Japanese driver Akinori Ogata has pretty much been the oldest rookie in NASCAR. He mostly plied his trade in quarter midgets, as well as the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Late Model Stock. Then in 2012, he made the move up to the K&N Pro Series East at the age of 39. Since then, he had largely been an on and off driver in the ARCA Series, Truck and Xfinity Series.

Now at the age of 51, Ogata is still actively racing in the Truck Series. However on this occasion, he was entering with his own team, Akinori Performance. This team was established on February 7th this year, and were slated to make their debut at the Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Unfortunately, that plan had to be shelved because he revealed that the Truck was not ready. As such, the #63 Toyota truck will have to wait until it finally puts a wheel onto tarmac. The good news is that driver-owner Ogata provided an update on the situation and insisted that his team will be running this season.

The NASCAR driver cannot wait to debut his own racing team

Ogata revealed on social media, “Hey guys, I’m Akinori Ogata. I was planning to debut a race with my own equipment last weekend, but the Truck wasn’t ready in time. So I was so disappointed in myself, because I didn’t make the race. I think it was the right decision, because I want to go race, prepared. So we rescheduled for Homestead-Miami on March 21st. My Kyowa Industrial, YKK AP Toyota Tundra TRD Pro, is looking good. We believe our Truck will work rather well on the track, so we keep working on track. I’m looking forward to race in Miami. Thank you so much, all over the sport. I go Late Model race this weekend at the Hickory Motor Speedway season opener. My car is ready and looking good too.”

The bottom line was that Ogata did not want to fast-track the situation. He felt that it was better to take his time and do things right. Luckily, fans will only have to wait until March 31st to see the #63 Truck in action. From a racing standpoint, Ogata’s best finish was 17th at the Atlanta Motor Speedway in 2023. So he obviously felt that it would be poetic to debut at that track, but it was sadly not meant to be.

Now, the Akinori Performance truck will make an appearance at Homestead Miami. In other words, the driver will only miss the Las Vegas race and compete in the following round. Interestingly, the driver-owner is not the only one who gets a chance to pilot the car. Sharing driving duties will be 45-year-old fellow countryman, Kenko Miura, who last raced in 2022 with Reaume Brothers Racing.

Trending

1

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Ticked Off at His Driver’s Jeopardizing Move Leaving JRM Gasping at Straws

2

Kyle Larson Cleared of Guilt by NASCAR Veterans Despite Austin Cindric’s Atlanta Callout

3

NASCAR Rumor: Brad Keselowski Secretly Backing NASCAR’s 4th OEM Despite Ford Loyalty

4

When Dale Earnhardt’s Secret Life Left Dale Jr. and Kelley Earnhardt in Total Shock

5

Richard “The King” Petty Breaks His Silence on NASCAR’s Constant Instability With Tough Calls

Akinori Ogata is keeping himself active ahead of his return to NASCAR

As he mentioned, he is competing in a few Late Model races, to keep himself in shape. The best part is that he is off to the Hickory Motor Speedway, a track that holds fond memories for him. This is because he is the first Japanese driver to ever win a race at the Hickory Motor Speedway. Meanwhile, Miura is also a talented driver, having had a best finish of 3rd in the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series in 2018 at Zolder.

With three weeks to prepare, Akinori Ogata will be hard at work with his new team. Naturally, he would not want to be one of those people who are there to make up the numbers. Instead, he will be aiming to be somewhat competitive in the races that he participates in. Additionally, he will be hoping that when Miura takes the wheel, he will also try to be as competitive as possible.