NASCAR fans left guessing after Trackhouse Racing’s owner teases Project 91’s next driver

Trackhouse Racing owner Justin Marks announced on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio that the team's Project 91 program will compete in many races and with various drivers in 2023.

Justin Marks, the co-owner of Trackhouse Racing, has stated that his Project 91 venture will not run Kimi Raikkonen in its upcoming NASCAR Cup race, but has a 'done agreement' with a new driver and sponsor.

After fielding Raikkonen at Watkins Glen last year, Marks stated that the initiative will be expanded to "six to eight" Cup races in 2023, with a concentration on road courses.

Raikkonen finished 29th at Austin's Circuit of the Americas on Sunday (March 26), after running as high as fourth in the final stages. Trackhouse won last year's Sonoma race with regular driver Daniel Suarez, and while Marks said a new face would be joining his squad, he refrained from being too specific.

Justin Marks announced on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio:

"Right now, we’re just getting kinda mobilized around how we’re going to make a really cool, exciting announcement around it because I think it’s going to be really neat, it’s going to be a cool program."

He stated further about Project 91:

"This is somebody who has not raced in America very much at all, but I think is going to be able to go to this particular race and make some real noise. I’m excited about that.”

Marks, of course, didn't disclose the driver's name. This left many fans wondering who that might be. NASCAR fans started to guess by leaving hilarious reactions on Twitter.

Some fans started to wonder if it would be eight-time Formula 1 race winner, Daniel Ricciardo.

A few fans suspect it could be Shane van Gisbergen.

All NASCAR fans will now have to wait for an official announcement from Trackhouse Racing on who this mystery driver will be.

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Will Supercars champion Shane van Gisbergen join Project 91?

Shane van Gisbergen, a three-time Supercars champion, said in September last year that he had spoken with Marks about joining Project 91 in the future.

He would be an obvious candidate to drive the Chevrolet Camaro in Cup, having switched to the Chevrolet brand this year with the new Gen3 era in Australia's main series.

Van Gisbergen said:

“I'd love to do a [NASCAR] road course and have a go, for sure, It's just getting the right opportunity. We did speak, but it's all dependent on our calendar and what races I can do.”

Van Gisbergen has previously competed in America, driving Porsche, Mercedes, and Lexus GTD cars in the IMSA SportsCar Championship at Daytona, Sebring, and Watkins Glen.