NASCAR Rumours: Hattori Racing Speculated to Shut Down Truck Series Operations After Reaume Brother Racing’s Owner Points Purchase

In the competitive world of NASCAR, the future is uncertain for many drivers and teams, especially if they’re not big names. Several teams have closed over the years due to various reasons. Kyle Busch Motorsports, for example, was a fairly popular team that had won the Truck Series twice. However, team owner Kyle Busch announced the sale of his charter to Spire Motorsports last year, spelling its end. A similar fate could befall Hattori Racing Enterprises.

The Japanese-American team may not be the biggest but have won a championship in one of NASCAR’s top divisions. In 2018, the team won the NASCAR Truck Series with Brett Moffitt. Since then, however, they have been in and out of the title picture. And after the latest development, things could end for the title-winning team.

How did Reaume Brothers Racing manage to purchase owner points of 3 teams?

Toby Christie recently reported that Reaume Brothers Racing purchased the 2023 Truck Series owner points of 3 teams. The #16 Hattori Racing team, the #22 AM Racing team, and the #30 On Point Motorsports team. The Hattori Racing team finished the season highest among the 3 in P19 on the table with Tyler Ankrum.

However, after Ankrum decided to quit the Japanese-American team for a seat in McAnally-Hilgemann Racing for the 2024 season, Hattori was left high and dry. As of now, the team only has the #61 seat left in the NASCAR Truck Series, which is usually run by a part-time racer. The signs sure point toward the end of the former Truck Series champions.

But how did Reaume Brothers Racing manage to purchase all these seats, with themselves not being that big of a team? Well, as it turns out, they may have a partnership with Front Row Motorsports. In a recent interview on SiriusXM Radio, FRM crew chief Dylan Capello spoke about working together with Josh Reaume in the future.

“We’re working with, there’s a possibility with working with Josh Reaume and sharing some information with him and having him help out our program a little bit, and we help out his program. There’s always little alliances like that that make the truck series good,” he had said on December 17 last year.

Social media has been rife with rumors of Hattori Racing ceasing operations either before or at the end of the 2024 season and NASCAR fans had their say about the matter on Reddit.

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Fans have their say as the future of Hattori Racing hangs by a thread

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Users attributed Hattori Racing’s misfortunes to Austin Hill leaving the team after the 2021 season for Spire Motorsports. The fact that they could not find a driver good enough to replace the current Richard Childress Racing man was an issue.

“That team has been taking Ls ever since Austin Hill left, too bad they couldn’t find a solid driver that also was funded. Wonder who buys the Trucks, would be cool to see Timmy Hill’s team get them,” one wrote.

“I think so. HRE has been going downhill ever since Austin Hill left the team,” quipped another.

Some users said that difficulties in getting sponsors was one of the main reasons why things turned out this way. “It doesn’t shock me TBH. If they couldn’t get sponsors when Moffitt was winning races and the championship, then they’re not going to get them now. The team has only fielded pay drivers in Hill, Ankrum, and Purdy since Moffitt left, so the writing has been on the wall for years at this point,” one commented.

“I forgot until some mentioned it that they didn’t have sponsors for two playoff races in the year Moffitt won the title. I’m stunned they lasted this long. The part where an Xfinity car suddenly appeared was also surprising,” quipped another fan.

The fact that there are not many days left until the 2024 Truck Series season begins and HRE has yet to announce a driver for the #61 team has also been an indication for some fans that they’re on the verge of shutting down. “I hadn’t seen that RBR had bought the owner points for it. I’m not shocked if they are shutting down, they would have announced a driver by now,” one user wrote.

What is your take on the matter? Is Hattori Racing really on the verge of shutting its operations down in NASCAR? Let us know your thoughts.

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