Trackhouse Racing’s expansive vision for motorsports has evolved from that of a cultural NASCAR entrant to one that also fields rides in MotoGP.
It’s Daytona 500 roster for next month features four drivers from four different countries.
- Ross Chastain (USA)
- Daniel Suarez (MEX)
- Shane Van Gisbergen (NZ)
- Helio Castroneves (BRA)
So, it’s no surprise that team owner Justin Marks would also like to eventually expand to an event that is considered amongst the three greatest in motorsports. The Greatest Spectacle in Racing. The Indianapolis 500.
“It’s very high on my personal list,” said Marks during a press conference formally introducing Castroneves as one of his drivers for The Great American Race. “I don’t think that the Trackhouse story will ever be complete without us competing in the world’s greatest open-wheel race. There are continuing discussions about how to make something like that happen. It’s no small feat. It’s something that we’ve looked at as a company for a number of years.”
Marks said that he first attended the race with his father in 1995 and it has served as an important part of his fixation on the sport.
“I was so moved and so captivated by the Indianapolis 500,” Marks said. “It was really that moment that I knew that the race track was going to be home for me in some capacity my entire life. The Indianapolis 500 really cemented the passion for motorsports that I had … and put me on a path to start thinking about it as a career.
“Every year for the last five or six years I’ve gone to a practice day at the Indy 500 and sat on the pit box, talked to the drivers and watched the cars go round because it’s such an incredible experience just being there.”
If not in the form of a full-time entry, made more complicated by the new charter system the IndyCar Series has introduced, a one-off entry would have to come in the form of a relationship not too dissimilar to the one employed by Hendrick Motorsports to enter Kyle Larson in the race for McLaren Racing.
Marks, of course, has proven to have a keen eye for big picture endeavors and he will do it when it makes sense for the brand or company at large.
