Since entering the NASCAR Cup Series in 2021, Trackhouse Racing has been seen as one of the fastest-growing organizations. After kickstarting their ambitious journey on track with seven Cup wins in four years, they are looking to expand their blueprint further.

Having already onboarded pop star Armando Christian Pérez, aka Pitbull, to the ownership roster, Justin Marks is set to receive an additional boost. According to reports, billionaire Marc Lasry has taken a minority stake in Trackhouse Racing Entertainment Group. At a time when investors look hesitant to enter NASCAR due to stalled charter negotiations, this move came as a surprise to the community.

NASCAR is still seen as a lucrative business prospect

In 2020, NBA legend Michael Jordan collaborated with Denny Hamlin to field a two-car team named 23XI Racing. While the team has evolved into an organization competitive enough to fight for the championship, even Jordan and Hamlin are concerned about the charter agreement. With negotiations ongoing, owners pushed for permanent charters – a demand NASCAR denied. Jordan commented, “That’s a big, big miss right there. If you don’t correct that, this sport’s going to die not because of the competition aspect, but because economically, it doesn’t make sense for any businesspeople.”

Even so, it looks like the former Charlotte Hornets owner paved the way for investment in the premier stock-car racing series, and Milwaukee Bucks’ former co-owner, Marc Lasry, is now looking to further his sports portfolio, especially after he sold his 25% ownership stake from the NBA team last year. Notably, this set the team’s valuation well above the $3 billion mark, with estimates ranging from $3.2 billion to $3.5 billion.

Lasry’s Avenue Sports Fund was founded in October 2023 to focus on “a wide variety of sports teams, leagues, owners, sports-related media and entertainment rights, sports-related real estate, facilities and other sports intellectual property-adjacent businesses.” Although Trackhouse Racing is its newest project, it recently invested in pickleball and was also a part of the group that bought SailGP’s USA team. With a $7.7 billion TV deal in the bag and more growth opportunities, he turned his attention towards NASCAR.

There’s no confirmation on the amount invested in Trackhouse Racing, but the report suggests it’s “sizeable.” In an interview after the announcement, Lasry said, “We had quite a bit of opportunities to work with other groups, but Justin was the only one who understood the business and also saw which way it was going to go.” The new influx of money is expected to add more strength to technological invention, impacting performance on the track.

Justin Marks was pleased to see his vision and ambition supported by like-minded business personalities. He said, “Partnering with Avenue is a monumental step forward in continuing to develop and execute that vision. With Trackhouse in the Avenue portfolio, the company will be able to draw on the experience and expertise of a leading global sports fund to scale into one of the most powerful motorsports companies in the world.”

In NASCAR, sponsorships and partnerships have become more crucial than ever. They’re what drive a team’s revenue generation. Considering it takes nearly $20 million a year to field one car on track, you can imagine how welcome this investment from Marc Lasry would’ve been for Trackhouse Racing. In a conversation with Kenny Wallace, Denny Hamlin revealed, “Ask any sponsor that tries to come in. They say NASCAR is the most complicated sport ever to participate in. Because the track owns real estate, NASCAR owns that, the teams own that.”

While it may be complicated, the former Milwaukee Bucks co-owner still took a chance. And Justin Marks couldn’t be happier. He said that a firm like Avenue investing in his team “is a testament to the fact that motorsports is ripe for innovation, young leaders, aggressive brand development, and new ideas on how to build a compelling business. That has been our goal since day one.”

This move is also expected to aid the team’s plan to add a third charter. Meanwhile, it will allow them to not rely heavily on Richard Childress Racing’s alliance.

Is Trackhouse Racing going the Front Row Motorsports route?

It is important to note that Trackhouse Racing leans on RCR to help them support their racing program. However, given the predicament the team is in right now, they are potentially looking to branch out. This is where this investment could aid their ambitious growth. Although Daniel Suarez has locked his playoff spot, he’s struggled to string consistent performances.

Their star driver, Ross Chastain, on the other hand, has yet to seal his playoff entry with just five races to go in the regular season. For a long time, the team has been linked to expanding to a three-car lineup, but nothing is official yet. However, with this development, a third entry for Trackhouse Racing in 2025 looks more and more possible.

What do you make of this move? And will this propel them to be a better racing outfit compared to the current woes the team is in?