Misplaced Pages

Hiro Matsushita
ヒロ松下
Matsushita in 2018
Born	Hiroyuki Matsushita (1961-03-14) March 14, 1961 (age 63) Nishinomiya, Japan
Other names	King Hiro
Alma mater	Konan University
Occupation(s)	Businessperson, former racing driver
Known for	First Japanese driver to race in the Indy 500
Notable work	The first and only Japanese driver to win the Toyota Atlantic Championship (Pacific)
Height	175 cm (5 ft 9 in)
Title	Chairman & CEO – Swift Engineering Chairman & CEO – Swift Xi Inc. Chairman & CEO – Matsushita International Corp
Spouse	Mitsuko Matsushita
Children	1
Parents	Masaharu Matsushita (father) Sachiko Matsushita (mother)
Relatives	Yamagata Isaburō (great-great-uncle) Toshio Iue (uncle) Maeda Toshisada(great-uncle)
Family	Kōnosuke Matsushita (grandfather) Hirata Shodo (grandfather) Hirata Tosuke (great-grandfather)
Signature

Hiroyuki Matsushita (松下弘幸, Matsushita Hiroyuki), also known by Hiro Matsushita (ヒロ松下), is a Japanese businessman and former racing driver. He is the grandson of Kōnosuke Matsushita, the founder of Panasonic. In 1989, Matsushita won the Toyota Atlantic Championship (Pacific), becoming the first and only Japanese driver to do so. He was also the first Japanese driver to race in the Indy 500.

Early life

Matsushita was born in Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture as the youngest son of Masaharu Matsushita, who was the second president of Panasonic for sixteen years from 1961. He graduated from Konan University. His elder brother, Masayuki Matsushita served as a vice chairman of Panasonic for over a decade.

Racing career

Despite being the grandson of the founder of Panasonic, he refused to be labelled as a rich kid who could buy his way into anything. He instead worked his way up from the bottom, starting his career racing motorcycles in his home country between 1977 and 1980, before switching to four wheels. He retired from Motocross racing by becoming Champion in Kansai region in 1980 at the age of 19.

In 1987, Matsushita started racing Formula Fords - the Class A of auto racing - In the following year, he teamed up with Jim Downing in a Camel Lights car and secured a second-place finish in class at the 24 Hours of Daytona and a third-place finish at the 12 Hours of Sebring. In 1989, Matsushita fearlessly entered the Formula Atlantic series and, by the end of that year, he had claimed four victories and the Toyota Atlantic championship (Pacific division) with the largest point margin of all time. He then tried Formula Pacific in New Zealand and became the first Japanese driver to win the prestigious Lady Wigram Trophy Race.

He graduated to Champ Car in 1990, scoring one point in his debut season. He became the first Japanese driver to race in the Indianapolis 500. In 1991, and followed that achievement with a top-ten finish at Milwaukee. Matsushita missed the 1992 Indy 500 after suffering a broken leg during a practice crash. He was sidelined for several weeks and missed the next six events.

At the Phoenix race in 1994, Matsushita endured a horrific crash in which his car was cut in half by Jacques Villeneuve's car travelling at nearly full speed. He emerged from his destroyed car with only minor injuries. The same year, he earned his best career finish of 6th position at the Marlboro 500 at Michigan International Speedway. This result was made possible by an extraordinarily high rate of attrition that saw only 8 cars finish the race. Matsushita was 11 laps behind the leader at the drop of the checkered flag.

By the time he retired in 1998, Matsushita had started 117 Champ Car races for Dick Simon Racing, Walker Racing, Arciero/Wells Racing and Payton/Coyne. He holds the record for most starts in American Championship Car Racing history without scoring a Top 5.

In 2001, Matsushita competed in the Baja 1000 off-road race, in a Mitsubishi Montero.

Racing record

WCAR/SCCA Western Formula Atlantic Championship results

IMSA Camel Lights results

Toyota Atlantic Championship (pacific) results

Lady Wigram Trophy results

American open–wheel racing results

Indy Lights

CART

24 Hours of Le Mans results

Hiro Matsushita
Matsushita in 1990s
Retired	2001
CART, Championship Car, Indy Car, American Racing Series, Champ Car Atlantic Series, Lady Wigram Trophy
Years active	1987–2001
Teams	Dick Simon Racing Paragon Racing Walker Racing Arciero-Wells Racing Payton/Coyne Racing
Starts	158
Wins	6
Podiums	16
Poles	3
Fastest laps	0
Championship titles
1989	Champ Car Atlantic Series Lady Wigram Trophy
Awards
1998	Champions Club

Nickname

Matsushita earned the nickname "King Hiro" from Emerson Fittipaldi, who was complaining about Matsushita's reluctance to cede track position when getting lapped by the leaders. The nickname came about as a result of the voice-activated microphone ("vox") Roger Penske's team was using. Fittipaldi's epithet was said so quickly that the circuit cut off the first syllable of the first word he used. Fittipaldi, allegedly, had intended to say "Fucking Hiro!"

Business career

Matsushita, a successful businessman, owns Matsushita International Corp, a firm specializing in real estate, finance, and insurance. This company has ownership of Swift Engineering, an American engineering firm that builds autonomous systems, helicopters, submarines, spacecraft, ground vehicles, robotics, and composite parts. Swift was well-known for producing racing cars for various open-wheel racing series such as Formula Ford, Formula Atlantic, the Champ Car World Series, and Formula Nippon.

Awards

In 1998, Nov 2, Hiro Matsushita was awarded Champion Culbs during the CART Year End Banquet at the Century Plaza in Los Angeles, California.

Matsushita family tree

Personal life

Matsushita resides in San Clemente, California. He has a son called Takayuki Matsushita who is a lawyer resides in the USA.

See also

• Konosuke Matsushita
• Panasonic
• Masaharu Matsushita
• Swift Engineering
• Swift Xi

References

1. "The story of King Hiro". May 13, 2020.
2. "HIRO AT LARGE". LA Times.
3. "Hiroyuki Matsushita". historicracing.com. Retrieved September 7, 2021.
4. "JAPANESE FIND HIRO AT INDY LIKE MOST 500 ROOKIES, HE KEEPS A LOW PROFILE". sun-sentinel. May 23, 1991. Retrieved September 7, 2021.
5. "Hiro Matsushita – 1990 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
6. "Hiro Matsushita – 1991 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
7. "Hiro Matsushita – 1992 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
8. "Hiro Matsushita – 1993 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
9. "Hiro Matsushita – 1994 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
10. "Hiro Matsushita – 1995 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
11. "Hiro Matsushita – 1996 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
12. "Hiro Matsushita – 1997 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
13. "Hiro Matsushita – 1998 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
14. "Canterbury Car Club (Organiser)". Archived from the original on May 1, 2010.
15. Oreovicz, John (August 22, 2001). "Tora Finding His Form". ChampCarWorldSeries.com. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved July 24, 2007.
16. "Motor Sports Dictionary – K". Dictionary of Gambling. Retrieved July 24, 2007.
17. "Japanese Auto Racer Keeps Plans on Track: Hiroyuki Matsushita is building a facility in San Clemente to manufacture race cars". LA Times.
18. "Hiro Matsushita/ JPN". October 31, 2006.
19. "OCs-Wealthiest".

External links

• Hiro Matsushita career summary at DriverDB.com
• MOTORSPORT STATS(in English)
• Hiro Matsushita driver statistics at Racing-Reference
• RacingSportsCars(in English)
• Hiro Matsushita on Twitter
• Hiro Matsushita at IMDb
• Hiro Matsushita on Facebook

v t e Swift Engineering
Chairman/CEO	Hiro Matsushita
Parent company	Matsushita International Corporation
Industry	Aerospace engineering Aerospace manufacturer Unmanned aerial vehicle manufacturer Aviation
Notable designed and manufactured aircraft	Northrop Grumman Bat Sikorsky–Boeing SB-1 Defiant MQ-4C Swift020/021 Switf Crane Eclipse 400 Sikorsky S-97 Raider
Notable race cars	Swift DB2 Swift DB4 Swift DB5 Swift 008.a Swift 010.c Swift 014.a Swift 016.a Swift 017.n
Subsidiaries	Swift Xi (person in charge) - Nick Barua Swift Autonomy Inc. Swift Global Communication Inc. HyperKelp

v t e Panasonic
Subsidiaries	Current Panasonic Avionics Corporation Panasonic Cycle Technology Panasonic Electric Works (acquired in 2012) Sanyo (acquired in 2009) Anchor Electricals (acquired in 2007) Blue Yonder (acquired in 2021) Former JVC (spun off and merged with Kenwood) MCA Inc. (sold to Seagram's) Universal Lighting Technologies (sold to Atar capital in 2021)
Brands	Eneloop Eluga KDK Lumix National (phased out) Panasonic Quasar Sanyo NXT Kaizen Technics Varicam
Products	Consoles 3DO Panasonic M2 Panasonic Q Jungle Turntables Technics SL-1200 Technics SL-10 Technics SL-J2 Other Bicycles Camcorders CD interface Hospi Lenses Lumix cameras MN103 Panapet Panasonic JR series Panasonic Toot-a-Loop Radio Toughpad Toughbook Panasonic TR-005 Venus Engine
Formats and standards	D5 HD M-3DI Standard Micro Four Thirds system MicroP2 MII P2 VHS Viera Cast VX
People	Kōnosuke Matsushita Masaharu Matsushita Masayuki Matsushita Hiro Matsushita Hirofumi Hirano Toshio Iue Kazuhiro Tsuga
Other	Gamba Osaka Osaka Bluteon Panasonic Wild Knights Panasonic cycling team Panasonic Toyota Racing Panasonic Gobel Awards Panasonic Impulse
Category Commons

v t e Kōnosuke Matsushita
Companies founded	v t e Panasonic Subsidiaries Current Panasonic Avionics Corporation Panasonic Cycle Technology Panasonic Electric Works (acquired in 2012) Sanyo (acquired in 2009) Anchor Electricals (acquired in 2007) Blue Yonder (acquired in 2021) Former JVC (spun off and merged with Kenwood) MCA Inc. (sold to Seagram's) Universal Lighting Technologies (sold to Atar capital in 2021) Brands Eneloop Eluga KDK Lumix National (phased out) Panasonic Quasar Sanyo NXT Kaizen Technics Varicam Products Consoles 3DO Panasonic M2 Panasonic Q Jungle Turntables Technics SL-1200 Technics SL-10 Technics SL-J2 Other Bicycles Camcorders CD interface Hospi Lenses Lumix cameras MN103 Panapet Panasonic JR series Panasonic Toot-a-Loop Radio Toughpad Toughbook Panasonic TR-005 Venus Engine Formats and standards D5 HD M-3DI Standard Micro Four Thirds system MicroP2 MII P2 VHS Viera Cast VX People Kōnosuke Matsushita Masaharu Matsushita Masayuki Matsushita Hiro Matsushita Hirofumi Hirano Toshio Iue Kazuhiro Tsuga Other Gamba Osaka Osaka Bluteon Panasonic Wild Knights Panasonic cycling team Panasonic Toyota Racing Panasonic Gobel Awards Panasonic Impulse Category Commons
Related topics	Sherman Brothers Management Countries' greatest people TV series and media polls Japan topics Inventions
Family	Mumeno Matsushita (wife) Toshio Iue (brother in law) Matsushita Sachiko (daughter) Masaharu Matsushita (son in law) Hiro Matsushita (grandson) Masayuki Matsushita (grandson)
In popular culture	Meet the World (April 15, 1983 - June 30, 2002) Ikkei Watanabe - Drama "Soichiro Tahara's Human Discovery Special Approaching the Management Strategy of the Late Konosuke Matsushita" (TV Asahi (2001) Tatsuya Nakadai portrayed Kōnosuke Matsushita in "陽はまた昇る (The sun rises again)" (Film, 2004) Shunji Fujimur portrayed Kōnosuke Matsushita in "100 Japanese Who Change the World (JAPAN ☆ ALL STARS" TV TOKYO) (2008)" (Documentary,2008) Akira Takarada portrayed Kōnosuke Matsushita in "The Men Who Brought Life to Hakone" (Film, 2008) Kunihiko Mitamura portrayed Kōnosuke Matsushita in "Rubicon's Decision" (2009) Michitaka Tsutsui portrayed Kōnosuke Matsushita in "God's Wife" (TV Drama, 2011)
Awards	Order of the House of Orange Decorated Commander in the Order of Orange (1958) Order of the Sacred Treasure Order of the Rising Sun (29 April 1981) Order of the Paulownia Flowers (29 April 1987) Order of the Defender of the Realm Honorary Commander (Panglima Mangku Negara which carries the title "Tan Sri" 1979) Medal with Blue Ribbon Medal with Dark Blue Ribbon China Reform Friendship Medal (2018)
Links to related articles	Kaminarimon Panasonic Electric Works Panasonic Cycle Technology Japan Prize John Kotter List of cultural icons of Japan Japanese management culture List of Japanese court ranks, positions and hereditary titles Meet the World Change management List of Japanese entrepreneurs List of companies named after people
Category Commons

• 1961 births
• Japanese racing drivers
• Living people
• Champ Car drivers
• Indianapolis 500 drivers
• Indy Lights drivers
• Atlantic Championship drivers
• Panasonic
• Sportspeople from Kobe
• 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers
• Japanese IndyCar Series drivers
• 20th-century Japanese businesspeople
• Walker Racing drivers
• Dale Coyne Racing drivers
• David Price Racing drivers
• People from Nishinomiya
• 21st-century Japanese businesspeople