When Justin Marks saw the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series schedule he circled one race in particular – Sunday’s 400-mile race at Nashville Superspeedway.
It is the first Cup race in the Nashville area in 37 years.
The former Xfinity Series race winner and longtime sports car driver who is now a first-year Cup Series car owner targeted Nashville because of its proximity to his new Trackhouse Entertainment Group’s corporate headquarters in Franklin, Tenn.
Marks sought out the Nashville cultural landmark Tootsie’s Orchid Cafe to join his team’s effort for the race.
While Marks focuses on the team and business end of the sport his driver Daniel Suárez wants to make certain he has a good outing in Nashville.
He’d also like to make it a special weekend for the man who was most important to his driving career – his father Alejandro.
Suárez would love nothing better than the call home to Mexico Sunday night to wish Alejandro a Happy Father’s Day and talk about his first career Cup Series victory.
Sunday’s race also marks the first race for NBC who will cover the sport for the rest of the season. NBC will televise the race at 3:30 p.m. ET.
Justin Marks, Founder of Trackhouse Racing
How important is this weekend’s Nashville race to Trackhouse Racing?
“We really want to be Nashville’s racing team. So, for NASCAR’s return to Nashville it was important for us to align with an iconic Nashville brand. I went after Steve Smith (Tootsie’s owner) and Tootsie’s hard. I told them our story and those guys were so fired up about it. Everyone who goes out on Lower Broadway goes to Tootsie’s. It’s this iconic purple building that’s been there for decades and launched the careers of so many amazing artists. It’s really special to get a company like Tootsie’s that’s so invested in Nashville to believe in what we are doing at Trackhouse Racing.”
Daniel Suárez, Driver of the No. 99 Tootsie’s Orchid Chevrolet Camaro
How Important is Sunday’s Nashville Race to You?
“Sunday is important because it’s important to Justin and everyone at Trackhouse Racing as well at Tootsie’s. Plus it is a new market for us, or at least a place we haven’t been to in a long time. I don’t know much about Nashville Superspeedway so I have been learning as much as I can. It’s going to be a new but fun experience for us.”
Suárez on the role his father, Alejandro, played in his racing career and life:
“The person that inspired me the most was my father. My family doesn’t come from money. To put me in racing, my father had to sacrifice. Not just him though, my whole family had to sacrifice. He did everything for me in my racing career. He bought my first go-kart. That was the point when I realized I wanted to race. Before I was born my father had a racing shop. He sold that shop to continue to support my career. Later on, my father mortgaged my family’s house. My mom wasn’t very happy about it, but they just wanted me to have that opportunity. Luckily, things started to work out and we made it to the top series in NASCAR Mexico. He asked me, “Hey, you are in the top series in Mexico, and you are just 18 years old, what is next?’
“A few years later I got a shot (in America), and I was able to win the Xfinity championship in 2016. I was extremely excited, and he was excited as well. After a few days he told me, “Hey, it doesn’t matter what, there is always something else and to find the next challenge. The next challenge was the Cup Series.”
“When things started to go well in my career, I was able to go back to my dad and say “I really want to get the shop that you sold back.” So, a few years ago we started a brand-new restoration shop with the same name. That for me was one of the coolest things I have ever done. Just to give him back what he gave up for me and we were able to pay off the second mortgage on the house.
“My father has had a lot of different cars over the years, and he has had to sell 99 percent of them for different reasons. Thirty years ago, he bought a minibus in Texas and drove it back to Mexico with my mother who was pregnant with me. Eventually he had to sell the bus. Luckily the person he sold the bus to had kept it all this time. I went to him and bought it and now that bus is back in the family. I was just something I had to do. I feel that is something I have learned from him. How hard he pushed to get things done. Just to make things happen.
“You need to have that person on your side to help you. Luckily, I have a father like him. Without him I wouldn’t be here right now.”
Alejandro Suárez on his son Daniel’s success:
“Every time I saw him strapped into a go-kart; I could see how focused he was. Daniel won six or seven races. It was right there that I decided to keep supporting him in his project. I think as a father you never doubt your kids. The difference here is that I was very passionate about what he did, and I knew what he wanted. I definitely knew there was going to be a moment when he would make it. I just didn’t know when or how. I feel very proud of him. Honestly, I could die tomorrow, and I would die with a smile on my face because I accomplished everything I wanted in life.”
Tootsie’s has operated across the alley from the Ryman Auditorium (The original Grand Old Opry) almost continuously since 1960. Its proprietor from 1960 to 1978, Hattie Louise “Tootsie” Bess, bought the lounge called “Mom’s” and named it for herself.
According to tradition, a painter mistakenly painted the exterior orchid purple. The color was never changed and became Tootsie’s signature color. Over the years, she served such famous customers as Kris Kristofferson, Faron Young, and Willie Nelson when they were still up-and-coming artists, and Tootsie was well-known for her generosity toward struggling musicians. The photo- and memorabilia-lined walls are called “Tootsie’s Wall of Fame.” A portion of the Loretta Lynn biopic “Coal Miner’s Daughter” was filmed inside Tootsie’s.
Notes of Interest
In 2016, Suárez became the first Mexican driver to win in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, claiming three victories at Michigan, Dover and the championship finale at Homestead-Miami.
Suárez owns 84 Xfinity Series starts posting three wins, 33 top-five and 55 top-10 finishes.
Suárez owns 28 Camping World Truck Series starts posting a win (Phoenix, Nov. 11, 2016) 10 top-five and 16 top-10 finishes.
In the Cup Series, Suárez owns two poles (Pocono, July 16, 2018), (Kentucky, July 12, 2019.)
Trackhouse co-owner Justin Marks competed in six Cup Series races with a best finish of 12th-place in the 2018 Daytona 500. He made 35 starts in the Xfinity Series posting a win, three top-five and seven top-10s. He won the Xfinity Series race at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on Aug. 13, 2016 driving for Chip Ganassi Racing.
Marks competed in 38 races in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series posting four top-10s and capturing two pole awards. He joined four co-drivers in winning the 2009 Rolex 24 in the GT division.
Before turning a wheel, Trackhouse Racing became one of the more popular teams in NASCAR when it announced GRAMMY® Award-winning global superstar Pitbull had become a co-owner. Not only will he serve as an active partner on the Trackhouse executive team, but Pitbull also serves as a brand and philanthropic ambassador. Together, Marks and Pitbull will foster the launch of a racing-themed STEM curriculum within the SLAM! (Sports Leadership Arts and Management) inner-city charter schools — which Pitbull helped establish seven years ago.
No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Crew List
Owner: Justin Marks, Rocklin, California
President: Ty Norris, Sumter, South Carolina
Driver: Daniel Suárez, Monterrey Mexico
Crew Chief: Travis Mack, Louisville, Kentucky
Car Chief: Clay Alexander, Franklin, Tennessee
Spotter: Frank Kimmel II, Jeffersonville, Indiana
Engine Builder: ECR Engines, Welcome, North Carolina
Fueler: J.P. Kelley, Luray, Virginia
Rear Tire Changer: Chris McMullen, Canton, Michigan
Front Tire Changer: Ira Jo Hussey, Manchester, New Hampshire
Jackman: Courtney Edmonds, Burlington, North Carolina
Tire Carrier: Lamar Neal, Virginia Beach, Va.
Engineer: Jose R. Blasco-Figueroa, CDMX, Mexico (Mexico City, Mexico)
Engineer: Eric Smith, Joliet, Illinois
Tire Specialist/Interior: Dillon Morley, Moline, Illinois
Mechanic: Griffin Rider, Lawson, Missouri
Mechanic: Andy Seuss, Hampstead, New Hampshire
Truck Driver: Dennis Valverde, Albuquerque, New Mexico
Truck Driver: Michael Brookes, Marion, Ohio
TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!
