LEXINGTON, N.C. — Trackhouse Racing founder and owner Justin Marks will drive the No. 10 Jockey Chevrolet for Kaulig Racing in the July 1 NASCAR Xfinity Series race on the Chicago Street Course, the team announced Tuesday.
Marks will step away from his NASCAR Cup Series owner duties to join forces with Kaulig Racing’s road-course racing program and race in the Xfinity Series for the first time since 2018.
“It’s very difficult to retire as a racecar driver,” said the 41-year-old Marks. “I’ve got a lot of experience on street courses, so when NASCAR announced it was going to Chicago, I just felt like I really had to be a part of that experience. We have a great relationship with Kaulig Racing through our pit crew department and being a fellow Chevrolet team, so making my return to racing with the team just felt right. Jockey coming on board makes it even more enticing to run well in Chicago.”
Marks owns 35-career Xfinity Series starts including a victory at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in 2016, along with three top five and seven top-10 finishes. Each start has come on road courses.
Marks, whose Trackhouse Racing team fields Cup Series entries for drivers Daniel Suárez and Ross Chastain, boasts an extensive sports-car racing resumé, earning multiple wins across the Rolex Grand-Am Sports Car Series and the Weathertech Sportscar Championship Series. Most recently, he won the Trans-Am race at Lime Rock Park in Connecticut on May 29.
“We’re excited to have Justin [Marks], another road-course ringer, come out of retirement and compete for us in the Xfinity Series,” said Chris Rice, president of Kaulig Racing. “I think that says a lot about the tremendous success Kaulig Racing has had in just a few short years, especially on road courses.
“Not only is Justin Marks a successful team owner in NASCAR, but he has a ton of experience on street courses, so having him come on board for this historic weekend in our industry just makes sense.”
Of Kaulig Racing’s 22-total Xfinity wins, nine have come at road courses. The team also earned its first win in the Cup Series with its victory at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course in 2021 with A.J. Allmendinger.
“If you’re in a road-course car in the Xfinity Series, A.J. [Allmendinger] demonstrates pretty consistently, that the Kaulig Racing cars are the ones you want to be sitting in,” said Marks. “It’s going to be a very unique event, and I know we will have a good racecar.”