Following another trying weekend for Trackhouse Racing, team owner Justin Marks says his team is working through a “rebuilding phase” during a recent interview.
Trackhouse Racing entered 2026 with its focus set on the future, as winning drivers Shane van Gisbergen and Ross Chastain were locked into long-term deals, and phenom Connor Zilisch was set for his first full-time season.
But the stat sheet shows that the team’s plans may not be heading in the right direction, with all but one of their drivers, van Gisbergen, outside the top-16 Chase cutoff, and their three-car team consistently running mid-pack.
With lofty expectations yet to be met by the team, during a recent interview with SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, team owner Justin Marks said that this past weekend’s race at Bristol helped him realize his team is currently in a “rebuilding phase.”
“It was one of those races, one of those weekends where you have to zoom out a little bit and realize that, we’re in a rebuilding phase right now.” — Justin Marks
Of course, this season as a whole for teams in the Chevrolet camp has been far from extraordinary, as only one driver, Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott, has won a race so far.
Even though the other teams seem to have a better grasp of the new season than Trackhouse, Marks said the team is working hard to figure things out after their most recent difficult weekend at the track.
“We’re working hard. There were certainly some highlights from, uh, you know, from the weekend,” Marks said. “But, ultimately, at the end of the day yesterday, it was just a tough race, tough results, and another step in the process of rebuilding this race team.”
The 2026 season has not been kind to Trackhouse Racing.
Early in the season, fans focused on a successful start by road-course ace Shane Van Gisbergen, while the team’s other two drivers, Ross Chastain and rookie Connor Zilisch, floundered.
Since their explosion onto the scene following their purchase of Chip Ganassi Racing in 2022, most fans have felt that Trackhouse is the second-best Chevrolet team in the Cup Series.
Now, many of those same fans are saying that the title belongs to Spire Motorsports.
Through the first eight races of the season, the team has just two top-fives and three top tens, with van Gisbergen supplying one top five and two top tens to that total.
The hard times, as of late, have seemingly caught up to SVG as well, with a 33rd-place qualifying lap and a 34th-place finish, wrapping up a tough weekend for Trackhouse at Bristol.
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