Upstart team makes noise

Both Trackhouse drivers in top 8

CONCORD, N.C. — Justin Marks grew up admiring Roger Penske, Rick Hendrick and Joe Gibbs, the top owners in American motorsports. When he was 15, Marks got his picture taken with Gibbs at the 1996 Daytona 500. He wanted to be a racecar driver and made it happen with 80 starts across NASCAR’s three national series.

He never ran a full season, won only one career race and eventually switched to his entrepreneurial efforts, which included entering NASCAR ownership. He started Trackhouse Racing one season ago.

On Sunday, the organization enters its 100th race poised to advance both its drivers into the round of eight.

“These guys were my heroes and they represent what the true top of the sport is, a sport that I’m so passionate about,” Marks said. “Just to have an opportunity to walk through the garage as colleagues is incredibly humbling. Then for us to be in the playoffs and in position to compete against them this deep is just humbling and a testament to how talented everyone is in this building and how hard they are working.”

Ross Chastain, third in the playoff standings, and Daniel Suárez, who is eighth, have combined this season to give Trackhouse its first three wins in team history.

The field will be trimmed from 12 to eight but really only three drivers will be dropped: Alex Bowman is sidelined for a second consecutive week with a concussion and will be eliminated.

Suárez believes he and Chastain can both contend on Charlotte’s hybrid road course that uses part of the oval. Chastain scored his

first career Cup win on the COTA road course in Texas and Suarez’s only Cup win came on the Sonoma Raceway road course.

“We have a very good road course program at Trackhouse Racing. Both Ross and I have won races and been strong in each race,” Suárez said. “It’s a great feeling as a driver to know you have a strong chance to win every time you race.”

Joey Logano won the pole with a lap of 103.424 mph to earn the top starting spot for the third time this season.

William Byron, who earned 25 points back from an appeals committee this week that keep him in the championship race, qualified second and was followed by Suárez as playoff drivers took the top three spots.

Xfinity Series

It took two overtimes for AJ Allmendinger to remain undefeated on The Roval at Charlotte Motor Speedway and seize the momentum for the next round of the Xfinity Series playoffs. Allmendinger has won four consecutive races on the hybrid road course/ oval, as well as back-toback races following last week’s win at Talladega Superspeedway.

Ty Gibbs finished second and was followed by Noah Gragson and James Davison in his first NASCAR race of the season.