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| NASCAR K&N Pro Series East leader Brett Moffitt |
Brett Moffitt sits atop the the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East championship
standings with just four races remaining. He has visited Victory Lane twice in
10 series starts this season, and recorded an impressive eight Top-5 and nine
Top-10 finishes.
And now, it appears he may be out of a ride.
The 19-years old Grimes,
Iowa native was informed by his Hattori Racing Enterprises team this week that
they cannot continue to field his No. 11 Toyota this season without
additional sponsor support. Teammate Sergio Pena, who ranks ninth in
championship points, will continue to compete.
Team owner Shigeaki Hattori
confirmed today that Moffitt may have reached the end of his championship
trail, saying, “We are looking for sponsorship. We would like to finish up both
programs (for Moffitt and Pena), but we need money. Sergio will continue to
run, and maybe we’ll be able to finish with Brett, too. But we’re not sure.
“Our contract with Brett was
only for eight races, and I spent money out of my own pocket for the last two. The
budget is pretty tight right now, and we need some help.”
This is Hattori Racing’s
first full season of competition on the NASCAR K&N Pro Series, fielding cars
for Moffitt and Pena out of a 25,000 square foot shop in Mooresville, NC, with
a staff of 12 employees.
“I just found out on Monday,” said Moffitt. “I was in shock
when they told me. I knew money was tight, but I figured that with us leading the
points, they’d find a way to push through and keep racing. But I guess not.”
In three seasons of competition
on the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East, Moffitt has never finished worse than
third. Despite driving for different teams in his three K&N East campaigns,
he finished third in points in 2009 and 2011, and second behind champion Ryan
Truex in 2010. In 43 career starts, he has accumulated nine wins, 28 Top-5 and 33
Top-10 finishes. He leads Kyle Larson by 20 points heading into the series’ next race, the G-Oil 100 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on September 22.
“The team is still looking (for money), and so am I,”
said Moffitt. “If we come up with some, that’s great. But it’s tough on this
short notice. It seems like there is always a speed bump in the road, and I
guess we just hit it. Honestly, I’m not sure what’s going to happen at this
point. We’re working on some things right now, but there’s certainly nothing
confirmed.
“It’s a nerve wracking time, not knowing if we can keep
going.”
Photo: NASCAR Home Tracks
This is what happens when you allow a mediocre driver to start a team, the funding runs out pretty quickly.
ReplyDeleteOkay...this SUCKS for Brett to say the least. Leading the points and he could lose it. Come on, someone out there who can sponsor this talented driver for the last 4 races needs to step up to the plate. You'll definitely get a lot of exposure. If our company was able to, we'd certainly help to make it happen.
ReplyDeleteWhy would they not keep the point leader and drop Pena who is in 9th does not make much sense to me.
ReplyDeleteObviously, Pena brought his own sponsorship.
DeleteActually, no. As a Drive For Diversity Driver, Pena's contract required a full-season committment from the team Moffitt's deal was for only eight races.
Delete