NASCAR team owner jumps to series' defence as 'sleeping giant' reveal made

A NASCAR Cup Series team owner has brushed off claims that the stock car racing series is in decline, revealing a close confidante of his believes the sport is a 'sleeping giant'.

Justin Marks is the majority owner of Trackhouse Racing, who currently run three cars full-time in the Cup Series with the Nos. 1, 88, and 99.

The team has even run other cars part-time in 2025, with Connor Zilisch having raced in the No. 87 and Helio Castroneves in the No. 91.

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Marks believes in 'sleeping giant'

Trackhouse are clearly committed heavily to the Cup Series and its success, and in a conversation with John Roberts on the Kenny Wallace YouTube channel, team owner Marks was quizzed on the current state of the sport.

"I mean there's a lot of different ways to answer that question," Marks said. "I will tell you this, I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't believe in the sport.

“I wouldn’t be doing this if I didn’t believe that the sport of car racing and NASCAR racing in America can't be very valuable and very popular for a long time to come."

Marks went on to reveal that a 'very successful' individual in the world of sports media even believes that NASCAR is a 'sleeping giant', but cautioned that the series must get some big decisions right moving forward if it is to fulfil its potential.

"There's somebody that I really admire that has been very, very successful in professional sports and media, more successful than just about anybody that's walked into the cup garage, who told me two or three years ago that he believes that NASCAR truly is a sleeping giant," Marks explained.

"But it's going to take a lot of right decisions over the next two years to get it to where it can be.”

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Sponsors love NASCAR

Whilst NASCAR may not have the audience it once had during its peak years, Marks reiterates just how much of a behemoth it still is, citing the millions of viewers it attracts every single weekend and the current appetite for sponsorships.

“The fact of the matter is that we're a sports property regardless of what we did in 2018, or 2010, or 2000, or 1995," Marks continued.

"I don't care. I care about today, and I care about tomorrow, and when you look at it today and you look at it tomorrow, for 38 weeks a year, we have a live audience of millions of people.

“That's a big deal. That's a very, very big deal, and it's very, very valuable, and trust me, I'm sitting in meetings at Fortune 500 companies selling sponsorships.

“I mean we have sponsors on our cars that are in that are in the other big leagues and see the value in NASCAR, they love being there, and they're renewing and they're extending and they're growing and all that stuff. Those are my metrics. And I see a lot of success.”

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