Justin Marks

For the baseball player, see Justin Marks (baseball).
Justin Marks

Born (1981-03-25) March 25, 1981
St. Louis, Missouri
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career
2 races run over 2 years
2015 position 65th
Best finish 46th (2013)
First race 2013 Toyota/Save Mart 350 (Sonoma)
Last race 2015 Toyota/Save Mart 350 (Sonoma)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 0 0
NASCAR Xfinity Series career
30 races run over 7 years
Car no., team No. 42 (Chip Ganassi Racing)
2016 position 23rd
Best finish 23rd (2016)
First race 2008 NAPA Auto Parts 200 (Montreal)
Last race 2016 Ticket Galaxy 200 (Phoenix)
First win 2016 Mid-Ohio Challenge (Mid-Ohio)
Wins Top tens Poles
1 3 0
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career
37 races run over 5 years
Truck no., team No. 32 (Braun Motorsports)
2016 position 102nd
Best finish 23rd (2008, 2011)
First race 2007 Easy Care Vehicle Service Contracts 200 (Atlanta)
Last race 2016 Great Clips 200 (Atlanta)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 4 2
Statistics current as of November 12, 2016.

Justin Marks (born March 25, 1981) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He currently competes part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 42 Chevrolet Camaro for Chip Ganassi Racing, and part-time in the Camping World Truck Series, driving the No. 32 Toyota Tundra for Braun Motorsports.

Early years

Marks was born in St. Louis, Missouri. As a young boy he went with his grandfather (who lived in Iowa), to see local Midwest racers such as Dick Trickle, Ken Schrader, and the Wallace brothers battle on dirt tracks. His family moved Menlo Park, California when Marks was eight.[1] Marks attended race school while in high school and in 1998 competed in his first race, in the street stock division at Altamont Raceway Park in Tracy, California. At the same time as his racing career was beginning, he was attending California State University with the intention of obtaining a degree in sports marketing. Marks withdrew from college 14 credits shy of completing his degree to focus on racing.[2]

Racing career

Sports car racing

At 18, Marks entered the SCCA Regional Racing Series, and later the Speed World Challenge Series. With success in the SCCA, Marks moved to the Rolex Sports Car Series GT Class in 2004 where he met good friend Joey Hand. Switching between the GT class and the World Challenge, Marks raced up four wins, eight podiums, and thirteen top tens between the two series. In 2005 Marks again raced in the Rolex Sports Car Series where he won 3 races with teammate Joey Hand. At the same time, Marks teamed with Bill Auberlen in the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge for Turner Motorsport, finishing 3rd in points with 5 poles and 5 wins in 9 starts.

NASCAR

Marks during qualifying for the 2010 NAPA Auto Parts 200 at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve

In 2006, Marks left road racing to pursue a career in NASCAR. In 2006, Marks raced for RAB Racing in the ARCA RE/MAX Series, driving their No. 65. Although he did not pick up any wins in his two years there, Marks turned many heads with his driving ability. In 2007 he was picked up by Germain Racing of the Craftsman Truck Series to drive their No. 03 truck. Marks again impressed many with an eighth-place finish at Homestead-Miami Speedway. This cemented his future as the driver of the No. 9 Crocs/Construct Corps Toyota for 2008, running for Rookie of the Year.

In 2008, Marks raced in the Truck Series, the Nationwide Series, and the ARCA RE/MAX Series for a number of teams. He won the pole position for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Texas Motor Speedway as well as the ARCA RE/MAX Series season opener at Daytona International Speedway. Marks returned to the Camping World Truck Series for 2011, driving for Turn One Racing in the No. 66 Chevrolet.

In 2013, Marks made his Sprint Cup Series debut at Sonoma Raceway in the 2013 Toyota/Save Mart 350, driving the No. 7 of Tommy Baldwin Racing, substituting for Dave Blaney. Marks had little experience in the Generation 6 cars, having run the cars only once in a road course test at Virginia International Raceway.[3]

Marks racing at Road America in 2014

The following year, Marks was signed by Turner Scott Motorsports to run the No. 31 in the Nationwide Series at Road America and Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.[4]

In 2015, HScott Motorsports owner Harry Scott Jr. took control of TSM's K&N Pro Series East team, and partnered with Marks to field four cars under the banner HScott Motorsports with Justin Marks for Scott Heckert, William Byron, J. J. Haley, Dalton Sargeant,[5] and Rico Abreu.[6]

On February 10, Marks announced he would return to the Cup Series in 2015, driving the No. 29 for RAB Racing in the Daytona 500, while also running the No. 29 in the Xfinity Series and the No. 35 with Win-Tron Racing in the other Daytona races.[7] However, Marks failed to qualify for the 500, and crashed out of both the Xfinity and Truck races, finishing last in the latter. In June, he joined Front Row Motorsports for the Toyota/Save Mart 350.[8]

In the summer of 2015, Marks ran the road course races at Road America and Mid-Ohio in the Xfinity Series, driving the No. 42 Chevrolet for Chip Ganassi Racing, owned by Harry Scott, Jr..

In 2016, Marks expanded his Chip Ganassi Racing schedule in the Xfinity Series, driving the No. 42 in several races starting at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.[9] At the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Marks led a race-high 43 laps in a race plagued by rain to claim his first NASCAR victory; he dedicated the win to former Ganassi driver Bryan Clauson, who had died earlier in the week in an accident.[10]

Grand Am Rolex Sports Car Series return

Marks returned to the Grand Am Rolex Sports Car Series for the 2009 season driving the TRG No. 67 No Fear/Construct Corps Porsche with teammate Andy Lally. The team began the season with an impressive victory in the GT class at the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona.

ARCA Racing Series

On December 17, 2009, Lakeville, Minnesota's Win-Tron Racing announced that Marks would drive their No. 32 Toyota in the 2010 ARCA Racing Series season.

Personal life

Marks and Michael McDowell currently own a karting facility called the GoPro Motorplex, located 30 miles north of Charlotte, North Carolina. The facility opened in October 2012, and was inspired by another karting track located in Parma, Italy.[3]

Motorsports career results

NASCAR

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Sprint Cup Series

Daytona 500
Year Team Manufacturer Start Finish
2015 RAB Racing Toyota DNQ

Xfinity Series

Camping World Truck Series

* Season still in progress
1 Ineligible for series points

References

  1. ↑ Sheets, Jocelyn (July 29, 2016) Passion Pushes Marks as Driver, Owner Newton Daily News. Retrieved August 14, 2016.
  2. ↑ McFadin, Daniel (August 28, 2015) Justin Marks is more than a part-time driver NBCSports.com. Retrieved August 14, 2016.
  3. 1 2 Gluck, Jeff (2013-06-20). "NASCAR drivers flock to kart track, racer's Disneyland". USA Today. Retrieved 2013-06-20.
  4. ↑ "JUSTIN MARKS TO COMPETE IN TWO NASCAR NATIONWIDE SERIES ROAD COURSE RACES". Turner Scott Motorsports. 2014-06-09. Retrieved 2014-06-09.
  5. ↑ Associated Press (December 11, 2014). "Ganassi and Harry Scott to field 1 Xfinity entry". USA Today. Charlotte, North Carolina: USA Today. Retrieved December 11, 2014.
  6. ↑ Bruce, Kenny (January 20, 2015). "RICO ABREU HOPES TO FOLLOW PATH OF NASCAR STANDOUTS". NASCAR. Retrieved January 20, 2015.
  7. ↑ "Justin Marks in for Daytona "triple" with RAB, Win-Tron". NBC Sports. February 10, 2015. Retrieved February 10, 2015.
  8. ↑ "Justin Marks to drive No. 34 car for Front Row Motorsports at Sonoma". NBC Sports. June 18, 2015. Retrieved June 18, 2015.
  9. ↑ "Marks Joins Ganassi for XFINITY Races". Star-News. February 25, 2016. Retrieved February 25, 2016.
  10. ↑ Wilhelm, Chase (August 13, 2016). "Justin Marks slips and slides to first XFINITY victory at Mid-Ohio". Foxsports.com. Retrieved August 15, 2016.
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