Aki Okamoto became one of the few Japanese drivers to get behind the wheel of a NASCAR when he tested a Weekly Racing Seﷺries car at the Hickory Motor Speedway on Thursday ᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚ[15 July].

The 25-year-old from Tokyo completed 70 laps of the circuit behind the wheel꧃ oꦿf the Lackey Motorsports Chevrolet, setting a best time of 15.446 seconds.

His performance impres𓃲sed team owner Mike Lackey, especially as he was running on tyres that 𒐪had already completed a full race distance.

"Aki did a fantastic job," he said. "He built up at his own pace to turn some very c﷽onsistent lap times inside the 15's which for the first time at Hickory is great. At his pace he can run in the top 3 here".

"We tested Oli Wilkinson from England a few days ago and admittedly Aki had better tires from the start and when Oli tested it was hotter too. Both d𒉰rivers proved they are naturals on a speedway and I hope to put together a deal for them both to race with my team soon. Our Chevrolet Monte Carlo is really good and I am just pleased to have the chance to work with these guys"

With previous experience on faster ovals ꧒from his time competing in the American ♔Barber Dodge Pro-Series, Okamoto was pleased with how the test went.

"Firstly my goal was to know how the car and track are because I have never driven a real stock car or a short track," he said. "So I built up the speed slowly and I checked everything on the car and the track. I knew 🔯this car is pretty good after a few laps because I could carry a fast turn in speed to the corners and steering was very positive. Fortunately we had a good engineer and mechanics so I can drive faster in a short time, thanks to their good advice.

"I want to thank the team and I really wanꦗt to race with them soon! It was a very 🌄impressive experience".