One article in Popular Hot Rodding mentioned it and I thought I saw something about them in one of the Tire Trade mags.
Popular Hot Rodding - February, 2009 wrote:
If you've always wanted to take your g-Machine to the track but were afraid to, the NT01 makes a great dance partner. The quality of this American-made tire (they're made in Georgia), along with its high level of grip and modest cost (we suggest you check Discount Tire Direct) is a model that is sure to be copied by others. For now, however, Nitto is the tire with the bull's eye on its back.
However...I have been doing some other research to try and corroborate this and just saw a picture of a NT01 sticker that clearly had "made in Japan" on it, so PHR may have had it wrong.