Bad Weather and Bad Luck Hinder Hattori Racing Enterprises at Richmond
Richmond, VA (Apr. 26, 2014) – It was a long weekend for Hattori Racing Enterprises. The NASCAR K&N Pro Series Blue Ox 100 was scheduled to run after Friday’s Nationwide series ToyotaCare 250, but heavy rains set in at Richmond International Raceway around 4:00 P.M. EST, just as the K&N autograph session was beginning. The thunderstorms delayed the start of the Nationwide Series until well after 9:00 P.M., the Blue Ox 100 was rescheduled for Saturday morning.
The weekend started out great for Lee Pulliam in the No. 11 NISCO/NRC Toyota. Pulliam qualified 10th and was running in the top ten for the first 20 laps. Disaster struck at lap 42, however, when a wild restart led to a multicar crash in turn two. The No. 11 sustained damage to the left front and rear that required several pit stops to address. The team did a great job in making speedy repairs, and Pulliam remained on the lead lap. Despite the damage to his car, Pulliam was able to keep digging and salvage a 21st place finish. Pulliam is understandably frustrated with the foul luck that has plagued his No. 11 for the past three races. “The guys on the team are working hard and doing everything they can, and I am doing everything I can behind the wheel. Things just have to get better.”
David Garbo Jr., in the No. 1 Big Machine Records Toyota, started the race 18th . The No. 1 struggled in the early laps of the race with a wiring issue, but after a quick pit stop on lap 40, the car was looking fast. However, the No. 1 was then spun in the multicar crash on lap 42 . The spin sent Garbo to the back of the field, but the car had very little damage. Garbo did a lot of passing in the closing laps and brought the No. 1 home in 16th place. Garbo says, “We came in on the first caution to fix the wire. Going back out after that happened we got in an incident where we got spun around and went to the back, but we were able to ease our way up to the 16th spot.”
The Blue Ox 100 will air on Fox Sports 1 on May 2nd at 4:30 P.M. EST. Stay up – to – date with Hattori Racing Enterprises on our Facebook Fan page, and follow us on Twitter @HattoriRacing, Instagram @hattori_racing_enterprises, and on Google+ .
About NISCO: Nishikawa Cooper LLC (NISCO) is a joint Japanese-American venture between Nishikawa Rubber Company of Hiroshima, Japan, and Cooper Standard of Novi, Michigan. Founded in 1986 in Topeka, Indiana, the company is a Tier I supplier of dynamic rubber weather-stripping to the automotive industry.
Sources: Dalana Parker/Hattori Racing Enterprises PR