Japan to America on repeat: Takuma Koga’s love for racing keeps bringing him back to the ARCA Menards Series West

Takuma Koga isn’t like other drivers who compete on the ARCA Menards Series platform.

For most competitors, an ARCA race is a short car ride or flight away. For Koga, every ARCA Menards Series West start involves at least a 10-hour flight. Then there’s the drive from the airport to wherever the series is racing on that given weekend.

That kind of travel isn’t easy. Koga will do it 12 times during the 2023 season.

The driver from Nagoya, Japan goes through this because he has a passion for competition and a love for the ARCA platform. His affinity for stock-car racing started when NASCAR hosted exhibition races at the Suzuka Circuit in Suzuka, Japan in 1996-97.

RACING REFERENCE: Takuma Koga’s career stats

Koga watched as stars like Rusty Wallace, Dale Earnhardt, Jeff Gordon, Dale Jarrett and Mike Skinner battled Japanese drivers like Hideo Fukuyama, Keiichi Tsuchiya and Akihiko Nakaya as well as West Series competitors like Butch Gilliland and Hershel McGriff.

“I was amazed at the level of professionalism, and I wanted to be a part of this great sport,” Koga said. “I worked very hard to find sponsors and eventually was able to go to the U.S. to compete in a few races in 2002.”

Koga made his West Series debut on June 29, 2002, by competing in the Coors Light 200 at Washington’s Evergreen Speedway. It was his first of what has become more than 100 starts with the series.

As one might expect, Koga’s travel schedule is the hardest part of racing in the West Series. He typically flies from Tokyo to Los Angeles before traveling to the location of the event. Layovers, flight delays, packed flights and long lines have become a regular part of Koga’s life.

“It can be difficult at times, especially during the pandemic with constant changes in flight availability, entry procedures and documentation,” Koga said. “Things are getting back to normal, but the flights are often full and lines at airports are definitely longer. Though it is a 10-hour flight from Tokyo to Los Angeles and 12 hours returning home it’s not too bad. I can work, eat and take a nap, but things get difficult when there are layovers.

“I’m not sure how long I can continue doing this, but for now I’m doing my best.”

Outside of the travel, Koga has faced many more challenges during his years racing with the West Series. One of the biggest was the language barrier; Koga spoke very little English when he first started racing in the United States.

He also lacked an ability to watch races at the tracks at which he would be competing, a key preparation tool for many drivers.

“When I first started my English skills were quite limited, so it was a very difficult adjustment,” Koga said. “Plus, there was no internet, so I could not watch races, even replays. The movie ‘Days of Thunder’ was an inspiration, but even then, DVD country codes were different, so I was not able to view movies and races like today.”

Koga raced in the United States from 2002-06 before taking a lengthy break. He returned to America in 2016 and has been a regular with the West Series since 2017. The support of his wife and children is a big part of why he continues to race in the United States while living in Japan.

“My family has always been very supportive of my racing career even though it is quite stressful with me being away so much,” Koga said. “But once per season, I bring my family with me to watch a race. It’s definitely special time.”

In his more than 100 West Series starts, Koga has earned four top-five finishes. Three of them have come at Portland International Raceway, the sight of Friday’s Portland 112.

Looking back, Koga admits he never would have believed he’d still be racing in the West Series more than 20 years after making his first series start. The journey, he says, has been more than worth it.

“It has been such an incredible experience for me to work with racing greats like Dick Midgley, John Krebs, Joe Nava and now Jerry Pitts,” Koga said, “not to mention the fantastic crew members, other racers and their teams and especially NASCAR and fans.

“It has been such an amazing journey.”