By: Zach Catanzareti, Staff Writer
For team owner Justin Marks, PROJECT 91 was a proven success when Shane van Gisbergen won the Chicago Street Race in the No. 91 Chevrolet in 2023.
Since then, the New Zealander has won another six national series races including three straight road course races for Trackhouse Racing in the Cup Series.
And on Friday, the team announced a multiyear contract extension for van Gisbergen, confirming his spot in the Cup Series for the foreseeable future.
It is an undeniable success story for PROJECT 91, a program started in 2022 designed to bring international talent to the Cup Series and broaden Trackhouse’s global motorsport reach.
So, why has the No. 91 car been absent on the grid since February’s Daytona 500? Cost and resources.
“It is a draw on the company, it is tough,” Marks said. “I mean, Daytona was really, really tough this year to take four cars there. Which is why with the races we’re doing with Connor, we just wanted to do Daytona and park it. “
Brazilian Helio Castroneves was the driver in the Daytona 500. The four-time Indianapolis 500 champion had multiple accidents across Speedweeks and finished 39th.
Despite SVG’s success since his PROJECT 91 debut, the costs necessary to field the fourth car has been difficult for Trackhouse, who has recently pivoted to supporting Connor Zilisch in his first Cup starts this year.
“I love PROJECT 91, it’s near and dear to my heart,” he said. “I think it’s important for the sport. We’ve been able to do big sponsorship deals that have come through PROJECT 91, obviously great talent. It’s an important mechanism in the business.”
Despite this, Marks has put the overall health of the organization at the forefront. Two of the teams three cars are outside the top 20 in points with Ross Chastain 14th, van Gisbergen 25th and Daniel Suarez 31st after 23 races.
“With everything we’re trying to do with the company to get us back in championship form, [PROJECT 91] is like No. 85 on the list right now,” he said.
Marks hasn’t abandoned PROJECT 91 entirely, confirming interest for 2026.
“It’s not dead,” he said. “There are conversations happening. There is a strategy around it. I very much would like to keep that program alive. We’ve got a couple fairly interesting opportunities.
“Just right now, we have to get these three racecars running better on Sundays.”