![[object Object] Logo](https://sportshub.cbsistatic.com/i/2020/04/22/e9ceb731-8b3f-4c60-98fe-090ab66a2997/screen-shot-2020-04-22-at-11-04-56-am.png)
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Latin hip hop superstar Pitbull announced Friday that he has ended his partnership with NASCAR Cup Series team Trackhouse Racing and will be leaving his role as team co-owner effective immediately. Pitbull had served as Trackhouse's co-owner alongside former NASCAR driver Justin Marks since the team's first season in 2021.
The announcement of Pitbull's departure from Trackhouse comes just prior to the Daytona 500, where he is scheduled to perform a pre-race concert before the race on Sunday. Trackhouse has four cars in the Daytona 500 field, with three for full-time drivers, Ross Chastain, Daniel Suarez and Shane van Gisbergen, and another for four-time Indianapolis 500 champion Helio Castroneves, who will make his NASCAR debut driving for the team's Project 91 program dedicated to giving world-renowned racers an opportunity to compete at stock car racing's highest level.
"Over the past five years, we've made history by introducing NASCAR to a whole new audience and falling in love with NASCAR fans at the same time," Pitbull said in a statement. "We have made the decision to terminate the partnership with Trackhouse Racing, effective immediately. We're looking forward to performing on the sport's biggest stage this Sunday, the Daytona 500.
"It is a true honor, Dale!"
Pitbull became one of NASCAR's most prominent celebrity car owners when he joined Trackhouse Racing in 2021, which began as a single car team and has since grown into one of the sport's newest powerhouse programs. Trackhouse has earned seven Cup Series wins with Pitbull as co-owner -- five with Chastain, two with Suarez, and one with van Gisbergen -- and finished second in the championship standings with Chastain in 2022.
Pitbull was a longtime NASCAR fan prior to entering the sport as a team owner, saying in 2021 that his interest in the sport dates back to seeing the movie Days of Thunder in his youth. He has been a fixture at the Daytona 500 over the last several years, giving the command to start engines as grand marshal in 2021.
