In an unheralded move, one NASCAR team is set to expand its racing portfolio to include the highest level of motorcycle racing.
Trackhouse Racing will join MotoGP in 2024 after taking the reins from RNF Racing, which was banned by MotoGP for "repeated infractions and breaches of the participation agreement affecting the public image" of the championship.
NASCAR and MotoGP couldn't be more opposed in racing terms. NASCAR at the Cup Series level is held entirely in the United States with stock cars racing predominantly on ovals. MotoGP, meanwhile, races across the globe at some of the world's toughest tracks.
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Trackhouse Racing is one of motorsport's newest players. The team was only established in 2021 after taking over Chip Ganassi Racing's operations in NASCAR.
The team achieved its first win in 2022 with Ross Chastain and since then has been victorious with Mexico's Daniel Suarez and New Zealand's Shane van Gisbergen, netting six wins in total.
The team is co-owned by former NASCAR racer Justin Marks and award-winning rapper Pitbull.
With NASCAR seeming a world away from MotoGP, it begs the question of why the team would look to expand into motorcycle racing.
"I'm a student of the game," said Marks.
"I love all forms of motorsports. I love experiencing all different types of motorsports events. I travelled out to the Austrian Grand Prix this summer just to see a European MotoGP race.
"I've never been to one before just to see what the engagement was like, what the fan experience was like, and what the action was like. I was completely blown away. It was life-changing for me.
"Being an entrepreneur and business owner, I started asking questions and learning about the series from Dorna, the different manufacturers, the riders, and understanding the business model.
"On the flight home, I couldn't help but start thinking what an entry in MotoGP would look like.
https://twitter.com/JustinMarksTH/status/1732090127818818026
"When Trackhouse was started, it was always going to be more than a NASCAR team," he added.
"We wanted to create something really special in motorsport – something that was globally relevant that had an American vibe to it but had no borders, had no borders on ideas, creativity, geographically. So to be in this moment right now, it's an incredible moment for our company."
For Marks, memories of watching the world championship at a young age drove his interest.
Although MotoGP doesn't currently have an American competing at the top level, the championship has been home to several successful riders from the United States.
Nicky Hayden was the last American to win the 500cc world championship in 2006 with Honda.
Americans ruled the roost in the 1970s, '80s, and early '90s. Kenny Roberts won the first of three consecutive titles in 1978.
Freddie Spencer won in 1983 and 1985 while Eddie Lawson won four titles across 1984, 1986, 1988, and 1989.
Wayne Rainey continued America's success in 1990, 1991, and 1992 before Kevin Schwantz won the crown in 1993.
After Australia's Mick Doohan dominated the mid-1990s, Kenny Roberts Jr claimed the title in 2000.
"I grew up in Northern California and I got to see the first motorbike races at Laguna Seca, they were the first really big motorsport events I went to," said Marks.
"You think of names my (Wayne) Rainey and (Kevin) Schwantz, Eddie Lawson — and Nicky Hayden was really one of my early racing heroes and so it's humbling and a little bit empowering for Trackhouse to hopefully be a continuation of a great American story in GP motorcycle racing."
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