List of Asian NASCAR drivers

Kamui Kobayashi was the most recent Asian driver to compete in the NASCAR Cup Series.

This is a list of drivers with nationalities from Asian countries to compete in at least one NASCAR event in its top three national series (Cup, Xfinity, Truck).

The first Asian driver to compete in a NASCAR national series event was Toshio Suzuki, when he competed in one 1996 Busch Series race. The first Asian driver to compete in NASCAR's top series (Cup Series) was Hideo Fukuyama at the 2002 MBNA Platinum 400 at Dover Motor Speedway. ^[1] Shigeaki Hattori, the third Asian driver to race in a national series event, later went on to become a team owner at Hattori Racing Enterprises, which would win the 2018 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship. ^[2] Narain Karthikeyan was the first Indian driver to compete in a national series, who competed part time in the 2010 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season between stints in Formula One. ^[3]

Active drivers

These drivers have competed in at least one national series event in 2025. Statistics accurate as of September 20, 2025.

Driver	Image	Country	Current Team and Series	Total national series starts	Total national series wins	NCS starts	NCS wins	NXS starts	NXS wins	NCTS starts	NCTS wins
Takuma Koga		Japan	Xfinity Series (part-time) No. 35, Joey Gase Motorsports with Scott Osteen	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	0
Akinori Ogata		Japan	Truck Series (part-time) No. 63, Akinori Performance	27	0	0	0	10	0	17	0

"Top national series starts/wins" is the accumulation of starts/wins in the top three national series, and does not include any ARCA Menards Series participations.

Inactive and retired drivers

These drivers have either retired or haven't competed in a national series event since 2024.

Driver	Country	First Year active	Last Year active	Total national series starts	Total national series wins	NCS starts	NCS wins	NXS starts	NXS wins	NCTS starts	NCTS wins	Best career race finish (If no wins)
Hideo Fukuyama	Japan	2002	2003	4	0	4	0	0	0	0	0	33rd (NCS, 2002)
Shigeaki Hattori	Japan	2004	2005	10	0	0	0	0	0	10	0	24th (NTS, 2005)
Narain Karthikeyan	India	2010	2010	9	0	0	0	0	0	9	0	11th (NTS, 2010)
Kamui Kobayashi	Japan	2023	2024	2	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	29th (NCS, 2024)
Kenko Miura	Japan	2022	2024	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	33rd (NTS, 2022)
Toshio Suzuki	Japan	1996	1996	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	33rd (NXS, 1996)

"Top national series starts/wins" is the accumulation of starts/wins in the top three national series, and does not include any ARCA Menards Series participations.

See also

• List of foreign-born NASCAR race winners
• List of female NASCAR drivers
• List of African-American NASCAR drivers
• List of Canadian NASCAR drivers
• List of Hispanic and Latin American NASCAR drivers

References

1. Press, DICK BRINSTER The Associated. "Asian driver took Earnhardt's advice". Gainesville Sun. Retrieved 2025-09-21.
2. Walters, Shane (2018-11-17). "Shigeaki Hattori Racing is the small NASCAR team that won it all: Brett Moffitt - 2018 NASCAR Truck champion". Racing News. Retrieved 2025-09-21.
3. "NASCAR Camping World Truck Points Leaders". ESPN.com. 2010-09-20. Retrieved 2025-09-21.