The city of Chicago in the past Sunday, bore witness to a historic event. The Cup Series in its inaugural race can be deemed to be a success apart from some minor hiccups. The debut race had been a source of apprehension for many veteran drivers, some of which came true on the tracks. But among those minor roadblocks, it was Trackhouse Racing’s Shane Van Gisbergen that maintained its momentum and outlasted all the drivers in taking his first victory in NASCAR Cup Series. But this victory does not belong to the Supercar champion alone but also to Justin Marks and his Project 91 team who had faith in their initiative. 

Nevertheless, the success of Trackhouse Racing or Justin Marks does not solely lies in the victory of the streets of Chicago, but also in the success they have witnessed, while driving on road courses. And perhaps that day is not far when this team, still in its nascent stage will usurp Tony Stewart as the ‘road ringer.’ Even Dale Earnhardt Jr has his faith in the team.

Justin Marks and his Trackhouse Racing are on the verge of usurping Tony Stewart from his coveted title

In the history of NASCAR, it has been the oval tracks, that have always occupied a distinctive place. But road courses have always had their own idiosyncrasies as they pushed the drivers out of their comfort zones and navigate their turns on the tracks. And among the drivers who had derived their own pride, by driving on these courses and had dominated these courses, lies the name of Tony Stewart. 

The former Cup Series driver has a total of 8 wins on road courses and has 12 top-five finishes in his career. But in the present times, road courses have lost their relevance as they provided a minimal amount of changes. But it seems things are on the verge of a change as the ongoing witnesses the return of the ringers and dominating them are the drivers of Trackhouse Racing.

With the victory in Chicago, Dale Jr in his latest episode of Dale Jr Download, seemed to be all in praises for Trackhouse Racing and their co-owner Justin Marks. Speaking to his co-host Mike Davis, the former Cup Series driver expressed, “There were other international, non-NASCAR drivers in the field, they were in the cars that didn’t run as well. I don’t know that, I think that was the perfect scenario where, Shane got in a great race car that was capable of winning, and not all cars are capable of winning.”

“If I am an owner in the Cup Series and I have got an extra car just sitting there, I can take it to the race track to any great course. I don’t care if it’s a street course, the Glen, I am calling one of the Australians or one of the New Zealand. I am going to call one of those guys who have Supercar experience. Basically, a Next-Gen car in specs is very similar.”

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Kenny Wallace asserts the similarities between Supercars and stock racing cars

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It is true that it was the past experience of racing on street tracks that played a pivotal role in Shane Van Gisbergen and his victory. Moreover as Junior puts it, there are a certain amount of similarities between the V8 Supercars and the stock cars of NASCAR. Even the veteran driver, Kenny Wallace, echoed the same idea on his episode of the Kenny Wallace Show.

While reiterating the remarkable resume of the 3x Supercar champion, Wallace emphasized, “We had a New Zealander win this race. Shane Van Gisbergen. He is from New Zealand, so they call him SVG because it’s hard to say that. He is a 3x V-8 Supercar champion, he has 80 wins. Stop and think about Jimmie Johnson, 70-something NASCAR wins.’

He also added, “And this new Next-Gen car was copied after them. It was cap copied after them, so SVG put on. He comes from the back and wriggles his way through the front and nobody passed and outbroke those drivers as SVG did.”

With victories at COTA and Sonoma last year and at Chicago in the ongoing season, Trackhouse is setting new records for teams. Still in its early stages, the team has shown early potential of winning a championship. And if the tides are in their favor, perhaps they will, who knows!

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