Justin Marks Lay Bares His Intentions of Roping Conor Zilisch Into Trackhouse Racing

Now that the 2024 Cup Series season is officially underway, team owners are stepping up to ensure their crews understand what the stakes are for this year. Even though Tony Stewart’s off-season optimistic speeches to the Stewart-Haas Racing camp failed to work, Justin Marks’ moves and plans for Trackhouse Racing seem to be taking the team to new heights like never before.

While the talk of the town after the Ambetter Health 400 has been Daniel Suarez’s win over Ryan Blaney and Kyle Busch, a young Trackhouse prodigy is quickly making a name for himself in the world of motorsport after winning the Rolex 24.

Trackhouse Racing is wasting no time bringing in rising talent Connor Zilisch to secure their future

Whether it was Ross Chastain’s hail melon or Suarez’s photo finish, Trackhouse Racing has been in the headlines for all the right reasons as of late, and the performance of their young star, Connor Zilisch, is yet another indicator of a bright future. Hailing from North Carolina, the 17-year-old has moved up the ranks rapidly with four wins in the Mazda MX5 Cup in 2022 and most recently, as well as more notably, finishing first for Era Motorsports in the LMP2 Class at the prestigious Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona.

With Trackhouse Racing expanding rapidly, Justin Marks took a moment to reflect on how his current Cup Series drivers have been given a platform to deliver their best. Similarly, Marks also believes the same will be the case for upcoming prodigy Zilisch. Speaking on SiriusXM’s NASCAR radio, Marks stated; “Zane (Smith) actually was having a great race going yesterday, got aggressive and hit the wall and didn’t finish but had a lot of speed in that car yesterday.” While Smith’s race ended in misery, the same wasn’t the case for Australian Supercars champion, Shane van Gisbergen.

Reflecting on the Kiwi’s jaw-dropping adaptability, Marks added, “And then SVG, I mean, Holy Cow! Never been in a mile and a half before, has no practice, goes out there in qualifying, holds it open and almost makes it into the top ten, and then runs 11th, 12th, and 13th all day long and benefits from attrition late to finish third, unbelievable.” While Trackhouse’s results with Suarez were impressive on their own, the Spire-Trackhouse partnership was also bringing in some great statistics.

Evidently, Marks has shown that Trackhouse Racing can provide the drivers with the ability to outshine the field with the right equipment and crew to do so. With that said, Marks reflected on what was in the works for his young prodigy. The Trackhouse owner stated, “So we’ve got those guys in some good spots. I am really excited about signing this kid, Connor Zilisch, who is, by all intents and purposes, you know sort of the number 1 prospect out there on the horizon that is sort of on his way to the Cup Series and really excited about his development.”

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With that, we now know what lies in store for Zilisch if he continues down the path of achieving glory in every category he enters, because ultimately, it’s the Cup Series that awaits him, according to Justin Marks. While that may give us some clarity on Zilisch’s future, Marks also shared what the big goal for Trackhouse Racing is now that the team has stabilized.

Justin Marks reveals his grand ambition for Trackhouse racing

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When Trackhouse Racing began taking shape at the start of the 2021 season, fans were rather skeptical of what looked like an “unconventional” team with a big focus on marketing. Could the team deliver the same kind of results the brand had built up hype for? Soon enough, we would get that answer, with Trackhouse Racing delivering three of NASCAR’s biggest moments in recent memory (the third one being SVG’s iconic win at the Chicago Road Course last year).

With that said, Justin Marks isn’t just done with one early win in 2024. The plan is far greater, as evident from his words regarding the team’s off-season development. Earlier in the SiriusXM podcast, Marks stated, “You know, now that we sort of feel like we’re getting established in the NASCAR Cup Series, we’re starting to figure out truly what business development looks like and what the future looks like, and building for the future.”

Over the winter break, Trackhouse Racing has announced major sponsorship deals with WeatherTech and Wendy’s, showcasing the team’s positive prospects. Marks stated that Trackhouse Racing is aiming to widen its foundation, ensuring the team can be strong and competent in the long term. Marks concludes by revealing his grand ambition: “Now we can sort of open the aperture a little bit and look far into the future and say, ‘What do we need to be doing now to be a perennial championship contender and a big, popular race team in this series?'”

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It’s safe to say the future for Trackhouse Racing looks brighter than ever, and if Connor Zilisch’s current form in IMSA is any indicator, the young prodigy could soon step up to the Cup Series.