Fuji Speedway, an iconic track located in the foothills of Mount Fuji in Oyama, Japan, is thousands of miles from NASCAR’s traditional hubs. Yet surprisingly, it shares a special connection with arguably the most popular racing series in the United States.
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With a 110,000-seat capacity and one of the longest straights in the world (1.475 km), Fuji is a track that tests both speed and skill. Even more astounding is what the circuit was originally conceived to be many decades ago. Let’s take a brief look into the past to rediscover the track’s soul.
It was thought of in 1963 as a tri-oval speedway akin to the Daytona International Raceway. But when it was opened in 1966, it turned out to be a road course with just one high-banked turn. All this began when the auto industry began booming in Japan, and the interest in auto racing spiked alongside. Joining the several organizations that wanted a piece of the cake were two Americans.
The first was F1 driver Stirling Moss, and the second was NASCAR’s very own Bill France Sr. Through their involvement, the Japan NASCAR Company came into existence in 1963. Builders in Japan did not have much experience in constructing large-scale facilities akin to Daytona at the time. And so, the Americans turned towards Don Nichols, a U.S. Army veteran.
Nichols, after being stationed in Japan, had used his connections to build a business that served as the bridge between the developing auto industry and international suppliers. This inevitably led to him being involved in the speedway project. The high-profile approach to the construction resulted in one of the more renowned speedway designers, Charlie Moneypenny, being brought over.
This is where Daytona gets tied into the story tightly. Moneypenny was none other than the one who designed and supervised the construction of the Daytona International Speedway for France Sr. He was also the one who designed the high-banked speedways at Talladega and Michigan. The tricky part about building the speedway was the land chosen.
Speedways are typically built on flat grounds. But the Fuji Speedway was to be set up on hilly terrain. A lot of rethinking and recalculating later, construction began in 1964. Of the originally planned tri-oval, only one turn was built, and the banking was 30 degrees. Reports are that the plan was cut short due to financial constraints, and the change in plan caused France Sr. to lose interest.
The race track ended up becoming a road course. And road courses weren’t NASCAR’s cup of tea at the time. The Japan NASCAR Company was dissolved as a result, and the Fuji Speedway Corporation took control of the project. Construction was finally completed in 1965, and the circuit came out to be a length of 3.7 km.
Today, the track hosts several major events such as the FIA WEC’s 6 Hours of Fuji, GT World Challenge Asia, and more.
