Trackhouse first appeared as a race group in 2021 once they entered the NASCAR Cup Sequence as an unremarkable single-car group. Nonetheless, once they purchased Chip Ganassi Racing in its entirety, they shocked the NASCAR world and obtained everybody to concentrate to them, and never for the final time.
Since then, Trackhouse has branched out and now fields three full-time entries within the Cup Sequence, in addition to signing the most important rising star within the inventory automobile world. They fashioned a MotoGP squad with help from Aprilia forward of the 2024 season, and even took half within the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona this 12 months with a GTD Professional entry, putting ninth at school.Â
This weekend, they hit one other milestone as they turned winners on the pinnacle of two-wheeled motorsport, successful the MotoGP Australian Grand Prix with Raul Fernandez. The group hadn’t even scored a podium earlier than Sunday’s triumph.Â
With their spectacular victory in MotoGP, we thought it might be time to look again on the occasions Trackhouse, who’ve change into referred to as disruptors in NASCAR, took the racing world unexpectedly.
Challenge 91 and the triumphant arrival of highway course king SVG
Watch: Shane van Gisbergen wins Chicago in his first NASCAR begin
Challenge 91 was an interesting concept that got here from the thoughts of Trackhouse founder Justin Marks. He wished to convey worldwide racing stars to NASCAR in one-off entries in an effort to reveal the game to a bigger viewers, but in addition present alternatives these drivers would not in any other case get.Â
The automobile has solely entered a handful of races over the previous couple of years, but it surely has featured 2007 System 1 World Champion Kimi Raikkonen, four-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves, and naturally, three-time Supercars champion Shane van Gisbergen.
The automobile’s mere presence on the grid was spectacular sufficient, bringing in some enormous names and clashing racing worlds collectively. However SVG took no matter shock individuals felt and turned it into utter shock. He gained on debut on the Chicago Avenue Course in 2023, turning into the primary driver in over 60 years to win a NASCAR Cup race of their very first strive.
Since then, he has walked away from his profession in Supercars to tackle the inventory automobile racing world fulltime. Whereas he has quickly progressed on ovals, van Gisbergen has additionally surprised on highway programs in 2025. He has gained the final 5 consecutive highway/avenue programs on the schedule and change into the winningest rookie in Cup Sequence historical past.
Ross Chastain’s viral wall-ride and almost turning into Cup champions
Watch: See a number of angles of Chastain’s last-lap transfer to advance at Martinsville
On the subject of head-turning moments, the group’s flagship NASCAR star has had loads of them … each good and dangerous. However nothing compares to the transfer he pulled on the finish of the 2022 season. Chastain was a Ganassi driver with no wins when Trackhouse took over the group. He rapidly modified that with a dramatic win at COTA (Trackhouse’s first in NASCAR), and the unpredictable driver went deep into the playoffs.Â
In simply their second 12 months as a race group, they’d an opportunity to make all of it the way in which to the championship finals, however Chastain was going to be eradicated from competition by simply two factors. As an alternative of accepting defeat like a sane individual would do, Chastain took a unique strategy.
As the sphere slammed on the brakes, downshifting as they entered the tight Turns 3 and 4 of the small half-mile quick observe, Chastain upshifted into fifth as an alternative. He stored the pedal mashed to the ground, pinning the automobile towards the surface wall and grinding towards it because the automobile slingshot across the outermost bounds of the race observe. He let go of the wheel and even admitted to his imaginative and prescient getting blurry as he handed 5 automobiles and shattered the observe document. Chastain made the Championship 4, and that transfer was considered over 200 million occasions throughout social media. To at the present time, engagement-driven accounts that don’t have anything to do with racing promote the video as a result of it is merely unbelievable and a straightforward strategy to get views.
Chastain’s transfer propelled the group to a runner-up end within the championship, coming 356 toes shy of the crown.
Profitable the closest three-wide photograph end in NASCAR historical past
Watch: Hear FOX Sports activities Latin America’s name of Daniel Suárez’s wild Atlanta win
Daniel Suarez was the group’s authentic driver in NASCAR, and the primary Mexican-born driver to ever win within the Cup Sequence. In 2024, he was concerned in a photograph end that regarded prefer it was pulled proper out of the film, Vehicles. Suarez crossed the road in a three-wide photograph end for the ages, racing to the checkered flag alongside Ryan Blaney and Kyle Busch in what appeared like a trio of fighter pilots flying in formation.
Suarez gained the race in fact — his first on an oval. In doing so, he additionally turned the primary foreign-born driver to win an oval race within the Cup Sequence since Canadian Earl Ross did it in 1974. However this race was additionally the closest three-wide photograph end within the historical past of the complete sport. Suarez beat Blaney by simply 0.003s, and Busch in third was a mere 0.007s behind.
Disrupting the NASCAR championship race like by no means earlier than
Watch: Chastain on racing Blaney onerous in title race: ‘I do know he’s mad, and I don’t care’
In fashionable NASCAR, the season ends with 4 finalists in a winner-take-all race at Phoenix Raceway (and beforehand Homestead-Miami Speedway. It isn’t a factors race for these Championship 4 drivers, as whichever one among them finishes increased is topped champion. Subsequently, it needs to be no shock that the winner of the season finale yearly since this format was launched in 2014 has additionally been the champion…apart from one time.
Chastain was eradicated midway by way of the playoffs in 2023, however that does not imply you go dwelling. The remainder of the sphere continues to be on the market racing whereas the 4 title combatants battle it out. Chastain fortunately inserted himself into that battle, drawing the ire of eventual champion Ryan Blaney, who flipped him as they battled in a full-contact combat for the lead. On the ultimate restart, he drove proper on by fellow Chevy (and one other Championship 4 driver) Kyle Larson to take the lead, and finally held off Blaney for the race win. The published group struggled with easy methods to name the end as their consideration was break up between the champion in second, and the motive force who was truly successful the race.
From final to first in a backup automobile to win NASCAR’s longest race
Watch: Ross Chastain makes daring transfer to win 2025 Coca-Cola 600
Chastain seems a couple of occasions on this listing as a result of he’s at all times so stuffed with surprises (simply take a look at the current Spherical of 12 elimination race on the Charlotte Roval), however earlier this 12 months, he earned Trackhouse its largest win in NASCAR but. And the way in which they did it was slightly unconventional.
In apply for the 2025 Coca-Cola 600 — NASCAR’s longest race at 600 miles (roughly 966km), the No. 1 automobile pushed by Chastain crashed with a tire failure. The group labored all through the night time to get the backup automobile prepared for this crown jewel occasion, figuring out they have been going to start out fortieth — final within the discipline.
The automobile was readied, and Chastain slowly progressed by way of the sphere. He was twentieth by the tip of Stage 1, tenth by the tip of Stage 2, and fifth by the tip of Stage 3. Within the fourth and last stage, he snatched the lead away from William Byron with lower than ten miles left within the grueling occasion. He went on to seize the checkered flag, main simply eight of 400 laps, and smashing a watermelon because the eighth-generation farmer at all times does when he’s victorious. It was the deepest within the discipline a winner of the legendary race has ever began, which dates all the way in which again to 1960.
Fernandez stuns with MotoGP triumph
Raul Fernandez, Trackhouse Racing
Picture by: Robert Cianflone / Getty Pictures
And the group’s most up-to-date shocker occurred in the newest spherical of MotoGP. Raul Fernandez was beginning his 76th profession grand prix, having by no means completed increased than fifth. Trackhouse’s MotoGP effort is lower than two years outdated, working as a satellite tv for pc group for Aprilia, they usually’ve by no means scored a podium.
Nonetheless, after beginning fourth within the Australian Grand Prix at Phillip Island, he jumped as much as second slightly rapidly with Marco Bezzecchi simply forward of him. Bezzecchi needed to serve a penalty that later dropped him down the order, and opened the door for Fernandez. The Trackhouse rider held onto the race lead with a agency grip, sustaining a depraved tempo all through the occasion. Whereas there have been issues that he would burn the rear tire off, he managed it completely, taking the win by 1.4 seconds over Fabio di Giannantonio. It was a surprising triumph that few noticed coming, and Fernandez may hardly include his pleasure as soon as he ascended the highest step of the rostrum.
Together with 14 NASCAR Cup wins courtesy of Chastain, Van Gisbergen, and Suarez, the group now has one MotoGP victory due to Fernandez. All 4 drivers come from totally different nations as nicely, representing the USA (Chastain), New Zealand (SVG), Mexico (Suarez), and Spain (Fernandez).
Watch: Raul Fernandez wins the Australian GP!
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