Another domino in this year’s NASCAR silly season fell on Tuesday afternoon, and it is a gigantic one. Justin Marks and street hop artist Pitbull’s upstart Trackhouse Racing Team has purchased all assets of Chip Ganassi Racing’s NASCAR team. The sale will go into effect at the end of the current season, which includes both of Gannasi’s Cup Series charters. With this move, Trackhouse has now put themselves in a phenomenal spot for long-term success.
🚨Trackhouse today is announcing that it has purchased Chip Ganassi Racing’s NASCAR operation. pic.twitter.com/BNfP0cgFxX
— Adam Stern (@A_S12) June 30, 2021
Trackhouse Presser
On Tuesday, Trackhouse announced a Wednesday press conference at the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte, NC. The unknown was that the news the first-year team had to share would be of this magnitude. Marks was there to lay out the purchase, alongside Ganassi. The latter said that “The team was not for sale, but [Marks] made me a great offer that I could not refuse,” (via Jenna Fryer and the AP). Ganassi also stated that this will only affect his soon-to-be former NASCAR Program. His IndyCar, IMSA, and new Extreme E teams are not going anywhere. “I had an offer that I was required to consider.”, he said.
Marks, meanwhile, had this to say on the exciting news for his program:
“It is humbling to know we have secured our position in NASCAR for the next decade. These are never decisions made without a lot of thorough consideration and deep reflection by both parties… Chip has built an iconic motorsports empire and the Ganassi brand is globally recognized as a winner in the auto racing industry. It is truly an honor that we can build from that foundation.”
Due to a non-disclosure agreement, Marks could not go into further detail about the purchase of the team. However, Trackhouse will only be a two-car operation in 2022, despite gaining two charters from Ganassi.
Ganassi NASCAR Legacy
Ganassi’s NASCAR run will officially last 20 years on the dot. Despite recording just one top-five points finish in the Cup standings (Sterling Marlin in 2001), the team was by no means a failure. Jamie McMurray won the team a Daytona 500 and Brickyard 400 in the same year back in 2010, on top of his All-Star race win in 2010. Around a dozen other wins came from drivers such as Kyle Larson, Juan Pablo Montoya, and Kurt Busch, to name a few. While not the powerhouse mainstay that the team is in IndyCar, a respectable run nonetheless.
As for where the team’s two current drivers stand, both Busch and Ross Chastain are set to hit the open market at the end of the year. Busch has been heavily rumored to go to a second car at Micheal Jordan/Denny Hamlin’s 23XI team. Chastain has yet to be linked anywhere in rumor mills, making him a prime candidate for Trackhouse next year.
Track-Powerhouse
As of this moment, Daniel Suarez has put together a very respectable season for the first year operation. He has a trio of top-ten finishes just past the halfway point of the season, including a phenomenal top-five effort at the Bristol dirt race. More importantly, Suarez sits just two spots out of the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs, a fantastic spot to be in for a first-year team. That goes double for Suarez (on his third team in as many years), who now has a shot to be playoff-bound for the first time in his Cup career.
Marks is the figurehead of the Trackhouse operation, but the attention-grabber would be his partner, Mr. Worldwide himself. Pitbull made an appearance in Nashville a few weeks back and took some time to speak to the media, doing so glowingly
“People ask me all time why NASCAR, why Trackhouse? Because if all came together at the right time. I’m a big believer in the law of attraction. When we sat down and had a meeting it was all about a greater initiative. The same way we’ve done with music to unify people.”
Clearly, Pitbull loved the fan enthusiasm at the Ally 400, having said this about the NASCAR faithful: “To see the passion, to see the loyalty, to see the willingness to just run through a wall for the team that they love.” With a clear vision for what they want, including a hopeful team move to Nashville in the future, expect Trackhouse (following the acquisition of Ganassi) to be a big player in NASCAR for years to come.
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