Getty Justin Marks attends a NASCAR race.
Trackhouse Racing owner Justin Marks continues to turn heads with his plans for his NASCAR team. He revealed that one of his upcoming goals is to have the organization compete in the Indianapolis 500. Marks didn’t provide an exact date for this new pursuit but confirmed that he is having discussions.
“There’s a way to structure these businesses so that you can really be able to scale and those opportunities will come as our relationship with Chevrolet develops,” Marks said during an appearance on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. “We have companies that we deliver a lot of return for that want to do something more, something different or appeal to a new audience and I don’t think there’s anything that’s off the table.”
ICYMI: @JustinMarksDG joined @DGodfatherMoody and said anything is possible for the future of @TeamTrackhouse, including the Indianapolis 500.
“I would love to go to the Speedway and run a Trackhouse car in the Indy 500 and I’ve already starting having discussions like that just to see what something like that would look like. I don’t think there is any limit to how big our dreams can be around this company.”
Cup Series Drivers Have a History of Running the Indy 500
GettyKurt Busch races in the Indianapolis 500.
While Marks having Trackhouse compete in the Indy 500 could seem like a bold move, it is nothing new for NASCAR. Multiple Cup Series drivers have climbed into the open-wheel race cars and suited up for the iconic race.
John Andretti, a driver with 393 Cup Series starts in his career, competed in the Indy 500 five times while in his 40s. Robby Gordon took part in the race seven times during his career, posting a best finish of fourth in 2003.
The list continues with Kurt Busch (sixth in 2014), Tony Stewart (five starts), and Juan Pablo Montoya (six starts and two wins). Montoya, in particular, captured an Indy 500 win in 2000, his lone start of the season, before moving to the Cup Series.
He raced against some of NASCAR’s biggest names until the end of the 2013 season when he moved back to IndyCar. Despite spending more than a decade away, Montoya immediately began winning open-wheel races and notched his second Indy 500 win in 2015.
Trackhouse Racing Continues to Turn Heads With Bold Moves
Expressing the desire to take on the Indianapolis 500 is only the latest way in which Marks has turned heads early in his ownership career. He previously did so by shaking up the NASCAR Cup Series landscape.
Marks and Chip Ganassi met with members of the media on June 30 and delivered a surprising announcement. The two men revealed that Trackhouse Racing had purchased Chip Ganassi Racing’s NASCAR operation, including its two charters. Ganassi made the decision to step away and focus on his other race teams in IndyCar and IMSA.
Trackhouse’s move meant that Ross Chastain will join Kurt Busch in the free-agent pool at the end of the season. The two men will search for new opportunities ahead of the 2022 season while Trackhouse Racing driver Daniel Suarez will wait to learn the identity of his new teammate.
One month later, Marks turned heads once again with the announcement that he is having discussions about running the Indianapolis 500. He is obviously early in the process, but he is starting to follow in the footsteps of Ganassi and Roger Penske.
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