INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Indianapolis 500 veteran Shigeaki Hattori died in a fatal car accident in North Carolina, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway announced Monday. IMS said that Hattori died from the car accident April 5. He was 61 years old. Hattori, from Okayama, Japan, moved to the U.S . in 1995 for Indy NXT, then known as Indy Lights, going on to win races at Homestead-Miami Speedway and World Wide Technology Raceway. In 1999, Hattori made his IndyCar debut that would lead to eight Champ Cap World Series starts for Bettenhausen Motorsports. A year later he moved to Indy Racing League to score four finishes in the top 10. Hattori competed at IMS three times with a pair of starts. In 2002, Hattori competed in the Indianapolis 500, starting 27th and finishing 20th. Then in 2003, he started 30th and finished 30th. Hattori’s best IndyCar Series finish was 6th at the Texas Motor Speedway in 2002. Hattori had a career in NASCAR where he both drove and owned entries. Later, he decided to focus on leading Hattori Racing Enterprises, which fielded Johnny Sauter, Alex Bowman, and Ross Chastain. ...read more read less