Watkins Glen was a sigh of relief for Trackhouse Racing after a long while in the 2026 season. Finally, their cars were able to return to the front row once again. For the majority of the race, both Trackhouse cars of Connor Zilisch and Shane van Gisbergen ran in the top 5. But it seems like Justin Marks’ confidence about his team rubbed the fans the wrong way.

Since last week, Trackhouse Racing has been involved in a new rumor. There were talks about how the team is preparing for a new entry in the San Diego NASCAR event. This rumored fourth entry for the race was supposed to be their Project 91 car, which aims to bring motorsports professionals from around the world and give them a taste of NASCAR racing.

When the interviewers tried to inquire about the relevance of the No. 91 project and confirm these rumors, Justin Marks only claimed: “I would say I say, ‘Don’t forget about Project 91.’ That’s all I’ll say right now.”

It was a rather bold statement, coming from a team that has only recently displayed a considerable amount of pace.

With the removal of the ‘win and in’ system, Trackhouse Racing is in a dire position currently. Shane van Gisbergen’s victory at Watkins Glen barely pushed him into the top 16, just barely inside the playoff cutline. Meanwhile, Ross Chastain and Connor Zilisch are miles away from even qualifying for the Chase.

Moreover, Marks has himself admitted that Trackhouse Racing has been unable to provide Connor Zilisch with a good car. So in that case, it seems rather unfavorable for the team to dilute their resources further. Instead, they should be focusing on researching better solutions to increase their cars’ pace. And Zilisch is undoubtedly a rising talent in the Cup Series who might leave the team soon if they fail to give him a better machine.

Even Trackhouse Racing’s experienced veteran, Ross Chastain, is unable to find enough pace during the races to compete with the rest of the pack. He has also acknowledged the pattern where the car qualifies decently only to fall apart when it matters the most.

So when we consider all factors, Trackhouse’s recent victory was simply a result of SVG’s immense road course racing talent and knowledge of taking the corners without losing time like his Cup Series counterparts, which saved his team’s already declining reputation.

So it’s no wonder that when fans address the team, they have zero interest in their expansion plans. Instead, they want better racing action and more focus on their current lineup.

Fans dismiss Trackhouse Racing’s plans for special San Diego entry

The social media reaction united around a single frustration: why plan a fourth car when the three you have are underperforming?

One of the users commented, “How about focusing on one project, ‘Improve your current cars on the team,’ before another one-off? Scattered attention leads to just this…less than mediocre results.” And another fan cut to the chase entirely: “Shut down Project 91 and fix the 1 and 88 cars first. Win races with your actual team before you go chasing headlines.”

The comparison that further backs the criticism is the one that can be drawn with 23XI Racing – both teams entered the Cup series at the same time with similar ambitions and resources.

While 23XI Racing initially struggled to take off, with Joe Gibbs Racing’s help and through their personal efforts in developing their cars, the team has now become an independent championship contender. Trackhouse Racing, on the other hand, had the tools at its disposal after taking over Chip Ganassi Racing’s operations and ran for the championship title too.

Despite that, within a span of two years, their progress has stumbled, relegating them to the back of the grid. What’s more insane is that Trackhouse Racing closely worked with Chevrolet in the initial years – an advantage they didn’t utilize properly.

So, one of the fans did not hesitate to call out the entire team for celebrating SVG’s victory as if it were their own. “⁠Trackhouse don’t spread your resources too thin to an extraneous degree (challenge: impossible). Every time Shane outdrives his equipment at a road course, people conventionally forget how awful the team’s management is. I have little faith in this.”

Well, even Kevin Harvick recently put it bluntly on his podcast: “They’re struggling. When you see Ross Chastain qualify sixth and get lapped… right now it’s not clicking.”

That said, while the public is busy slandering Trackhouse Racing, they are also wondering about the driver who will be joining hands with the team for the rumored one-off start. The signs and public sentiments pointed towards Max Verstappen. However, many fans believe that due to Red Bull Racing’s commitment to Ford in Formula 1, Verstappen won’t be allowed to drive a Chevy car in NASCAR.

“I wish TH would change to Ford because that would open up more opportunities. Not just the obvious with Max, but Red Bull Supercars are now Fords, and Marks would love to bring another driver over,” one of the users suggested.

But to counter that, Max Verstappen has never said that he is tied to a Ford-only program in motorsports. In fact, in his latest GT3 race, Max Verstappen drove a Mercedes-AMG-powered car. Similarly, last year, Verstappen drove a Ferrari to set the lap record at Nurburgring.

“Some of you are clueless or just don’t know that Max drives and owns a Mercedes GT3 team. He is not tied to driving only Fords,” one user said.

Another user further suggested that instead of Formula 1, Trackhouse Racing might go in the direction of IndyCar. According to them, “I’m guessing it’s Scotty Mac or Dixon at San Diego.”

Dixon, a six-time IndyCar champion, has openly expressed interest in a NASCAR start and was in discussions with Jimmie Johnson and Legacy Motor Club about a Daytona 500 entry earlier this year. A San Diego street circuit would suit him far better than an oval start.

McLaughlin, meanwhile, shares a deep history with SVG from their Supercars days, and a reunion on a street circuit would be genuinely compelling television. The business case also works: both drive for Penske in IndyCar with Chevrolet engines, which removes the manufacturer friction entirely.

For now, though, the rumor remains unconfirmed, and Marks has given no timeline. What is confirmed is that Project 91’s last appearance was Helio Castroneves’ 2025 Daytona 500 start, which was a low-key outing that did little to revive the program’s 2023 glory.

And the performance gap since then has been long enough that fans aren’t willing to simply take a dramatic pause and a cryptic soundbite as reassurance. Until the three cars that race every Sunday start delivering, Justin Marks will keep hearing the same question every time he mentions Project 91.