Shigeaki Hattori, one of eight Japanese-born drivers to compete in the Indianapolis 500, died April 5 in a car accident in Huntersville, North Carolina. He was 61.
“The native of Okayama in southern Japan, Hattori competed at Indianapolis Motor Speedway three times, earning a pair of starts. After serving as the first alternate to the 33-car field in 2001, he finished 20th in 2002 for Bradley Motorsports, completing 197 laps. The next year, he finished 30th driving for AJ Foyt Racing as the car’s fuel system failed. Those two races in the “500” were among Hattori’s 34 career IndyCar Series starts in a four-year span that ended in 2003. His best series finish came at Texas Motor Speedway when he finished sixth in 2002,” the Indianapolis Motor Speedway said this morning. Continue reading








More Ford Motor Recalls – Fires, Power Loss, Seat Belts
Numerous Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) recalls covering a wide variety of serious Ford and Lincoln brand safety defects were publicly released by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration this morning. If AutoInformed has the count right, that’s 35 Ford Motor recalls so far this year.
Ford Motor is recalling more than 4000 2024-2025 F-150, Expedition, and 2024 Lincoln Navigator vehicles equipped with 3.5- liter GTDI engines. The engine may have a misaligned engine cup plug, which can result in a rapid oil leak. An oil leak in the presence of an ignition source, such as hot engine or exhaust components, can increase the risk of a fire. In addition, the loss of oil can result in loss of motive power, increasing the risk of a crash. Continue reading →