Justin Marks to Make NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Debut
Marks has previous NASCAR stock car experience, competing in the NASCAR Nationwide Series and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series as well as the ARCA Racing Series, earning a total of one win, five poles, 12 top fives and 30 top-10 finishes across the three series.
Marks, a former factory BMW driver, has extensive road course racing experiencing, having participated in the NASCAR Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series. Marks scored eight wins, including the coveted Rolex 24 at Daytona in 2009. Marks also earned a total of 15 podium finishes and five poles while maintaining an average start of 7.1 and an average finish of 8.1 throughout his Grand-Am career. In his one full season of competition, in 2004, Marks finished the season ranked third in the final point standings.
Marks, a native of Northern California, is looking forward to making his Cup Series debut at the NASCAR track closest to his hometown, Los Altos.
"It's really the culmination of a dream to be able to compete in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series," explained Marks. "It's fitting that it's going to happen at Sonoma Raceway, where I kind of grew up racing and cut my teeth. I know Tommy and all the guys at TBR are going to bring a well-prepared GoPro Chevrolet to the track, so it's just going to be a matter of getting to know the Gen-6 car and getting reacquainted with the racetrack. My goal for the weekend is to run a clean, competitive race and keep that 7 car up in the points."
"We're really excited to have Justin in our car," said Tommy Baldwin, owner of Tommy Baldwin Racing. "He is a really great young man and with all his road course experience, I think he can definitely be successful in his Cup Series debut at Sonoma."
Marks will compete in the Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway on Sunday, June 23. The race can be viewed live on TNT, with coverage beginning at 3:00 p.m. EDT.