NASCAR Cup Series

Pitbull’s new 'Trackhouse' album ‘all about our stories coming together’

Updated May. 4, 2023 11:33 a.m. ET

Pitbull knows his fans cling on every word of his songs.

So he wanted to stress that when his new album "Trackhouse" comes out later this year, that it isn't a publicity stunt to just get more people to know about the NASCAR Cup Series team he co-owns.

It's about a message.

"In no way shape or form is this some kind of publicity stunt or propaganda or anything like that," Pitbull said. "This is real.

"This all about our stories coming together. ... This right here is about making history, it's generational, it's about creating a legacy, having fun doing it with entertainment."

And what is the story? It's the story of two drivers — Ross Chastain and Daniel Suarez — whose careers were almost over with little success to now drivers who have both won Cup races and are threats to win. They both made the playoffs last year, and Chastain currently leads the Cup Series standings.

"It's all about constantly fighting, proving everybody wrong, it's that underdog mentality, that nothing to something — that's where it just all aligned," Pitbull said.

Pitbull, whose real name is Armando Christian Perez, joined Trackhouse as a co-owner soon after Justin Marks established the race team in 2020.

Marks views the race team as part of an overall entertainment brand. He once considered housing the team in Nashville as part of a complex that included a bar and restaurant where people could also see some of the race shop.

That idea likely won't happen as Marks later bought Chip Ganassi Racing and the shop that went with it in North Carolina. But Marks continues to do things that focus on more than just racing.

One of those is having video boards on the back of the hauler that shows imagery of its drivers, highlights and potentially can be used to welcome and thank sponsors during meet-and-greets with drivers and team personnel prior to the race. At one race, Marks had live music outside the team hauler.

Trackhouse changing the game?

Bob Pockrass captured video of Trackhouse's new video boards located by the doors of their haulers.

"It's sort of experimenting with how we can stand out and be different and insert ourselves into the experience of going to a race," Marks said.

Marks has a simple goal.

"Rethink what the race experience is — this sport has so much competition in the American ecosystem of entertainment right now, that you have to constantly reinvent," Marks said. "You have to push the boundaries. NASCAR's long-term success is going to rely on constant evolution."

So it's no surprise that Pitbull wants to be part of that type of evolution as both his music and his community efforts tend to push new ideas. He views the race team as a way to integrate some of the lessons he champions at the charter schools that he operates.

He sees the lessons in his story and a race team to help motivate his students.

"Everybody tries to paint a pretty picture on how easy it is in this world of instant gratification," Pitbull said. "But we all know it's all about hard work: Work harder, work smarter to play the hardest. Welcome to Trackhouse."

Obviously, there is a Hispanic connection between Pitbull and Suarez, who joined the organization in 2021 as its first driver. After the purchase of Ganassi, Chastain was among those from Ganassi who stayed and joined the organization as a driver for the second team.

Both Chastain and Suarez won last year, and Chastain had a shot at the championship, finishing second in the standings.

They both receive texts from Pitbull about the team.

"I call him ‘Ross-off-the-wall, off-the-chain Chastain,'" Pitbull said. "And it's ‘Daniel Rrrrrrrapido Suarez.'"

Music meets racing

Pitbull has a new album titled "Trackhouse." He discusses what he said he calls his drivers and giving his album the same name as his race team.

Pitbull has lyrics about the team in a song "Can't Stop Us Now" and has lyrics that relate to Chastain's incredible "Hail Melon" move at Martinsville Speedway, where he rode along the wall to gain several positions, in a song "It Takes Three-Wide."

"I did mention the move," Pitbull said.

There was another name other than "Trackhouse" that Pitbull considered for the album but he indicated there could have been some legal issues. That is when it dawned on him to just name it after the race team.

"Music is a universal language as it unites — it doesn't divide," Pitbull said. "And it's the same way that you could utilize the race car and how everybody loves of racing.

"So you put them together, and that's, to me, what it's all about. How do we find different ways unconventional, untraditional ways to be able to create awareness, unite people, bring them out to the tracks so they have fun and enjoy, make them fall in love with Trackhouse on our journey. How it's been from nothing to something."

What To Watch For

Kansas was 23XI Racing's track in 2022 as Kurt Busch and Bubba Wallace won the races on the 1.5-mile oval.

But it was more than just 23XI Racing's track. Consider these finishes from the Toyota camp: Christopher Bell (fifth in spring, third in fall, led 49 laps combined), Kyle Busch (then in a Toyota, third in spring, 26th in fall), Denny Hamlin (fourth in spring, second in fall) and Martin Truex Jr. (sixth in spring, fifth in fall).

Oh, and new Toyota driver Tyler Reddick led a combined 62 laps when driving for RCR.

So look to this being a strong race for Toyota as the aero package and the tires have not changed from last fall. And don't count out Busch in his still relatively new RCR ride.

Another driver to watch could be Kevin Harvick, who spun on his own in both races last year. But he had four consecutive top-four finishes at the track before those horrendous trips in 2022.

Thinking Out Loud

Legacy Motor Club leaving for Toyota starting next season was a little bit of surprise, considering team co-owner Jimmie Johnson's long ties to Chevrolet.

But it's not a huge shock and there is certainly a reason from Legacy's side to make the move.

Considering the pecking order of Chevrolet teams, it likely goes at the moment: Hendrick, Trackhouse and Richard Childress Racing are certainly the top-3, leaving Kaulig, JTG, Spire and Legacy to fight for what's left.

In Toyota, the worst Legacy could be is third. And they indicated they will be on equal footing with Joe Gibbs Racing and 23XI Racing. That might be a stretch but even at "1c," that's way better than fourth or worse.

A change in manufacturer isn't going to be the only thing Legacy needs to run consistently better. It needs some stability and more depth. But it's a piece, and Johnson — who knows all about depth and resources considering he won seven Cup titles at the most-resourced, most-deep team on the circuit (Hendrick) — knows it puts the organization in a better position starting next year.

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They Said It

"It really is a function of the OEMs collecting the information and that gets shared through the teams and through the organizations. Our deep alignment in '24 and beyond with Toyota puts us in a very strong position to control our own destiny." —Jimmie Johnson on Legacy moving from Chevrolet to Toyota.

Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR for FOX Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsports, including the past 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass, and sign up for the FOX Sports NASCAR Newsletter with Bob Pockrass.

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