However, Kobayashi is the first to do so for Toyota at the Cup level Ogata and Miura raced Toyotas in the Xfinity and Craftsman Truck Series, while the American-born Ryan Ellis is the first of Japanese descent to race a Toyota in Cup. The Amagasaki native will be the second Japanese native to compete in the Cup Series after Hideo Fukuyama did four races in 20, and the seventh in any national division joining Shigeaki Hattori, Kenji Momota, Kenkō Miura, Akinori Ogata, and Toshio Suzuki. The 36-year-old has raced full-time in Super Formula since 2022, finishing seventeenth in the 2022 championship and running thirteenth four races into 2023. He scored his lone podium at his home race in the 2012 Japanese Grand Prix. Outside of sports cars, he was a veteran in open-wheel cars and competed in Formula One for Toyota, Sauber, and Caterham from 2009 to 2014. He also has a pair of 24 Hours of Daytona overall victories to his name with Cadillac his two latest runs in 20 came alongside fellow Le Mans winner Mike Rockenfeller and NASCAR great Jimmie Johnson, both of whom are racing a Cup car at Le Mans as part of the Garage 56 programme. He and his team currently sit second in the WEC’s Hypercar standings, with two wins at Sebring and Spa, and is coming off a runner-up finish in the 2022 edition of Le Mans. Kobayashi is regarded as one of the best sports car racers today, having won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2021 and a pair of FIA World Endurance Championships for Toyota Gazoo Racing, whom he also runs as team principal. ![]() On Wednesday, at a press conference leading up to the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Toyota announced he will make his NASCAR Cup Series début at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on 13 August, driving the #67 Toyota Camry for 23XI Racing. ![]() Kamui Kobayashi is taking his legendary sports car résumé to the stock car world.
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