It’s not quite a revival of the NASCAR Thunder Special exhibition races at Suzuka, but six NASCAR vehicles will make a demonstration run around Fuji Speedway – including the 2023 Le Mans Garage 56 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, driven by seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson.
The demo run will take place during the final round of the Super Taikyu Series, the Japanese endurance racing championship, on Sunday, November 16.
Johnson will get back behind the wheel of the iconic No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Garage 56 Camaro that he shared with Jenson Button and Mike Rockenfeller during the Centenary Le Mans 24 Hours in 2023.
Also taking part is Japanese racing icon Kamui Kobayashi, who will be back behind the wheel of the No. 67 23XI Racing Toyota Camry XSE that he drove in 2023 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course. Kobayashi’s NASCAR debut at Indianapolis made him only the second Japanese-born driver to start a NASCAR Cup Series race.
Second-year Legacy Motor Club driver John Hunter Nemechek will drive his No. 42 Legacy Motor Club Toyota Camry XSE alongside Johnson, the team’s majority owner.
The selection of stock cars is completed by three cars from the ARCA Menards Series: Takuma Koga’s No. 12 Toyota Camry, and two additional cars that will be driven by Toyota factory drivers Toshiki Oyu and Kazuto Kotaka. Oyu, a Super Formula and Super GT GT500 race winner, will drive the No. 52 Chevrolet SS, and fellow Super Formula driver Kotaka will drive the No. 9 Ford Mustang.
The cars will be exhibited at Fuji Speedway’s event square and paddock on Friday and Saturday before the Super Taikyu Series’ four-hour final race on Sunday.
And it is at that final race where Super Taikyu, a series normally featuring Japanese production sports cars and homologated GT3, GT4, and TCR race cars, will introduce a new class for American vehicles, appropriately titled “ST-USA”. Two cars will be entered in this category: Bingo Sports’ Callaway Corvette C7 GT3-R from the Intercontinental GT Challenge Suzuka 1000km, and one of TechSport Racing’s cars from the IMSA Mustang Challenge series.
The 2025 Mustang Challenge runner-up Devin Anderson will drive the No. 249 Ford Mustang Dark Horse R alongside a star-studded supporting cast: Three-time Le Mans 24 Hours winner Kazuki Nakajima, and second-generation driver Giuliano Alesi, a Toyota factory Super GT driver.
Bingo Sports owner Shinji Takei and Toyota factory Super GT driver Ukyo Sasahara will drive the No. 9 Callaway Corvette which has competed at the Suzuka 1000km, GT World Challenge Asia, and the SRO Japan Cup. They will be joined by a third driver, to be named at a later date.
The NASCAR exhibition and the introduction of the ST-USA category in Super Taikyu were initiatives led by Toyota Chairman of the Board Akio Toyoda, who is also the Chairman of the Super Taikyu Mirai Organization (STMO), which organizes and promotes the Super Taikyu Series. Toyoda also races in the Super Taikyu Series, competing under his racing alias ‘Morizo’ and driving various Toyota concept vehicles.
In a press release issued today, the STMO wrote: “This initiative introduces the appeal of American-made vehicles, previously absent from the Super Taikyu Series, in order to increase spectators and attract new teams. Furthermore, the participation of American brands will enhance our outreach capabilities both domestically and internationally, promoting the spread of international endurance racing culture. Through the Super Taikyu Series, we will also contribute to deepening the collaboration between the Japanese and American automotive industries.”
AloJapan.com