Hideo Fukuyama

Hideo Fukuyama (福山 英朗, Hideo Fukuyama, born August 13, 1955) is a retired Japanese racing driver. A former competitor at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, he attempted to compete in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series in the early 2000s, but only qualified for four races before leaving the series. He was the first Japanese driver to compete in NASCAR's top series.

Hideo Fukuyama
Born	(1955-08-13) August 13, 1955 (age 68) Suzuka City, Mie Prefecture, Japan
Achievements	2000 24 Hours of Le Mans GT3 Class Winner
NASCAR Cup Series career
4 races run over 2 years
Best finish	63rd (2003)
First race	2002 MBNA All-American Heroes 400 (Dover)
Last race	2003 Dodge/Save Mart 350 (Sonoma)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 0 0
24 Hours of Le Mans career
Years	1995, 2000, 2001
Teams	Team Taisan Advan, NISMO
Best finish	10th (1995)
Class wins	1 (2000)
Statistics current as of August 15, 2012.

Career

Open-wheel and sports cars

Competing in his native Japan, Fukuyama established a career as a road racer, winning the 1979 Formula Libre 500 Japanese championship,^[1] the 1992 Japanese Touring Car Championship and 1997 Super GT GT300 class championship,^[2] and winning the LMGT class at the 2000 24 Hours of Le Mans.^[1]

Stock cars

Fukuyama made his debut in NASCAR competition driving in exhibition races at Suzuka Circuit in 1996 and 1997 for Travis Carter Enterprises, and at Twin Ring Motegi in 1998 for Jeff Davis Racing.^[3] He crashed in the inaugural Suzuka Thunder Special in 1996,^[4] finishing 22nd;^[5] in 1997 he finished 21st, retiring with ignition failure after 103 laps.^[6] In Motegi's Coca-Cola 500 he finished 17th in the No. 98 Ford.^[7]

In 1998 and 1999 Fukuyama competed in two events in the NASCAR Winston West Series, at Pikes Peak International Raceway in 1998, where he finished 19th, and in the first NASCAR points event held outside of North America,^[8] at Twin Ring Motegi in 1999, where he finished 15th.^[9][10]

Having been encouraged to pursue a NASCAR career by Dale Earnhardt,^[11] and in September at Dover International Speedway became the first Japanese driver to qualify for a Winston Cup Series points event.^[12] Driving the No. 66 Ford for Haas-Carter Motorsports, he started 43rd in the event,^[11] finishing 39th due to transmission failure.^[13] Later that year at Martinsville Speedway he finished 43rd in the second and final race of the year he qualified for.^[14]

In 2003, Fukuyama competed for Rookie of the Year in the Winston Cup Series,^[15] running a limited schedule in Cup as well as in the ARCA Racing Series for Carter, the team being renamed BelCar Racing.^[3] He only qualified for two races, at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Infineon Raceway, posting his best career finish, 33rd, at the former track.^[16]

Released from his ride with TCM midway through the 2003 season, Fukuyama returned to his native Japan, where he resumed racing in the Super GT series,^[2] as well as becoming an analyst for Japanese television broadcasts of NASCAR.^[17]

Motorsports career results

24 Hours of Le Mans results

Year	Team	Co-Drivers	Car	Class	Laps	Pos.	Class Pos.
1988	ADA Engineering	Ian Harrower   Jiro Yoneyama	ADA 03-Ford Cosworth	C2	318	18th	2nd
1995	NISMO	Masahiko Kondo   Shunji Kasuya	Nissan Skyline GT-R LM	GT1	271	10th	5th
2000	Team Taisan Advan	Atsushi Yogo   Bruno Lambert	Porsche 911 GT3-R	GT	310	16th	1st
2001	Team Taisan Advan	Atsushi Yogo   Kazuyuki Nishizawa	Porsche 911 GT3-RS	GT	273	11th	5th

Complete Japanese Touring Car Championship (-1993) results

Year	Team	Car	Class	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	DC	Pts
1992	Hasemi Motorsport	Nissan Skyline GT-R	JTC-1	AID 1	AUT 7	SUG 5	SUZ 2	MIN 1	TSU 4	SEN 3	FUJ 2		1st	110
1993	Hasemi Motorsport	Nissan Skyline GT-R	JTC-1	MIN 2	AUT 4	SUG 4	SUZ 1	AID 4	TSU 5	TOK 5	SEN Ret	FUJ 5	7th	89

Complete JGTC results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Team	Car	Class	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	DC	Pts
1994	Bltz Racing Team	Toyota Supra	GT1	FUJ Ret	SEN 7	FUJ	SUG	MIN				20th	4
1995	Makiguchi Engineering	BMW M3	GT2	SUZ Ret								NC	0
	Racing Team Nakaharu	Nissan Skyline GT-R	GT1		FUJ	SEN	FUJ 6	SUG Ret	MIN			22nd	6
1996	Nismo	Nissan Skyline GT-R	GT500	SUZ 4	FUJ Ret	SEN 7	FUJ 3	SUG 5	MIN 3			6th	42
1997	RS★R Racing with BANDOH	Nissan Silvia	GT300	SUZ 1	FUJ 2	SEN 2	FUJ 3	MIN 1	SUG 5			1st	90
1998	Team Daishin	Nissan Silvia	GT300	SUZ Ret	FUJ C	SEN Ret	FUJ 6	MOT 8	MIN 3	SUG 8		11th	24
1999	Team Daishin	Nissan Silvia	GT300	SUZ 10	FUJ Ret	SUG 3	MIN Ret	FUJ 4	TAI 4	MOT Ret		10th	33
2000	Team Taisan	Porsche 911	GT300	MOT 1	FUJ 1	SUG 9	FUJ 7	TAI 7	MIN 1	SUZ 2		1st	85
2001	Team Taisan	Porsche 911	GT300	TAI 4	FUJ 17	SUG 7	FUJ 13	MOT 2	SUZ 3	MIN 8		6th	44
2002	Team Taisan	Porsche 911	GT300	TAI 2	FUJ Ret	SUG 16	SEP 5	FUJ 1	MOT 7	MIN Ret	SUZ 2	4th	65

NASCAR

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Winston Cup Series

NASCAR Winston Cup Series results
Year	Team	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36	NWCC	Pts	Ref
2002	Haas-Carter Motorsports	66	Ford	DAY	CAR	LVS	ATL	DAR	BRI	TEX	MAR	TAL	CAL	RCH	CLT	DOV	POC	MCH	SON	DAY	CHI	NHA	POC	IND	GLN	MCH	BRI	DAR	RCH	NHA	DOV 39	KAN	TAL	CLT	MAR 42	ATL	CAR DNQ	PHO	HOM	72nd	80	^[18]
2003	BelCar Racing			DAY	CAR	LVS 33	ATL	DAR	BRI	TEX	TAL	MAR	CAL DNQ	RCH Wth	CLT	DOV	POC	MCH	SON 43	DAY	CHI	NHA	POC	IND	GLN	MCH	BRI	DAR	RCH	NHA	DOV	TAL	KAN	CLT	MAR	ATL	PHO	CAR	HOM	63rd	98	^[19]

Winston West Series

NASCAR Winston West Series results
Year	Team	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	NWWC	Pts	Ref
1998	Stroppe Motorsports	38	Ford	TUS	LVS	PHO	CAL	HPT	MMR	AMP	POR	CAL	PPR 19	EVG	SON	MMR	LVS	79th	106	^[20]
1999		19	Ford	TUS	LVS	PHO	CAL	PPR	MMR	IRW	EVG	POR	IRW	RMR	LVS	MMR	MOT 15	69th	118	^[21]

ARCA Re/Max Series

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

ARCA Re/Max Series results
Year	Team	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	ARMC	Pts	Ref
2003	Travis Carter Enterprises	9	Ford	DAY	ATL DNQ	NSH 34	SLM	TOL	KEN	CLT 16	BLN	KAN	MCH	LER	POC 38	POC	NSH	ISF	WIN	DSF	CHI	SLM	TAL	CLT	SBO	108th	235	^[22]

References

1. Stiglich, Joe (June 22, 2003). "Japanese racer living a dream in NASCAR". The Free Lance–Star. Fredericksburg, VA. p. C3. Retrieved 2012-08-15.
2. "Race Driver Database - Hideo Fukuyama". Speedsport Magazine. Retrieved 2012-08-15.
3. "Fukuyama focused on Kansas Speedway". The Topeka Capital-Journal. Topeka, KS. May 30, 2003. Retrieved 2012-08-15.
4. Yamaguchi, Mari (November 25, 1996). "Wallace outduels Earnhardt in Japan". The Ledger. Lakeland, FL. p. C3. Retrieved 2012-08-15.
5. "1996 NASCAR Suzuka Thunder Special". Racing-Reference. USA Today Sports Media Group. Retrieved 2012-08-15.
6. "1997 NASCAR Thunder Special Suzuka". Racing-Reference. USA Today Sports Media Group. Retrieved 2012-08-15.
7. "1998 NASCAR Thunder Special Motegi". Racing-Reference. USA Today Sports Media Group. Retrieved 2012-08-15.
8. . RacingWest. October 8, 1999. Archived from the original on September 20, 2015. Retrieved 2012-08-15.
9. "Hideo Fukuyama - NASCAR K&N Pro Series West Results". Racing-Reference. USA Today Sports Media Group. Retrieved 2012-08-15.
10. Rodman, Dave (September 1, 2002). "Carter gives Japanese driver Cup test run". NASCAR.com. Turner Sports. Retrieved 2012-08-15.
11. Brinster, Dick (September 21, 2002). "Earnhardt's advice guided Fukuyama". Spartanburg Herald-Journal. Spartanburg, SC. p. C8. Retrieved 2012-08-15.
12. Fryer, Jenna (March 2, 2003). "Fukuyama coming back". The Gadsden Times. Gadsden, AL. p. B4. Retrieved 2012-08-15.
13. "Tough day for Fukuyama". Ludington Daily News. Ludington, MI. September 27, 2002. p. C5. Retrieved 2012-08-15.
14. Minter, Rick (October 24, 2002). "Last-place finish for Fukuyama". Telegraph Herald. Dubuque, IA. p. 3B. Retrieved 15 August 2012.
15. Zimmerman, Bill (November 1, 2003). "Rookie class not living up to recent successes". The Albany Herald. Albany, GA. p. 3C. Retrieved 2012-08-15.
16. Houston, Rick (March 17, 2011). "Far reaching". NASCAR.com. Turner Sports. Retrieved 2012-08-15.
17. Rovegno, Lindsay; Greg Amante; Mike Massaro (November 11, 2006). "Toyota's entry into Cup making many nervous". ESPN. Retrieved 2012-08-15.
18. "Hideo Fukuyama – 2002 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 13, 2023.
19. "Hideo Fukuyama – 2003 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 13, 2023.
20. "Hideo Fukuyama – 1998 NASCAR Winston West Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 13, 2023.
21. "Hideo Fukuyama – 1999 NASCAR Winston West Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 13, 2023.
22. "Hideo Fukuyama – 2003 ARCA Re/Max Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 13, 2023.

External links

• Hideo Fukuyama driver statistics at Racing-Reference
• Hideo Fukuyama career summary at DriverDB.com