NASCAR rumor shot down, team owner not leaving after 2024

Summer break evidently breeds boredom, which has apparently led a contingent of NASCAR fans to make things up, post them to Reddit, and generate enough attention with the nonsensical rumors they've concocted to the point where said Redditors have actually been cited as reliable sources of information by various racing websites.

If everything on the internet were indeed true, then Pitbull will be leaving his Trackhouse Racing Team at the end of the 2024 season. Fortunately, it isn't.

Late in the 2020 season, Justin Marks announced the creation of Trackhouse Racing Team for the 2021 season, and Daniel Suarez was named the driver of the No. 99 Chevrolet. As the season approached, it was confirmed that Pitbull would be joining the team as a co-owner.

The team acquired Chip Ganassi Racing's operation after the 2021 season and expanded to two cars, hiring former Chip Ganassi Racing driver Ross Chastain to drive the No. 1 Chevrolet.

In select races during the 2022 and 2023 seasons, the team ran a third entry they called "PROJECT91", which was designed to given international renowned racing stars the opportunity to compete at NASCAR's top level.

The No. 91 Chevrolet was most notably driven to victory lane by Shane van Gisbergen on the streets of Chicago in July 2023, making the New Zealander the first driver to win on Cup debut since 1963.

Needless to say, Trackhouse Racing Team are in a pretty good spot, and before the rumors got totally out of hand, Marks completely shut down the idea that Pitbull would be leaving after his fourth season as co-owner of the organization.

Pitbull, Trackhouse departure rumor shot down

It really wouldn't make much sense for Pitbull to step away at this point anyway. While Marks is indeed the head man when it comes to the racing side of running the team, Pitbull himself has been a longtime NASCAR fan, and he remains very active in the organization.

Additionally, it's not like Trackhouse Racing Team are in an unhealthy state. In fact, they're in the complete opposite.

While Stewart-Haas Racing plan to shut down at the end of the 2024 season, other teams, including Trackhouse Racing Team, are looking to expand. It remains likely that they will purchase one of the three available Stewart-Haas Racing charters, with Gene Haas having confirmed his plans to retain one of the four to run the new Haas Factory Team.

With Front Row Motorsports having already announced expansion plans themselves, it is believed that their third charter will be acquired from Stewart-Haas Racing as well. 23XI Racing are the other team rumored to be making the move from two cars to three.

Van Gisbergen, who remains signed by Trackhouse Racing Team but currently competes full-time for Kaulig Racing in the Xfinity Series, is viewed as the most likely candidate to join Suarez and Chastain at the Marks and Pitbull-owned team.

From a competitive standpoint, Trackhouse Racing Team are in a good place as well. Suarez is locked into the playoffs for the second time in the last three seasons, thanks to his victory at Atlanta Motor Speedway back in late February, and Chastain finds himself above the playoff cut line with four races remaining in the regular season.

Chastain made it all the way to the Championship 4 in his first season with Trackhouse Racing Team in 2022 and placed second in the championship standings to wrap up an impressive two-win season.

While he was eliminated in last year's round of 12, he became the first driver in the modern playoff era (2014 to present) to win the championship race despite no longer being championship eligible. He once again wrapped up the season with two wins.

The Cook Out 400 is set to get NASCAR Cup Series action back underway following a three-week break due to NBC's coverage of the Summer Olympics in Paris, France on Sunday, August 11. USA Network is set to provide live coverage from Richmond Raceway beginning at 6:00 p.m. ET. Start a free trial of FuboTV and don't miss any of the 14 remaining races on the 2024 schedule!