Hattori Racing Enterprises Ready for Richmond

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The NASCAR K&N Pro Series East returns from a long break for the Blue Ox 100 at Richmond International Raceway on Friday, April 25th. After suffering bad luck at the end of the previous race at Greenville Pickens Speedway, Hattori Racing Enterprises is more determined than ever to race their way to victory lane.

David Garbo Jr., driver of the HRE No. 1 Big Machine Records Toyota, is feeling extra confident going into Richmond. Last year, Garbo impressed many with his debut performance at the Denny Hamlin Short Track Showdown, a yearly charity race formerly held at Richmond.

Garbo finished sixth place, beating all but two of the dozen NASCAR Sprint Cup Series regulars who participated. “It’s exciting to get back to Richmond. It’s the only track on the K&N circuit where I have previous experience, so that brings some confidence. We had a really good result here last year running against the Cup guys, so hopefully we can carry that into this weekend.” Garbo has used the long break to compete in Late Model races, winning at Southern National Motorsports Park. “We also just got a win two weeks ago in the Late Model, so I feel like we have good momentum to bring to the track.”

Lee Pulliam, driver of the HRE No. 11 NRC/NISCO Toyota, is also hoping that his previous experience racing Richmond will translate into victory this weekend. “I got the opportunity to race in the Denny Hamlin Showdown at Richmond last year and had a blast on the track. It’s a very racy track with lots of grip and multiple grooves. You carry quite a bit of speed getting into turn one.” Pulliam has been using the K&N Series’ downtime to race in the NASCAR Whelen All American Series and won two consecutive weekends, first at South Boston Speedway and then at Southern National Motorsports Park. “I’ve been trying to race every weekend to stay sharp and try to build some momentum. We’ve had a little bad luck in the last couple K&N races, but there is no better time than now to turn it around. We’ve got the equipment, we’ve got a team capable of winning, and I feel there is no one that will give more than I will on the track to win. Just got to put it all together and get the job done.”

Richmond is the perfect place for HRE to bounce back because it is a race in which the team has a history of victory. The HRE No. 11 won the 2012 Blue Ox 100 from the pole. The No. 11 led all but eleven of the 103 laps of the race, and defeated Chase Elliot after battling door-to-door on the green-flag at Richmond directly following the NASCAR Nationwide Series ToyotaCare 250. The Blue Ox 100 will air on Fox Sports 1 on May 2nd at 4:30 P.M. EST.

 

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