LAS VEGAS, Nev. – To some it might have been a surprise to see the speed from Justin Marks at Las Vegas (Nev.) Motor Speedway Thursday.
For Marks and his DGR-CROSLEY team not so much.
Marks, the full-time Sports Car racer with a part-time NASCAR schedule struck an 11th-hour agreement with DGR-CROSLEY to pilot the team’s No. 54 Toyota for Friday night’s Stratosphere 200.
His decision paid off. Making his first Truck Series start at Las Vegas in a decade, he paced the first practice Thursday afternoon and maneuvered the 10th fastest lap in final practice.
With practice complete and qualifying and the race left on the agenda, Marks isn’t thinking about just finishing inside the top-10 but winning his first race.
“It really came together at the last minute,” said Marks of his arrangement with DGR-CROSLEY. “I love the Truck Series. I’ve always been a huge fan of it. Enjoyed my time in it. These trucks are really, really fun to drive. This truck is good enough to win the race. It’s a really, really a good truck.”
Marks said he spoke to team executive Jason Hedlesky at Daytona two weeks ago and were able to hammer out a deal this past Sunday – putting Marks in the truck instead of co-owner David Gilliland.
“Jason Hedlesky and I talked a little a bit in Daytona about doing something. He kinda told me the team that David and Bo are trying to build,” Marks explained.
“The equipment is so good and they have really, really great people. It’s a fun opportunity to come back and try it again. It’s close to my new home in California, so the family can come to it too.”
For now, Las Vegas is a one-race deal, but Marks nor Gilliland are opposed to working with each other more, but before the concentration can shift to more races, they have to get first make an impression in the team’s third-career race.
“Yeah, it’s a one-race deal right now, maybe I’ll do more,” added Marks. “I’m excited to be here (though). Because I’ve always enjoyed driving these trucks.
“A top-10 finish would be great. I came into this going if we could have a good solid night and get a top-10 finish that would be great.”
Marks hasn’t raced the trucks consistently in 10 years – so to make his second Truck Series stop at Vegas perfect – it means he has to be perfect too.
“I mean I’m green,” noted Marks. “I have to get comfortable racing in a pack again. I got to get on and off pit road. I have to make good decisions. I think if we can get out of here with a solid top-10 finish, that’s a good weekend for sure, but I think we can do better.”
Gilliland says that Marks brings all the components to put them in the spotlight.
“Everyone at DGR-Crosley is really excited about having Justin come drive for us,” sounded Gilliland. “He has a lot of experience and with us being a new team, he brings a lot to our organization. We started at our talks at Daytona and we were able to put this deal together to come run Vegas.
“We’re really, really looking forward to getting to the race and possibly doing some more with him in the future. He’s done a great job. He knows what he needs, knows what he wants and has a lot of speed.
Gilliland agrees with Marks and feels that his young team cannot only contend but roll the dice and win in Sin City.
“We do too,” he said. “That’s something we’re very proud of. We’ve worked very hard on our program. To come out here and have this kinda speed and this early with our team, it’s something we’re very excited about and plan to get better and better every week.”
Gilliland also told CATCHFENCE.com that the plan is to expand DGR-CROSLEY into a two-truck by late spring or early summer.
Outside of Trucks, Marks has additional plans to compete in at NASCAR, including a limited Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series schedule. The 37-year-old competed in the Daytona 500 for Rick Ware Racing.
“My plan is to do the Cup road races at Sonoma and Charlotte and I don’t really have any reason to believe that I won’t be back in the No. 42 XFINITY car for those same races I’ve done in the past,” Marks said. “It’s going to be a good schedule this year.
“You never know what happens. One of those deals could come up and I could do more races with these guys, I’m driving well in my career right now, so I’m trying to get a lot of racing in.”
Follow Chris Knight on Twitter @Knighter01.
