Jimmie Johnson and John Hunter Nemechek made a detour in their racing calendar last month, traveling to Japan for the “USA Motorsports Culture Introduction Demo Run,” an exhibition staged alongside the final round of the 2025 Super Taikyu Series at Fuji Speedway on November 15–16. The visit drew widespread attention, fueled by the event’s reception and Johnson’s helmet gift to Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda. Yet beyond the ceremonial moments and fanfare, the machinery they brought with them quietly stole the show.
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A recent video released by Legacy Motor Club on its YouTube channel pulled back the curtain on just how unusual that machinery was. For the Japan appearance, the team constructed a one-off NASCAR Next Gen car designed specifically for a showcase and demo run.
This was no standard Cup car as the build required functional doors, a feature NASCAR machines never carry, and the changes went far deeper than cosmetic adjustments.
NASCAR Cup cars lack opening doors for a reason. They are engineered to absorb impacts at speeds approaching 180 miles per hour, prioritizing structural integrity over convenience. In Japan, however, the expectations were different. Organizers wanted a passenger seat, something the Next Gen platform does not normally accommodate, as its interior is tailored solely around the driver.
To meet that request, Legacy Motor Club had to rethink the car’s layout from the ground up. The solution required not only adding a second seat but also designing doors that could open and close safely.
John Burnell, a fabricator with Legacy Motor Club, detailed the project’s evolution in the video. He explained that the initial concept resembled a ride-along or exhibition car, closer to a display piece than a race-ready machine.
That changed once the request came in to turn it into a two-seater capable of running on track. The turning point arrived with an unexpected instruction.
Burnell recalled,
“They said, the doors need to open. And I’m just like, the doors need to open? They’re like, yes, we need to have doors open. And we prefer it to be like suicide doors, so open from the front, going back. I’m just like, ‘what?’ The most challenging thing of this project was definitely the doors.”
Making that happen required careful engineering. Burnell explained the process step by step.
“We basically cut out the doors of the saw saw. Cut out an opening, ordered a hinge set that was safe enough, and then put the correct door bars back in, just make some new ones, and then replayed and try to make a latching system to go along with it. That was also convenient to get in and out, but also safe at the same time.”
The team modified the door pins, shaving them down slightly to create a buffer. That adjustment ensured the doors would not bind or lock when closed, balancing usability with safety.
The finished product exceeded its original brief. Legacy Motor Club delivered a functioning two-seater Next Gen car that maintained NASCAR’s structural standards while meeting the unique demands of the Japanese showcase.
The payoff came when Akio Toyoda climbed into the car, riding alongside drivers such as Kamui Kobayashi. Toyoda also stepped into Nemechek’s Cup car before taking a turn in the Le Mans-spec Camaro ZL1 previously driven by seven-time Cup champion Johnson.
By reimagining what a NASCAR Next Gen car could be, Legacy Motor Club seemingly transformed an exhibition into a statement.
