Akinori Performance Overview
Akinori Performance is an American stock car racing team founded in 2025 by Japanese racing driver Akinori Ogata. The team competes part-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and is based in Mooresville, North Carolina, a hub of professional stock car racing. The team fields the No. 63 Toyota in the Craftsman Truck Series, with Ogata and fellow Japanese driver Kenko Miura sharing driving duties. Primary sponsorship is provided by Kyowa Industrial, Mooneyes, and YKK AP, and the team operates with Toyota as its manufacturer partner.
Although Akinori Performance is a new name in the Craftsman Truck Series garage, the project is rooted in Ogata’s earlier stock car experience in the K&N Pro Series East. The team debuted at the 2025 Baptist Health 200 at Homestead-Miami Speedway and continues to build its operations from its Mooresville shop. Akinori Performance is best described as a small, independent, internationally backed team with Japanese ownership, Japanese drivers, and Japanese-aligned sponsors, competing in one of NASCAR’s national touring series.
Founding and Organizational Origins
Akinori Performance was created in 2025 by Akinori Ogata as a personal racing operation built around his ambitions to compete in NASCAR’s national series. On February 7, 2025, Ogata announced the formation of the team, confirming that it would field a part-time entry in the Craftsman Truck Series. From the outset, the project was structured as a Toyota-supported program, with Kyowa Industrial, Mooneyes, and YKK AP named as the team’s primary partners at launch.
The team is headquartered in Mooresville, North Carolina, placing it among dozens of NASCAR teams that operate out of the greater Charlotte region. Operations center on the No. 63 truck, with Ogata serving as the owner and a part-time driver. While the team is small in scale compared with established multi-truck operations, its structure allows Ogata to combine his role as team principal with a driving seat in the cockpit.
Growth Into NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Competition
Akinori Performance’s path into the Craftsman Truck Series grew out of Ogata’s earlier stock car experience in the United States. In 2014, Ogata competed as an owner-driver in the K&N Pro Series East, running the No. 56 Toyota with veteran crew chief Dale Quarterley. The program attempted five races that season and qualified for three, with a best result coming at Iowa Speedway, where Ogata completed the event. That early K&N program established the foundation for the team’s later return to NASCAR national series competition.
More than a decade after its 2014 K&N effort, the operation was reactivated in 2025 under the Akinori Performance banner. Ogata brought the program forward with a clear plan: enter the Craftsman Truck Series on a limited schedule, field Toyota trucks, and build a working team in Mooresville. Kenko Miura was confirmed as an additional driver for the No. 63 truck, expanding the lineup to two Japanese drivers for selected events.
Akinori Performance Competitive Journey
Akinori Performance’s competitive story is a short one, beginning in the 2014 K&N Pro Series East and restarting in the 2025 Craftsman Truck Series. Across both eras, the team has logged five total starts, recorded zero pole positions, and scored zero race victories. The operation has been built around learning, race-by-race execution, and the gradual development of a Toyota-based program at NASCAR’s national level.
Early Seasons and Development (2014)
The earliest chapter of the team came in 2014, when Ogata entered the K&N Pro Series East with the No. 56 Toyota. The team attempted five races that season and made the field for three, with Quarterley serving as crew chief. The strongest result came at the Autolite Iridium XP 150 at Iowa Speedway, which was the only event Ogata finished in the No. 56 program.
Despite limited starts, the 2014 effort provided Ogata with firsthand experience of NASCAR’s developmental stock car environment, including qualifying procedures, race-day operations, and shop management. Those lessons would later inform the structure of the 2025 Craftsman Truck Series team, which carries forward the same Toyota-aligned technical foundation and owner-driver philosophy that defined the earlier No. 56 program.
Breakthrough in NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (2025)
The 2025 season marks Akinori Performance’s first entry into one of NASCAR’s three national series. The team announced plans to attempt the Craftsman Truck Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, but withdrew from that event after determining that the best competitive conditions were not met. Akinori Performance ultimately made its official series debut at the Baptist Health 200 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, where Ogata finished 32nd in the No. 63 Toyota.
Following the Homestead event, the team continued its 2025 schedule with an appearance at the Rackley Roofing 200 at Nashville Superspeedway. Kenko Miura joined the program as a co-driver of the No. 63 truck, expanding the team’s lineup and adding a second Japanese driver to its part-time efforts. Through its opening Craftsman Truck Series starts, Akinori Performance has focused on completing races, gathering data, and laying the groundwork for a more complete schedule in future seasons.
Modern Program and Current Direction (2025–Present)
In its current form, Akinori Performance operates as a small, Toyota-supported Craftsman Truck Series team owned by Akinori Ogata. The team’s home base in Mooresville allows it to draw on the wider NASCAR workforce in the Charlotte region, including engineers, mechanics, and crew members with touring-series experience. Car numbers under the Akinori Performance umbrella include the No. 63 in the Craftsman Truck Series and the No. 56 in the K&N Pro Series East, reflecting the team’s history across both series.
The team’s commercial partners, including Kyowa Industrial, Mooneyes, and YKK AP, give the program a strong Japanese corporate identity that aligns with its owner and drivers. Going forward, Akinori Performance is expected to continue its part-time Craftsman Truck Series schedule, develop its Mooresville-based operations, and gradually expand its competitive presence in NASCAR’s national series.
Philosophy and Competitive Strengths
Akinori Performance is built around an owner-driver philosophy, with Ogata balancing team management and seat time. The team prioritizes Toyota reliability, a lean operational structure, and methodical race-by-race development, giving it a clear, focused identity within the Craftsman Truck Series garage.
Key Milestones and Major Moments
Key milestones include the team’s 2014 debut in the K&N Pro Series East with the No. 56 Toyota, the February 2025 announcement of the Craftsman Truck Series program, the official series debut at the 2025 Baptist Health 200 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, and the 2025 Rackley Roofing 200 at Nashville Superspeedway. The addition of Kenko Miura to the No. 63 driver lineup also stands as a notable step in the team’s early growth.
Akinori Performance Achievements and Results
As a young and part-time operation, Akinori Performance’s recorded results remain limited. Across its combined history in the K&N Pro Series East and the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, the team has made five starts, earned zero pole positions, and recorded zero race victories, with no drivers’ championships at either level.
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Achievements
In the Craftsman Truck Series, Akinori Performance has entered two races through 2025, with its first start coming at the 2025 Baptist Health 200 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The team has not yet scored a top finish, pole position, or series victory, and its early results reflect a program still in its competitive infancy. The No. 63 Toyota, driven by Akinori Ogata and Kenko Miura, represents the team’s primary effort at NASCAR’s third-tier national level.
Series Achievements
In the K&N Pro Series East, Akinori Performance made three starts in 2014 with the No. 56 Toyota, qualifying for the Blue Ox 100 at Richmond and other selected events. The team’s best result came at Iowa Speedway in the Autolite Iridium XP 150, the only race the No. 56 program finished that season. These K&N results, combined with the 2025 Craftsman Truck Series entries, form the complete competitive record of the Akinori Performance organization to date.