Located 60 miles (97 km) northeast of Tokyo,[3] Twin Ring Motegi opened on August 1, 1997.

[9] Elliott Sadler and Darrell Waltrip, filling in for the injured Dale Jarrett, rounded out the top five, while Jeff Burton, Bill Elliott, Rusty Wallace, Dale Earnhardt Jr., and Lance Norick closed out the top ten.

[8] Gordon, Mayfield, Burton and Wallace comprised the remainder of the top five, while Dale Earnhardt Jr., Bill Elliott, Dale Earnhardt, Sterling Marlin and Michael Waltrip finished in the top ten.

[14] However, due to high costs for transport to the event and poor attendance, the series did not return after the 1999 race.

In 2024, reports of Honda's potential entry began to resurface, amidist questions on the future of their IndyCar Series program.

[15] The international exhibition race was later speculated to be moved to EuroSpeedway Lausitz in Germany.

[5] As of 2013, NASCAR has not expressed any interest in having its national series run an international exhibition race; senior vice president Steve O'Donnell stated, "We've had 20 groups approach us from China.