Trackhouse Racing owner Justin Marks believes that NASCAR is at its competitive best in all of its history.
After a year’s delay in its debut, the Next Gen car certainly proved worth the wait. While there are a number of issues that needs fixing in the car, it brought about unpredictability at the Cup level which was generally dominated by big teams.
One such unpredictability was seen in the number of drivers winning at least one race in the 2022 season, a whopping 19 drivers over 36 races. The advancement in technology gives the small team the equal opportunity to compete against big teams and the results were evident last season.
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Seeing this, Marks believes that it is the most competitive era of NASCAR. Talking to SiriusXM, he said:
“It’s the most competitive era this sport has ever [seen], that’s for sure.
“19 or 20 winners last year. That’s the kind of reality I believe that we are living in right now. A lot more opportunities in the NASCAR Cup Series now for lots of different teams to win.”
🏁 "It’s the most competitive era this sport has ever [seen], that’s for sure.”
🗣️ @JustinMarksTH discusses the current competition level in the #NASCAR Cup Series & @JTGRacing's #DAYTONA500 win.
🏆 "It's a huge shot in the arm for Tad Geschickter and his group over there." pic.twitter.com/G2RQdWc0QK
— SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Ch. 90) (@SiriusXMNASCAR) February 20, 2023
While we are just one race in the season and Daytona 500 can always bring surprise, there is already a surprise winner in the season with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. winning the race.
“Ricky has always been a great superspeedway racer. Chevrolet is in a great spot right now. The great thing about Daytona 500 is that it’s a dream that just about everybody feels has a chance of realizing,” Marks added.
While it is not only for Marks to decide whether right now is the most competitive the sport has ever been, it is certainly at a very high level.