Macnica will continue to sponsor NASCAR driver Takuma Koga in 2025, as it did last year.
Last year's results and various contents can be found here

The 2025 NASCAR season has already kicked off with a race in Daytona, Florida, NASCAR's headquarters, on February 15th. The other day, the "Takuma Koga Participation Announcement Event" was held, and our company was also in attendance, so we would like to report on the event at the venue.

The event was held at "STATION Ai," an open innovation hub in Nagoya. STATION Ai is Japan's largest open innovation hub and a platform that supports entrepreneurs and startups.
Since Koga also supports young entrepreneurs and start-up companies, the event was held at "STATION Ai."

At this year's announcement ceremony, in addition to the traditional sake barrel opening ceremony, a new initiative was also held: a seminar-style program that made use of Koga's experience to date, aimed at young people and students from startup companies aiming to take on the challenge in America.

The program included teachings on how to give a presentation, how to tackle the challenge in America, and marketing techniques. In addition, we were introduced to the role each sponsor plays in Koga's races. We also heard the story of how he met Ken Yokoyama of Crazy Ken Band, who is the head of the cheering squad. Although they compete in different arenas, music and racing, Yokoyama's passion for pursuing his own dreams resonated with him, and he has been the head of the cheering squad for the past 20 years.

During the presentation, it was announced that in addition to supporting startup companies and young people, the company would also take on new initiatives, such as forming an alliance with the Japan Tourism Agency for outbound policies to promote tourism to the United States using NASCAR, and that in NASCAR 's first standalone game, scheduled for release in the fall of 2025, Koga himself and his car will appear as the representative driver of the ARCA Menards Series, making him the first Asian driver to appear in an official game.

He plans to expand his horizons not only as a racer, but also as an entrepreneur and ambassador for government agencies, and I am amazed at how successful he is in unexpected areas.

If you can't go see the actual NASCAR race but would like to participate in the game, be sure to check it out!

Learn more
*Outbound policy: https://www.mlit.go.jp/kankocho/seisaku_seido/kihonkeikaku/inbound_kaifuku/outbound/sokushin.html (Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism official website "Promoting Outbound Tourism")
※ NASCAR Official Game: NASCAR 25 Unveils Career Mode in New Developer Diary Video - iRacing.com | iRacing.com Motorsport Simulations

The presentation began with an explanation of why Koga became a NASCAR driver. According to the explanation, in his kindergarten graduation album, he declared that he would become a racer in the future. Koga planned his life backwards toward that dream, and I was impressed by how he has pursued his dream of becoming a racer since he was a child, and continues to challenge himself even now, breaking his career highs.

Through its sponsorship of Koga's NASCAR, Macnica will support him with its cutting-edge technology.

The project will mainly involve implementing training using neuroscience, measuring brainwaves and analyzing them with AI, and collecting biometric information, including brainwaves, from drivers in extreme situations to analyze their concentration levels, stress, etc., so that this information can be used to develop next-generation mobility that will prevent accidents and enable more comfortable driving.

Technology details here

​The NASCAR race he will be competing in this time will be the NASCAR　TOP 3 Series XFINITY (Xfinity Series). In XFINITY, he will be participating as a spot racer with the prestigious team "JOEY GASE RACING", which is always competing for the top rankings.

In addition, the team is scheduled to participate in a total of nine races in the NASCAR ARCA EAST Series, including the race at Daytona.

This year it looks like it's machine number 12, so be sure to check it out!

Please see below for the schedule.