Check Out This NASCAR Tribute To The Legendary Castrol TOM’s Supra

If you’re a fan of ’90s Japanese motorsport (who isn’t?), or you’ve played literally any Gran Turismo game, you’ll be familiar with the Castrol TOM’S Toyota Supra. TOM’S – a tuning shop and factory-supported racing team – entered Supras bearing the iconic white, red and green colour scheme in the JGTC (now Super GT) between 1995 and 2001, and won the championship in ’97 and ’99.

Its huge success, eye-catching livery and Gran Turismo fame have combined to make the Castrol TOM’S Supra one of the most recognisable racing cars of all time, and later this month, it’ll be paid tribute to in an unexpected place.

Since 2022, Darlington Raceway in South Carolina has played host to NASCAR’s ‘Throwback Weekend’, in which teams in the organisation’s three major divisions run retro-inspired liveries. Most of these tend to pay tribute to past NASCAR colour schemes, but this year, the car of top-flight Cup Series driver Brad Keselowski will look to a very different series.

Keselowski’s team, RFK Racing, is sponsored by Castrol, so it’s turned to the oil manufacturer’s most famous racing sponsorship for inspiration. For the Goodyear 400, the Cup Series’ Throwback Weekend race on 12 May, Keselowski’s Ford Mustang will bear a colour scheme almost identical to that of the legendary Supra.

The Castrol TOM’S Toyota Supra, as featured in Gran Turismo 7

Yes, there’s a certain irony to this livery appearing on a Ford when Toyota races in NASCAR, but it’s RFK, a Ford team, that has Castrol sponsorship, so that’s the way it is.

It’s not the first time NASCAR has crossed over with Japanese racing, with the series holding a run of exhibition races in Japan between 1996 and 1998, first at Suzuka and then Motegi’s oval. Still, we never thought we’d see such a direct crossover between NASCAR and the JGTC – we’re very much here for it, though.