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“That’s When It First Hit Me”: Pitbull Reflects on the Moment That Drew Him to NASCAR Ownership
Armando Christian Pérez, known all over the world as Pitbull, or Mr. 305, became a team co-owner in NASCAR in 2021 by joining Trackhouse Racing and his involvement drew a lot of attention to the Cup Series from around the world. It fulfilled the purpose that Justin Marks, the team’s founder, had for bringing him in.
Celebrities, however, only join a venture when it’s of benefit to them, no matter how much they love it from a personal standpoint. So, what made Pitbull, one of the most recognizable faces in the music industry, look NASCAR’s way.
SLAM! is a network of tuition-free public schools that focuses on education for the underrepresented communities in the United States. Pitbull, as the founder of this network, opened its first school in Miami back in 2012. and the students who were a part of this school influenced him into buying a stake in Trackhouse.
Pitbull revealed this during a recent conversation with former NASCAR driver Kyle Petty. He said, “When we first opened the school, they brought a NASCAR and parked it right in front of the school. When you see the faces of these kids… It looked like they saw a spaceship. That’s when I saw the disconnect for the first time.”
“That’s when I said, ‘Wow, these kids don’t even know about this world. These kids may want to be drivers. They may want to be engineers or technicians. They may want to work in a pick crew and owner.’ So, that’s when it first hit me.”
Pitbull believed that his involvement in the sport would introduce new horizons to the kids, and it is the biggest reason why he signed the papers.
Is Pitbull still a co-owner of Trackhouse Racing?
The two people Marks approached first when he decided to start a professional racing team were Pitbull and Daniel Suarez. Suarez, too, is a Mexican-born driver and only recently gained his American citizenship. The two of them played crucial roles in building the foundations of the team and making it what it is today.
That said, neither are associated with the team any longer. Pitbull announced in February 2025 that his partnership with the team would be terminated with immediate effect. No particular reason was provided for his departure and Suarez, after years of prolongation, was let go by the team at the end of the 2025 Cup Series season. He drives for Spire Motorsports now.
Trackhouse Racing continues to operate without them. It is owned by Marks and Avenue Sports Fund, a private investment group. Shane van Gisbergen, Connor Zilisch, and Ross Chastain drive for it.
The post “That’s When It First Hit Me”: Pitbull Reflects on the Moment That Drew Him to NASCAR Ownership appeared first on The SportsRush.
El viaje de Endrick: un revés en el Madrid y una cesión al Lyon para estar con Brasil en el Mundial 2026
Cuando comenzó esta temporada, en la cabeza del joven Endrick Felipe Moreira de Sousa (19 años) había dos ideas claras. La primera pasaba por disfrutar de muchos minutos en su segundo curso en el Madrid, que había pagado al Palmeiras unos 48 millones de euros por su fichaje y al que se había unido en julio de 2024 tras cumplir la mayoría de edad. La segunda sería consecuencia de la anterior: ser importante en el equipo blanco le daría el billete para ir con Brasil al Mundial 2026. El delantero zurdo, sin embargo, vio cómo su participación en el Real de Xabi Alonso era tan insignificante que solo había sumado 99 minutos antes de tomar en diciembre la determinación de marcharse cedido al Olympique de Lyon. Endrick habló con su extrentrenador en el Madrid y actual seleccionador de la Canarinha, Carlo Ancelotti, y no dudó. “Me dijo: ‘Vete, desarrolla tu fútbol, quiero que estés contento’. Sus consejos me llegaron al corazón. Ha sido un gran entrenador en el Real Madrid, he seguido todos sus consejos porque me ayudó a desarrollar mi fútbol”, contó en enero en su presentación con el OL.
Asian Games cruise ship and wooden huts will be 'unique experience'
Athletes at the Asian Games in Japan will have "a unique experience" staying on a cruise ship and in wooden containers, an organising official told AFP six months out from the event, but acknowledged there were concerns about the plan.
About half of the expected 15,000 athletes and officials will live in the eye-catching temporary accommodation during the Games, which are in Nagoya and the wider Aichi area from September 19 to October 4 -- coinciding with typhoon season in Japan.
The rest will stay in hotels, including in Tokyo, where swimming, diving and equestrian events are taking place.
Organisers say using the cruise ship and container units are cheaper than building a traditional athletes' village, although they admit the unusual approach has raised eyebrows.
Kazuhiro Yagi, vice-secretary general of the Aichi-Nagoya Games organising committee, told AFP that the accommodation would offer "an experience that's difficult to come by".
"If people were going to live there long-term, that would be a different story," he said.
"But in this case it's a very limited period and athletes will spend much of their time training and then come back simply to rest.
"I would like them to go back home having had a unique experience," he added.
Between 4,000 and 5,000 athletes and officials will stay on the Italian cruise ship Costa Serena, which will be docked at Nagoya Port during the Games.
The vessel, which features 571 cabins, seven swimming pools, eight restaurants and nine bars, is being chartered at a cost of about 4.5 billion yen ($28 million), said Yagi.
According to the official website, the ship has "an elegant, surprising, ironic and magnetic soul".
It is a sister ship of the Costa Concordia, which sank off Tuscany in 2012, killing 32 people.
A further 2,000 athletes and officials will stay in wooden shipping container-style huts in Nagoya's Garden Pier area.
Some of the units, which Yagi says are "essentially brand new", have already been installed.
"I've heard some say the space is a bit tight, but from what I saw, they provide an adequately liveable environment," he said.
Yagi says athletes will be assigned to a particular type of accommodation based on their sport, not by country.
- Power of sport -
He also says organisers will be ready to deal with Japan's typhoon season.
"We don't expect extremely large waves but we must be prepared for emergencies," he said.
"Forecast accuracy has improved and we can generally see a typhoon's path about a week in advance now."
Yagi says preparations for the Games are on course, with the main athletics venue set to open next month.
He says there has been a "marked improvement" in public awareness in Japan of the event, and tickets started to go on sale for local residents last month.
Organisers hope to emulate the success of the world athletics championships, which were held in Tokyo last year in front of mostly sold-out crowds.
"It was incredible, I was there when (pole vaulter Armand) Duplantis set the world record," said Yagi.
"It was close to 11:00 pm but no one was leaving, everyone was clapping along.
"The collective gasp when he broke the record was awe-inspiring, it really made me realise again how wonderful sport is."
Japanese organisers are keeping a close eye on the situation in the Middle East, and say that at present the war there is not likely to have an impact on the Games.
Yagi says there are no special plans for the Iran team, or North Korea, which is reportedly preparing to send a delegation of more than 260 athletes and officials.
With just months to go, he says preparations are going "according to plan".
"We are working to further reinforce coordination with the relevant organisations so that we can welcome the Games with everything in perfect order," he said.
amk/pst
Missouri State's Kaemyn Bekemeier shines, Lady Bears advance in March Madness
AUSTIN, TX – First Four or First Round, it’s all the same to Missouri State’s Kaemyn Bekemeier. She’ll get to experience both after scoring 23 points and grabbing 13 rebounds to lead the Lady Bears to an 85-75 win over Stephen F. Austin, moving her team from the First Four to the First Round.
“We were all excited to put our name plate on [the large bracket board] and officially be in the bracket and not to be playing in a play-in game, but like a real game,” she said, before quickly qualifying that statement. “Not that this wasn’t a real game.”
Bekemeier’s night paced a balanced effort that included five players in double figures, a 50-30 rebound advantage, and a second-half defensive performance that limited SFA to 0-for-16 shooting from 3-point range.
“I thought defensively we did a much better job in the second half,” Missouri State coach Beth Cunningham said. “They shoot the 3 really, really well. I wish we wouldn’t have given up so many points, but we knew we had to get stops in the second half.”
Cunningham liked her team’s offensive balance. Along with Bekemeier, Maiesha Washington scored 18 points, Lainie Douglas scored 14 with 10 rebounds, Kendal Brueggen scored 13 with 9 rebounds and Faith Lee chipped in with 10 points. Much of the damage came after the Lady Bears broke through SFA’s pressure and got open looks.
SFA guard Ashlyn Traylor-Walker, who scored a game-high 23 points, said things changed when starting post Cha Gardner left with an injured ankle after just 3 minutes.
“Some of it was fatigue when our starting post went out,” she said. “When she went out, that was (a shorter) rotation for us.”
Missouri State (23-12) took advantage.
“We really wanted to come out and attack the middle of the zone and not just walk the ball up the floor,” Cunningham said. “I thought our kids did a good job of that.”
Washington proved the main beneficiary, hitting shot after shot from just inside the foul line. She hit 9 of her 14 shots in the game.
“I think I’ve always been a mid-range girly,” Washington said. “That’s kind of just always been something that I grew up with. I was taught to not only be able to do something inside but to pull it out and shoot the mid-range.”
The win marks Missouri State’s first tournament win since 2022 and is the first for nearly everyone on the roster. Bekemeier said the team couldn’t wait to get onto the Moody Center floor and get rid of the butterflies.
“I know we were just excited to have a game, coming in and just shake off the jitters for sure,” she said. “And we’ll have to turn around and have to play again on Friday. There were some nervous moments, but those will all be gone for Friday.”
Good thing, because Friday brings a much different test — top-seeded Texas on its home floor.
“Getting those jitters out was huge because this was everyone’s first time at this tournament,” Bekemeier said. “We were kind of figuring it out and then realizing the level of basketball we’re about to go into.”
Cunningham said she hadn’t looked at Texas from a scouting perspective yet, but figured her staff would have plenty for her to review by the time she got on the team bus Wednesday night. Still, she said Texas won’t be completely new to her.
“I’m pretty familiar with their personnel,” Cunningham said. “I recruited a lot of the kids when I was at Duke. I think one of my last home visits with (Duke coach) Kara (Lawson) was with Maddie Booker. Obviously, they are a great team and have had a heck of a year.”
Booker is a first-team All-America player who leads a deep Texas team looking for its second-straight Final 4 trip. Texas and Missouri State play at 3 p.m. Friday.
This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Missouri State women's basketball moves onto March Madness First Round