Trackhouse Racing is on a high! The weekend couldn’t have begun on a better note for the team co-owned by Justin Marks, Pitbull, and Avenue Sports Fund. Ross Chastain finished in pole position at Watkins Glen International, edging out Martin Truex Jr and Shane van Gisbergen while his teammate Daniel Suarez also ended up in an impressive eighth place. That’s not all, as the team’s development driver Connor Zilisch made history by winning his debut Xfinity Series race on the 2.45-mile road course.

With so much to celebrate, Trackhouse Racing president Justin Marks took to social media to host a mock ‘emergency press conference’ to recap the start of a promising week for the NASCAR team.

Marks elated by Trackhouse Racing’s performance at Watkins Glen!

Who would have predicted that Ross Chastain would clinch the pole position at Watkins Glen International? The Florida native ended up finishing first in qualifying for only the second time in his career, recording a time of 1:12.130, notably faster than Joe Gibbs Racing’s Martin Truex Jr. The road course is one of the more challenging tracks in the Cup Series calendar, and starting the 2024 Go Bowling at The Glen at the front of the grid will give the 31-year-old a significant advantage going into the race. His teammate Daniel Suarez also secured a top-ten finish, giving Justin Marks plenty to look forward to in the second playoff race of the season.

During the mock ‘emergency press conference’, the Trackhouse Racing co-owner recapped his team’s achievements by saying, “Saturday up here at Watkins Glen, Ross Chastain on the pole, Daniel Suarez starts eighth. Unbelievable opportunity to win this race tomorrow. What can we say about Connor Zilisch? First Xfinity race, on the pole, leads a bunch of laps, wins the race through a bunch of adversity. We’ve got a future star in Connor. Really really proud of Trackhouse, proud of every man or woman who works in this company today, because we really showed what we’re made of. We have a lot of work to do tomorrow. And, I came out of retirement and finished third in the old retired guys race. Perfect day!”

Connor Zilisch’s result at ‘The Glen’ will be spoken about for years to come! The 18-year-old racing prodigy joined an exclusive list of drivers who have won an Xfinity Series race on their debut, such as Dale Earnhardt Sr, Ty Gibbs, and Kurt Busch. The youngster finished in pole position at Watkins Glen International and drove with maturity beyond his age to stretch his fuel beyond the double overtime to secure a victory. The North Carolina native will be joining JR Motorsports as a full-time driver in 2025, but going by his performances, it seems like the Zilisch has already found his home in NASCAR’s second tier.

To cap off a perfect start to the weekend, Justin Marks had a trophy of his own that was revealed in the ‘press conference’. The team owner came out of retirement to finish third in a race meant for retired drivers, an impressive achievement for somebody who has competed in only six Cup Series races in four years. He will now hope that the weekend ends on a positive note, with Chastain getting his first win of the season, and Suarez securing a top-five result at Watkins Glen International.

Justin Marks shares his views about the charter agreement

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Ever since Trackhouse Racing came to the forefront in 2021, the racing team has had quite a forward-thinking outlook when it comes to their views on NASCAR ownership. However, Justin Marks was one of the 13 team owners who chose to sign the recent charter agreement proposal, which reportedly came with an ultimatum from the sanctioning body that teams could either ‘take it or leave it’. The negotiations had been going on for over two years, but the conclusion left Marks feeling positive about the future of his racing team.

Expressing his views about NASCAR’s proposal, Justin Marks went on to say, “There are things in the agreement that I really like, that are going to be very, very helpful to us. There are things in the agreement that are different from the way that I would have wanted them to end up, there are going to be some challenges. I think it’s just both sides trying to get the best deal for them as possible, obviously, and there’s a lot of consensus in the group that this is probably where we’re going to end up and where we’re going to net out.”

As things stand, 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports are the only two NASCAR teams that have not signed the agreement yet. Are they playing a waiting game with the sanctioning body, hoping that NASCAR will blink first and give in to their demands? What would that mean for the teams that have already agreed to the charter agreement? Time will reveal all the answers, but at least for Trackhouse Racing and Justin Marks, the chapter is now finally closed.