Moffitt Chases First Career NCWTS Title at Homestead

Event: NCWTS 200
Date: November 16th
Venue: Homestead-Miami Speedway
Location: Homestead, FL

Track Description: 1.5-mile oval
Race: 134 laps, 201 miles (8:00 p.m. ET)

Fox Sports 1 & Motor Racing Network

 
This is it… A year’s worth of effort comes down to Friday night at Homestead-Miami Speedway (HMS) for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) championship. Brett Moffitt’s five wins, including last week’s triumph at ISM Raceway, have carried him to his first appearance in the Championship Four. Not only is Moffitt competing for his first title, but HRE team owner Shige Hattori is looking to capture his first NASCAR championship in the team’s first playoff appearance.

Hot at the Right Time … No matter the sport, the playoffs are the right time to hit a hot streak, and Moffitt has done just that. In the six previous playoff races, Moffitt has collected four top-three finishes. The driver of the No. 16 AISIN Group Toyota Tundra began the playoffs with a third-place result at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in August and has delivered three-straight podium finishes to advance his way into the championship finale. This is the second time this season that Moffitt has recorded three consecutive top-three finishes.

Mile-And-A-Half Monster … Moffitt has been one of the fastest trucks throughout the season at 1.5-mile tracks like HMS. Two of his victories came on 1.5-milers, the first of the season came at Atlanta Motor Speedway (AMS) and again at Chicagoland Speedway. In the nine races on 1.5-mile intermediate tracks, Moffitt has tallied five top-five finishes, and led in five events for a total of 92 laps.

Season to Date … Moffitt’s appearance in the Championship Four at HMS will put a period on the most successful season to date for he and his HRE team. In 22 races leading up to the season crescendo, Moffitt has racked up five victories, the second-highest total in the series, which came at AMS, Iowa Speedway, Chicagoland, Michigan International Speedway (MIS) and ISM Raceway. He has recorded 12 top-five and 12 top-10 finishes as well as two stage victories.

Homestead History … For the second straight week, Moffitt will make a track debut in the NCWTS. He has two Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series starts at South Florida’s 1.5-mile jewel but will start his first NCWTS race at HMS on Friday night.

Chassis Selection … Crew chief Scott Zipadelli is bringing his most proven and trusted piece to the track for Friday’s season finale. Chassis No. 007 gets the call to bring down the curtain of the 2018 season for its ninth appearance this year. Moffitt has been exceptionally fast in this Tundra all season and drove it to victory lane at AMS and MIS. It has accounted for two wins, four top-five finishes, and has led 80 laps with Moffitt at the controls this year.

Tune In … FOX Sports 1 will have the NCWTS championship covered at HMS beginning at 3:30 p.m. ET with two rounds of single-truck qualifying on Friday afternoon. NASCAR Raceday will kick off FS1’s race coverage at 7:30 p.m. ET followed by the green flag at 8 p.m. ET on Friday night. Stay updated on Moffitt and the No. 16 HRE team by following @Hattori_Racing on Twitter and Hattori Racing Enterprises on Facebook.

Brett Moffitt Quote on his season and championship prospects:

“It’s been great to race with this whole group this year. We all had confidence in each other that we’d be successful this season, and to win five races and get to Homestead with this group is extra special. Shige (Hattori) has built a great team over the last couple years. Scott (Zipadelli) and (General Manager Mike) Greci put the right people together to run well all season, and it’s been a ton of fun to have the performance we’ve had this year.”

“We’ve run extremely well at the mile-and-a-half’s, so Homestead should be a great opportunity for us. These guys finished fourth there last season with the same truck, so I’m confident we’ll be strong on Friday. A title would be huge. Not only for myself and this whole team, but it’d be a great payoff to AISIN Group, Toyota, TRD, Mark Cronquist and the JGR Engine shop, and every partner that’s supported us through this year.”

2018 Season Statistics

Starts: 22
Wins: 5

Top Fives: 12
Top Tens: 12
Stage Wins: 2

Laps Led: 210

 

Aisin Seiki was established in 1965 with the merger of two auto parts manufacturing companies, Aichi Kogyo and Shinkawa Kogyo. Since then, AISIN has developed its enterprise into a network of subsidiaries and affiliates to deliver advanced technologies effectively to the diversifying auto industry. By optimizing each company into a specialized business segment, AISIN has become a corporate group able to process diverse materials such as steel, aluminum and resin into products that cover virtually all of driving ("drive," "turn" and "stop").

About Hattori Racing Enterprises

Hattori Racing Enterprises (HRE) was founded in 2008 by Shigeaki Hattori and since then the team has fielded entries in a variety of different series, including the NASCAR XFINITY Series, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, NASCAR K&N Pro Series, and ARCA. As a former driver, Hattori captured the Japan Formula Toyota championship in 1994 and moved to the United States the following year to race open-wheel cars. He competed in the Toyota Atlantic Series, Indy Lights and IndyCar. He won a pair of Indy Lights races in 1998 and made two starts in the Indianapolis 500. In 2005, Hattori made the transition to stock cars and drove a Toyota in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series before moving into team ownership. HRE's race shop is located in Mooresville, N.C.

Tags: playoffs , nascar , camping world truck series , aisin , hre , hattori racing enterprises , homestead-miami

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