsorships,” Hattori stated.
Moffitt believes that this sponsorship search has been a distraction for the team. However, he believes that once the search is over that the team will be better than ever before. Moffitt commends the organization’s focus and heart during this time.
“I think you have to put on your business cap on from Monday thru Wednesday. We were going to do it 100 percent. You have to turn it off when you get to the race track,” Moffitt said.
“That’s where everyone’s focus is so good on this race team. Scott and all the crew guys are able to do that. They are able to still able to put all their heart and hard work into it. If I was unable to do that, I would be letting them down. I can’t let that distract me from doing my job either.”
As the organization continues in 2018, Moffitt has scored three wins, six top-fives, and six top-10’s through the first 11 races of the season.