Max Verstappen has been known to pick up races outside Formula One and, due to this, there have been questions about whether he will try out NASCAR. These discussions have been put back into the spotlight after Trackhouse Racing team boss Justin Marks addressed the possibility of the Formula One driver making his NASCAR debut. 

The Project 91 by Trackhouse Racing has lured in many drivers outside of NASCAR. It brought in Shane van Gisbergen into the sport from Supercar racing. It has also fielded Kimi Räikkönen (Watkins Glen), Hélio Castroneves (Daytona 500), and most recently Kevin Magnussen at San Diego. 

During his recent appearance on "Speed with Harvick and Buxton", while discussing what's next for Project 91, Marks was questioned if there was any possibility of Max Verstappen driving the car, considering Trackhouse Racing is also sponsored by Redbull. 

"Well, they've got to get a different power unit in that F1 car for that to happen." Marks said on the podcast. "There are brand conflicts and all that stuff, but I mean it's certainly on his radar."

As Justin Marks rightly pointed out, Max Verstappen competes in the Oracle Red Bull Racing team, which uses a Ford-powered engine. While at Trackhouse Racing, the team is powered by Chevrolet. 

The Trackhouse Racing team boss further revealed that the conversations for Verstappen to race in Project 91 have taken place but have been on hold for now due to these OEM conflicts. 

"I mean, like, you know, through kind of the Red Bull ecosystem, we've had those conversations, and you know that's a guy that wants to go do all different types of racing. I think right now it's tough to do that, but I certainly wouldn't count it out for the future."

Although Max Verstappen's debut in NASCAR remains uncertain, Justin Marks has not completely ruled out the possibility of the four-time Formula One champion making a debut in the Project 91 car. 

When Max Verstappen spoke about racing in NASCAR

While Justin Marks has opened up on the possibility of the four-time Formula One champion stepping into NASCAR for a one-off race, Verstappen himself has expressed his hesitation to enter the sport. 

During an interview with "Pelas Pistas," Verstappen explained why he hesitates to race due to the safety risks involved. 

"I like watching all different kinds of racing. For me, it's just that on an oval, I don't want to do it just for the risk of injury, you know, when you hit the fence." Verstappen said during the podcast.

Expanding on his stance, Verstappen admitted that while adding more victories is appealing to him, it is not worth the risk it brings along. 

"It's not worth it, also if you have done your stuff in Formula 1, and yeah, I mean maybe you can win more there, and I mean that would be something that I would love, but it's not worth the risk of having a really bad accident and hurting yourself really badly."

Despite Max Verstappen’s comments time and again about racing in the series, the chatter surrounding whether he will debut in NASCAR does not seem to slow down. 

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Written by

Chionia Libania Colaco