Trackhouse Racing — the NASCAR team co-owned by Pitbull — is making moves in the sport.
Trackhouse Racing — the NASCAR Cup Series team co-owned by international superstar Pitbull and Justin Marks — is expanding big time.
Specifically, Trackhouse Entertainment Group, Marks’ Nashville-based ownership group, announced Wednesday that it purchased Chip Ganassi Racing’s two-car NASCAR team.
The team said it will field two cars in 2022. Daniel Suárez — the current driver of the No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet — will continue with Trackhouse, while a second driver has not yet been announced. Chip Ganassi Racing’s IndyCar teams are not involved in the deal.
“I want to thank Chip his executive team and working with professionalism, candor and diligence through this whole process, which has happened pretty quickly,” Marks said Wednesday.
“This is obviously a great day for Trackhouse, but we’re gonna be in the news for a long time to come. We’re gonna be able to talk about races and sponsors, and we want to talk about drivers and everything for years and years and, hopefully, decades to come. I think today is about honoring the legacy and the contributions that Chip has made to NASCAR over the last 20 years.”
.@JustinMarksDG opens today's press conference by recognizing @GanassiChip and his contributions to NASCAR. pic.twitter.com/dXW43se4Pf
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) June 30, 2021
Neither Trackhouse nor Chip Ganassi Racing made the financial terms of the deal public, but Ganassi will transfer all of its assets to Trackhouse Racing immediately following the 2021 Cup Series season. The team will operate out of Ganassi’s current shop in 2022, said Marks, who competed in 22 races for CGR in the second-tier Xfinity Series between 2016 and 2018.
Ganassi joined Marks and Trackhouse team president Ty Norris in making the announcement Wednesday at the NASCAR Hall of Fame. Ganassi said his team was not on the market, but Marks first approached him less than a month ago with a proposition to acquire the team. The deal was finalized about a week ago, they said.
Congrats! We are excited about the @TeamTrackhouse future. Dale! pic.twitter.com/HEesUnZQSH
— Pitbull (@pitbull) June 30, 2021
“I must say our team was not for sale,” Ganassi said. “Justin simply came to me with a great offer, and even a better vision for racing.
“There’s a lot of new blood in NASCAR … and they all seem to be bringing a new perspective and, more importantly, a new vision. And the sport I think needs people with vision.”
He also noted that he hopes Marks and co. create their own legacy in NASCAR, rather than continuing Chip Ganassi Racing’s.
The best is yet to come
Dale Pedaleee!! Gracias papo
https://t.co/w0yhRsE2Xg
— Daniel Suárez (@Daniel_SuarezG) June 21, 2021
Chip Ganassi Racing has been fielding Cup Series cars since the 2001 season and has earned 14 wins so far, including a team-high of four in a single season from Kyle Larson in 2017. (Ganassi fired Larson in 2020 after the driver said he N-word during a live-streamed iRacing event.)
Currently, the two Ganassi drivers are Kurt Busch, the 2004 Cup champ, and Ross Chastain.
Regardless of the Trackhouse deal, Busch is in the final year of his contract and was not necessarily expected to return to the team in 2022. The Athletic reported in May that 23XI Racing — another new NASCAR team owned by Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin with Bubba Wallace driving the No. 23 car — is planning to expand to a two-car team, and Busch is the top candidate.
However, Marks said Wednesday that Busch and Chastain are still the top options for Trackhouse’s second car in the 2022 season.
Trackhouse Racing is in its debut season with Suárez behind the wheel of the No. 99 Chevrolet as the team’s first driver. Since the season-opening Daytona 500, Suárez has posted one top-5 finish and three top-10s, and he’s currently 18th in the driver standings — two spots removed from the projected playoff lineup with seven regular-season races remaining.
Busch is currently 14th in the driver standings, while Chastain is 22nd.
