NASCAR team owner shakeup
Trackhouse Racing is one of NASCAR’s newest teams. They made their debut in the 2021 season with driver Daniel Suarez.
The team is owned by Justin Marks and superstar Pitbull. The owners recently revealed a future goal to relocate the team to Nashville, TN.
Chip Ganassi Racing field two full-time entries in the NASCAR Cup Series. The No. 1 is piloted by Kurt Busch while the No. 42 is controlled by Ross Chastain.
Additionally, CGR runs multiple teams that run in via IMSA and the Indycar Series.
In 2009, Ganassi partnered with Teresa Earnhardt to form Earnhardt Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates. That was the name of the team until 2014.
Trackhouse Racing buys Chip Ganassi Racing
Trackhouse Racing has a acquired the NASCAR division of Chip Ganassi Racing. The announcement was made during a NASCAR Hall of Fame live stream.
“My NASCAR team was not for sale,” Ganassi said.
“Justin simply came to me with a great offer and an even better vision. As everyone knows, I care deeply for my employees so selling to someone like Justin, who is part of the CGR family, made the reality of selling much easier.”
“I think it’s on an uptick,” Ganassi said of NASCAR changes. “I look at my 20 years and say, ‘Hey, I’m 63 years old. What am I going to do? Am I going to do this for 10 more years or something?’ I just think we seem to be in a period of time where there’s some movement going on, some new, fresh young blood coming in.”
Ganassi added. “Like I said, our team wasn’t for sale. I wasn’t planning on selling it. Quite frankly, no one ever offered to buy it in 20 years. I just thought it was something I should listen to. … And I’m not going away from racing. So, I’ll be around.”
Chip Ganassi Racing jumped into the NASCAR Cup Series in 2001. The team has collected 19 wins along the way.
Justin Marks comments on CGR purchase
Trackhouse claimed their first top-5 result on the dirt at Bristol Motor Speedway.
“This process took several weeks and I want to thank Chip for being so open and candid with me every step of the journey,” Marks said. “Chip has built an iconic motorsports empire and the Ganassi brand is globally recognized as a winner in the auto racing industry.”
“This is so much more than a charter acquisition. This is an investment in an entire enterprise. For Trackhouse, it was always this vision of establishing itself in the sport, in a responsible way.”
“That why, this year we’re working with RCR in the way that we’re working. We’re very intelligent about out capital outlay and the investments that we make. This was an opportunity to make an investment in something that can be a foundation for decades to come.”
“You know, multiple car teams. Chip has amassed a great set of assets at that shop that can be applied to the Next Gen car. We can start doing more and more on our own, at Trackhouse.”
“Then, there’s a lot of processes and IP in place over there that have been developed for a long time, that are going to be really valuable to us. It’s a very holistic deal. Looking at things and saying, ‘What at Trackhouse is the best move that we can make to set us up intelligently and responsibly for the future?’ And, this was it.”
Suarez will remain with the team in 2022. Additionally, another driver will be joining the roster though that driver has not been announced.
