America’s wildly popular NASCAR (National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing) series has come to Japan.
November 16 was day two of the Super Taikyu season finale at Fuji Speedway in Shizuoka Prefecture. There was a showrun featuring six NASCAR cars brought over from the U.S., with Kamui Kobayashi and other top drivers from Japan and the U.S. behind the wheel.
Crowds packed the venue to catch a glimpse of the thunderous performance, with U.S. Ambassador to Japan George Glass and Automobile Business & Culture Association of Japan Chairman Akio Toyoda making appearances as well. They spoke of achieving “cultural exchange between the U.S. and Japan through motorsports” and expressing appreciation for the large turnout of fans.
In the U.S., over 100,000 fans pack the circuits each weekend during NASCAR season. Television ratings are second only to the Super Bowl, making it the top motorsport in the U.S.
Toyota entered NASCAR in 2000 and has continued to compete against American automakers with its U.S.-made Camry, a popular model that also joined this showrun.
With the United States celebrating its 250th anniversary in 2026, Chairman Toyoda expressed his hope for “a NASCAR class in Super Taikyu” as well as for ongoing goodwill between the U.S. and Japan through cars.
Two days before the showrun, he got behind the wheel of the Camry himself as Morizo for a test drive. Be sure to check out the video to get a feel for the ride.
The second half of the program features TBMNC (Toyota Battery Manufacturing, North Carolina), Toyota’s first battery manufacturing plant overseas, which held its opening ceremony on November 12 local time.
A total of approximately $14 billion has been invested to produce batteries in-house for hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs), plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), and battery electric vehicles (BEVs). This plant will create up to 5,100 new jobs and serve as a new key manufacturing base for Toyota.
At the opening ceremony, Toyota also announced an additional investment of up to $10 billion in its U.S. operations over the next five years. Since entering the U.S. market around 70 years ago, total investment has reached roughly $60 billion.
In this episode, Yuta Tomikawa visits the plant prior to its completion and talks with workers about the future outlook and their involvement with the local community. Be sure to keep watching after the NASCAR segment!