The year is 1969.
The first season of the revived Japan Stock Car series ended, and the one driver to have dominated the series, Seiichi Suzuki, is looking for a new challenge. He wanted to try out the original stock cars, out across the pacific. So, his respected racing driver friend Tiny Lund assisted in getting him a spot in the "Grand Am" category for January of 1969, racing one of Bud Moore's Mercury Cougars.
January 21st 1969 - the Citrus 250 starts.
For a "rookie" driver, he did quite well! Finishing 4th overall, highest of all Cougars, he showed the Americans that stock car racing wasn't just an American thing!
Suzuki would enter the Citrus 250 2 more times, from 1970 to 1971. This is his first entry of 1969 recreated for the ACL Trans-Am Mercury Cougar:
Note: rear number not present due to this mapping error.
Seiichi Suzuki's Nissan Cedric - Japan Stock Car 1969
If you would like to read a recap of Seiichi Suzuki's life, please enjoy my memorial article about him on my Historic Japanese Racing Cars page.
