3/11/1963
Record updated 03-Nov-06
Japanese driver to raced in CART and the IRL. He recently competed int he Craftsman Truck Series.
Shigeaki Hattori, from Okayama, Japan, started racing in 1979 in the Japanese National Kart Series, winning the championship in 1986. He continued in karts until 1989, when he came third in the series.
In 1990 he moved up to Japanese FJ 1600. He finished fourth that year, with seven top-three finishes and Rookie of the Year honors. He finished second in the championship in 1991. He continued to race in Japan until the end of 1995 when he made the move to the USA to try to break into CART, leaving his wife and his two teen-aged daughters behind.
So in 1996, he joined the Indy Lights series. In his rookie season, the rookie he put in seven top-ten finishes in 12 starts driving for Dorricott Racing. In 1997 he completed a full season, but it was in 1998 driving for Indy Regency Racing, he announced his arrival by winning twice at Miami and St. Louis. In Miami, having qualified second, he went on to lead all 67 laps, becoming the first Japanese driver to win on an oval in Indy Lights history.
Hattori moved to the now struggling CART series with Bettenhausen Motorsports. After a rocky season, spinning his car 18 times in 7 races, he had his CART competition license revoked at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca by chief steward Wally Dallenbach Sr. and he stepped down to compete in the Indy Racing Northern Light Series in 2000.
He returned to IRL in 2001 with Treadway-Vertex Cunningham Racing. He earned five top-ten finishes from the 12 races he entered.
Sticking to IRL in 2002 he had a mixed season with Bradley Motorsports.
In 2003, Hattori linked up with former Nextel Cup Series driver and Owner A.J. Foyt to drive at Homestead, Phoenix, Motegi (Japan), and Indianapolis. He qualified for all four races, finishing a season best tenth at Phoenix International Raceway.
He make his Craftsman Truck Series debut at Miami in November 2004 driving the No. 01 Toyota Tundra, and then tackled a full season on 2005, failing to qualify in a number of races.