The Super Taikyu season finale in November had a distinctly American feel, with NASCAR machines taking the track. We went to see this cultural exchange through motorsports firsthand.
An American vibe at Super Taikyu
The final round of the 2025 Super Taikyu Series took place on November 15 and 16. Ahead of the main race, Fuji Speedway hosted an exhibition called the NASCAR Showrun.
NASCAR is a racing series that enjoys tremendous popularity in the United States. Its origins can be traced back to contests between moonshine runners during Prohibition (1920 to 1933).
Even after the end of Prohibition, these grassroots races carried on, primarily across the South. In 1948, an organization emerged to oversee these races and also gave the series its name: National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, or NASCAR.
And while the history of Super Taikyu may not go back quite as far as NASCAR, it too started out as a series of grassroots races, namely the N1, which was held around Japan in 1990 using modified production cars not registered for public roads.
Now NASCAR race cars would take the track at the Super Taikyu season finale. This marked their first return to Fuji Speedway in 15 years, since the 2010 Toyota Motorsports Festival (now TOYOTA GAZOO Racing FESTIVAL).
Over the two days of the race weekend, Fuji Motorsports Forest welcomed more than 40,000 visitors eager to catch a glimpse of the NASCAR Showrun, a record attendance for Super Taikyu.