NASCAR CUP SERIES NASHVILLE SUPERSPEEDWAY ALLY 400 TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT JUNE 19, 2021
TRACKHOUSE RACING FOUNDER & OWNER, JUSTIN MARKS, AND CO-OWNER, ARMANDO CHRISTIAN PEREZ, ‘PITBULL’, Press Conference Highlights: MODERATOR: “WE HAVE HERE OUR FOUNDER, JUSTIN MARKS, AND THE CO-OWNER, ARMANDO CHRISTIAN PEREZ. YOU KNOW HIM AS PITBULL. IT’S BEEN AN INCREDIBLE WEEK ALREADY FOR US. JUSTIN SET UP CAMP HERE IN NASHVILLE. WE’VE DRIVEN A STAKE PRETTY DEEP INTO THE GROUND HERE, AND WE’RE VERY PROUD OF IT. WE APPRECIATE YOU GUYS GIVING US THE TIME TO LET JUSTIN AND ARMANDO TALK ABOUT WHAT IS GOING ON AT TRACKHOUSE. JUSTIN, IF YOU WANT TO GET STARTED AND TELL US WHY YOU CHOSE NASHVILLE, AND WHY THIS AREA, AND YOUR ASSESSMENT SO FAR THIS YEAR”.
JUSTIN MARKS:“Thanks to everybody for being here. It’s really nice to see a packed Media Center, that’s for sure. First of all, I want to thank Erik Moses (President, Nashville Superspeedway) and all his staff. My first real stock car race was here at Nashville in 2006, the ARCA Re/Max Series, and to see Cup come back here and to see this place get reborn is special to me. I know it’s special to a lot of people in the industry.
“I’m here, Trackhouse is here, Armando is here because NASCAR has this new car coming and the new car represents a new era in this sport because we’re breaking down barriers for new ownership and we’re providing opportunities for people to re-think the business model of what a race team is. That’s exactly what Trackhouse is all about. And that’s why we’ve set up shop here in Nashville. Our goal is to have a race shop here one day and to be kind of the professional racing sports here in Nashville. What we’re trying to do is to bring something different and bring something unique to tell a story, to transcend the sport; take NASCAR and use the platform but to tell a bigger story. To see things come together like they have this year have been great. Armando has been wonderful and a great partner. We’ve got a lot of big things ahead of us. So, it’s just a very exciting time.”
MODERATOR:ARMANDO, TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT YOUR ASSESSMENT IS SO FAR THESE FEW MONTHS WE’VE BEEN TOGETHER, AND WHY NASCAR, AND WHY US? ARMANDO CHRISTIAN PEREZ:“I want to say thank you to everybody. We appreciate the opportunity. Congratulations Erik on the new spot. It’s why NASCAR, why Trackhouse, because it all came together at the right time. I’m a big believer in the law of attraction and when I say that I mean it. With that said is when we sat down. We had a meeting. And the meeting was all about a greater initiative, the same way we’ve done with music to unify people. And I say it all the time. There’s only one race and one race only and that’s the human race. And when we figure that out, that’s what it’s all about is unifying people. So, when I saw the initiative is all about that is why I got involved with Justin, Ty (Norris) and Daniel Suarez. The funny thing is that somebody spoke to me about Daniel Suarez about 10 years ago and his name is Carlos Slim Junior, and he said hey, keep your eye out for Daniel. He’s going to do some big things in racing and he’s going to represent for all of us in Mexico. And sure enough, how amazing is it that 10 years later, now I’m a part of the team with amazing partners, stand up and solid, which is hard to find in any industry, much more than in industry, in life (laughs). So, to be able to be here right now is an honor. I see the opportunity. It’s just the same way we did in music. We’re bringing everybody together and using music as a universal language is the same way we’re going to do with Trackhouse, with race cars, and with NASCAR. That’s why it’s very exciting and that’s why I’m here. And to Nashville, congratulations. The city is booming (laughs).”
MODERATOR:WE GOT TOGETHER LAST NIGHT FOR DINNER AND WERE ABLE TO LOOK OVER THE CITY AND JUST GIVE US YOUR ASSESSMENT OF WHAT YOU SAW AND WHAT WAS GOING ON ARMANDO CHRISTIAN PEREZ:“A lot of bachelorette parties (laughter). A lot of people were having a lot of fun in Nashville. I think Las Vegas is going to have to catch-up now.”
MODERATOR:THEY WERE PLAYING A LOT OF PITBULL MUSIC ARMANDO CHRISTIAN PEREZ:‘Yeah, that was a good thing. I don’t know if that’s going to work out after, but hey. At least it was a memorable night. Or maybe not.”
MEDIA Q&A’S: ARE YOU GOING TO RE-WRITE ANY OF YOUR MUSIC TO PUT A NASCAR THEME INTO IT? ARMANDO CRISTIAN PEREZ:“What was crazy enough we were actually going to do something right before everything happened with the Pandemic and with NASCAR and with the record that I have with Blake Shelton called ‘Get Ready’. That was lined up to be basically the anthem. Everything happened and obviously things changed. Things happen for a reason though because this year we’re actually talking about putting an anthem together with a crew of different folks so therefore, everybody gets represented one way or another. And I think it’s one of the most genius things Fast and Furious has done with their franchise. That’s why they’re on Fast & Furious 9. The represent everybody in the movie and that’s what everybody loves to see. The cars bring it together, the speed brings it together, the action is what brings it together. But with everybody being represented is why everybody feels a part of invested of it. So to have the next anthem for NASCAR is the same one we’re going to do it where everybody is vested and well-represented.”
YOU ARE ACTIVE IN THE CHARTER GAME. TWO WENT YESTERDAY. HOW IS IT THAT YOU DIDN’T GET ONE OF THE SPIRE CHARTERS? JUSTIN MARKS:“That’s a good question, actually. I mean, look. They’re running a business. That’s the way they need to run it. We’re focused on Trackhouse. The charter journey has been that. I mean, it’s been a journey. It’s an interesting time in the history of the sport with this charter economy. We’re working very hard every day to secure our future, and I feel confident about our future. There’s nobody here that knows everything that’s happening all the time. And there’s a lot of things happening behind the scenes. We can’t know everything. Two came off the board yesterday but there are still a lot out there. So, I’m confident we’re going to get something done.”
IS THE MARKET EIGHT FIGURES? JUSTIN MARKS:“I don’t know. I don’t know what they paid for it. I mean I don’t know what the market is. The thing is the addressable market is so small that the value of a charter is what someone is willing to pay for it. I don’t know what they paid for it, so who knows?”
YOU HAD A COMMENT ABOUT CHARTERS EARLIER ARMANDO CHRISTIAN PEREZ“Well, my comment is Ty kind of explained to me what was going on and obviously this is a new world to me; and I said hey, Justin deals with the charter and NASCAR and I just deal with the charter schools. That’s it.”
NOW THAT YOU’VE BEEN IN THIS FOR A FEW MONTHS, WHAT IS ONE THING THAT MAYBE HAS BEEN A PLEASANT SURPRISE ABOUT BEING A NASCAR OWNER AND ACTIVATING IT? AND WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR BIGGEST FRUSTRATION? ARMANDO CHRISTIAN PEREZ:“Frustration, I don’t have any because I look at life as no problems, just solutions. As far as what’s been great about it, let me tell you. The fans. To see the passion, to see the loyalty, to see the willingness to just run through a wall for the team that they love. And I has a great experience down at the Daytona 500 where I happened to cross the street and go to a restaurant and I got a little corner off; and then at PF Chang’s one of the guys comes up to me and he said hey, you sure don’t dress like a NASCAR owner. You’re messing with me. And I said yeah, you’re right. I bought him a couple of shots and we started drinking and I said yeah, but I do drink like a NASCAR owner, don’t I (laughter).” We had a great time and kept drinking and they took a couple of pictures and by the time they left, they had paid for my bill. And that just showed a lot to me. Not too many people do those kinds of things, especially in today’s day and age where it’s all about instant gratification; grab your photo, grab your video, do this for me, do that for me. Just that sense of gratitude showed me a very pleasant experience and it’s been amazing. On top of that, basketball is one of the first things that kept me out of a lot of trouble. I always say I’ve never been a trouble maker, just always been about trouble. I don’t know how that worked out. But basketball was the first thing. Michael Jordan was somebody I looked up to and I still apply his mentality not only when I play ball, but in life. So, to be able to be in a suite next to Michael Jordan and be partners in a team; Trackhouse and Daniel Suarez and knowing his story, Ty has an amazing story, and it’s just all coming together and I’m excited.”
WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO BRING NASCAR AWARENESS TO YOUR OTHER ENDEAVORS LIKE THE ENTERTAINMENT WORLD, TO MAKE SURE THEY KNOW WHAT YOU’RE DOING HERE? ARMANDO CHRISTIAN PEREZ:For one, I’ve done it in so many worlds. When I say I, I mean we and us. I don’t do anything by myself. When we opened our first charter school in Miami, little Havana, one of my old neighborhoods, that was eight years ago. We put a NASCAR in front of it. A friend of mine happened to be connected with NASCAR, and just parked it outside. When the kids, that come from all different neighborhoods with Miami being a melting pot, they saw that NASCAR and it’s like they saw a spaceship. So right there, I saw the disconnect on wow, there’s a community and there’s a culture that really has no clue what this world is about, but yet it’s an amazing opportunity. Our school is called SLAM, which stands for sports, leadership, arts, and management. And that’s about teaching these kids how there’s another world in any world they may be in love with. All kids want to become a pro athlete. All kids love sports. But we teach them if you love sports, you might be a physical therapist. You might be an agent. You might be an attorney. It’s the same thing with NASCAR. You might not be the driver, but you might end up in the crew or as an owner or as an engineer. You might end up being the one styling the car. There are so many ways to bridge that.
“In the entertainment business, how does it happen? Well, nobody was looking at NASCAR like that. And that’s been one of my, I would say, assets in life. I’m always looking at things that people are not looking at. Therefore, that to me, is we’re living in a world of followers and likes. I like to be a leader, unique, and make a difference. So, look the other way and find a way to make a difference. And clearly through music, we’ll find ways to either put it in video or records. I have a song right now that coming out the 25^thwith Trace Adkins and Luke Bryan. That verse is all based on my experience at the Daytona 500. That gives you a sneak peek on the kind of ways that we can continue to create awareness of not only the team Trackhouse, not only NASCAR, but the most important part which is the initiative of bringing everybody together and creating opportunity for those that need it the most.”
THERE IS GOING TO BE A SMALLER SQUARE FOOTPRINT FOR RACE SHOPS WITH THE NEXTGEN CAR. YOU ARE TRYING TO LEVERAGE A PUBLIC FACING AND MOTORSPORTS ATTRACTION SLASH RACE SHOP HERE IN NASHVILLE. GIVEN THAT MOST OF THE RACE SHOPS ARE IN CHARLOTTE, HOW DO YOU VIEW RACE SHOPS IN THE FUTURE?
JUSTIN MARKS:“I think there are two elements. One is new business creation and new teams coming out of the box and building a company and infrastructure around this new car from scratch. I think there’s the business of these existing teams that have to find a way to monetize all this infrastructure that they’ve built over decades in the sport. I think for everybody it’s a little bit of a different story. But I think we’re in a great spot because we’re starting from scratch and building this company and value-engineering this company around the new car and the future of this sport. So, it makes us very mobile and modular and allows us to pivot and think very creatively about how we’re going to exist once we sort of start separating ourselves from RCR and becoming more automatous as a business. And it’s one of the reasons why we’re here in Nashville because there’s a lot of opportunity in this town. It’s an entertainment town. And there’s a lot of opportunity to really rethink that. I think some of these existing teams that have a lot of history in this sport don’t necessarily have that luxury because they’re committed to big campuses, and they’re committed to the supply chain as it exists and Charlotte. But for us, we’re starting from scratch. We’re trying to build something special around this new car and around the business model of NASCAR and that puts is in a really good spot.”
ON YOUR VISION TO BRING A TEAM TO NASHVILLE WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF THAT AND HOW SOON DO YOU SEE THAT HAPPENING? DOES WHAT FURNITURE ROW ACCOMPLISHED IN DENVER GIVE YOU THE CONFIDENCE THAT YOU CAN DO SOMETHING SIMILAR? JUSTIN MARKS:“Furniture Row is a different time in the sport and is a different business model. We’re not that far from Charlotte, so we’re not really on so much of an island. We can still do weekly business with our partners and suppliers in Charlotte. This new car, I believe, represents an opportunity to rethink you’re race shop and what it is. And that’s something that Ty and I talk about a lot. And we talked about it early in the days of Trackhouse, asking ourselves what is a race team? Why is a race team in 140,000 square feet in an industrial park? Well, for a lot of years it had to be because of engineering and manufacturing. But a lot of that stuff is going away. So, as we sort of wipe the slate clean and start thinking what a race shop and team of the future look like, I think it should be a public business. We’ve got these amazing race cars and amazing people that work on these race cars. Race shops are really an incredible thing to see, as you know. I think people should have access to that and to take that content and put it out there in the world is something that’s very important to the future trajectory of Trackhouse. And Nashville is a quickly growing community. It’s an entertainment and event city. That’s the business that we’re in. Entertainment and events. And it represents an opportunity for us to carve a niche out for ourselves in a market where we can really get the community support behind us and be one of the professional sports teams in this market. Timing-wise, it’s a little TBD just because we all have to learn this new car together and we have to understand how business can be built around this new car. But I don’t think it’s outside of the realm of possibility that in 24 months from now we’re racing out of Nashville. But it’s a lot of TBD because we have a lot of learning we have to do.”
WHAT GRADE WOULD YOU GIVE YOUR TEAM SO FAR THIS SEASON? JUSTIN MARKS:“I’m very proud of all the work that our guys have done. They’ve all earned A’s so far. This is a very difficult industry and a very difficult racing series, the most competitive form of racing in North America. For a group of young guys, our guys are young, we have very young race team and they’re very hungry. And they all come from forms of racing where they’ve won, and so they don’t know how to lose. They’re not thinking like we’re a new team and maybe we should be running 20th. No, they’re coming to the race track to figure out how to win the race. But they’re great at managing their expectations, too. We all know that this is a big fight. I’m really proud of those guys. We’ve been bringing great race cars to the race track this year. Daniel has been doing a great job. We’ve been very careful to make sure that our expectations and definition of success the first year is not in finishing positions first and foremost. It’s about getting better every week. It’s about working together and powering each other and lifting each other up and working very hard to try to make big things happen. And they’ve been doing that every week. That’s the most important thing for use this year because we’re all dealing with new equipment next year. This year is about the process and dialing in the process so we as a team, cohesively can enter the future together. I’m really proud of all of them.”
YOU TALKED ABOUT MUSIC UNITING PEOPLE. WON’T GIVING PEOPLE THE OPPORTUNITY TO STUDY TECHNOLOGY AND MATH AND SCIENCE ALSO ELEVATE THEM SO THEY CAN FEEL PART OF THE WHOLE AS WELL? ARMANDO CHRISTIAN PEREZ:‘Oh yes. Absolutely. And we see where the future is going. We see that the youth love technology and loves to be involved with it. The only message that I always say to the youth and to the public and to the world is (to) utilize technology and don’t it use you. So, this is also a way of creating awareness for wellness for technology, which are things we do in the schools and that’s why I can speak so openly about it. But yes, to be able to utilize the car, the music, and technology is clearly going to create a melting pot for everybody to be involved. And it gives access to everybody.”