Pitbull talks how he uses NASCAR, music platforms to bring a ‘culture of community’
Pitbull — Mr. Worldwide, Mr. 305, Grammy Award winner, NASCAR team co-owner — made his way into the media center at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Sunday ahead of the NASCAR Cup Series’ 4EVER 400 and quickly livened up the room.
His schedule is beyond busy as he doubles up with NASCAR and his music career. He’s on tour right now with Ricky Martin and Enrique Iglesias, and his latest album — Trackhouse, named in honor of the Trackhouse Racing NASCAR Cup Series team he co-owns — dropped earlier this month.
“Sleep is for the dead, man,” Pitbull said. “I’ve got to enjoy this ride while I’m alive.”
And he truly is enjoying his best life. Trackhouse Racing is in its third year and has two public faces of the series in Ross Chastain and Daniel Suarez. Pitbull is also serving as the honorary pace car prior to Sunday’s race.
Before that, though, he took 15 minutes to talk about how his two platforms — music and racing — go together.
Here are the highlights.
Take us through your new album, why you named it Trackhouse and what your schedule has been like.
“In layman’s terms, and I got some kids in here but these are impactful words and I’m very passionate about it, my schedule ain’t shit compared to these NASCAR drivers and what y’all have going on. I mean, it’s grueling. It’s grinding. Do we relate to each other? Absolutely. Are we both hard workers? Clearly. Together with Trackhouse and being a part of the whole NASCAR family, it was something that I had been manifesting for a long time. The minute that I saw that car parked in front of SLAM, which is one of our schools in Little Havana, when I saw the disconnect between the kids and the car — I mean, they were so excited to see it, it’s like they saw a spaceship; that’s what I mean by the disconnect, meaning they didn’t they didn’t even know that that world really existed — I automatically saw an opportunity to teach these kids that they can be owners, they can be technicians, they could be engineers, they could be drivers, physical therapists, pit crew, could you name it. There’s so many opportunities within the world of NASCAR. That’s basically how this came about because our visions aligned and our goals were the same. It wasn’t just about generating and winning. It was about utilizing the music, that platform and utilizing the platform of racing, and bringing a culture of community and everybody together and just showing everybody that we’re here to unite and not divide two of the platforms that we have.
“As far as the new album Trackhouse, what better name than that for the new album? And if you’re listening to the album and what’s in the album, I did it on purpose. I put a lot of different records in there. I put English, Spanish, Mambo. T-Pain, he starts it off, so it’s me T-Pain and El Micha on it. T-Pain is on a Spanish record, which, you know, T-Pain is from Tallahassee. He’s a Florida boy. He speaks Spanish regardless. But all I’m saying is it’s a beautiful thing to bring these two platforms together so every culture can enjoy it and understand that there is an opportunity in NASCAR and Trackhouse is running point on that.”
What makes Trackhouse and the racing industry so important to you?
“We do it because we care. Don’t get me wrong. It’s a sport. We’re here to win. And it’s a business. You’re here to generate. But when you have a purpose and you have a real cause behind it, that’s what makes it special. And that is why I got involved in the first place. And second of all, why we named the album that is just to create more awareness, not just to the NASCAR community, not only the United States of America, but also all around the world. When you do that from a good place, there’s a saying that says ‘Do good and be well,’ and that’s how we live every day of our lives. I say all the time and it’s a truth I live by: Every day above ground is a great day. So what I do is I take advantage of each day to see how we can help those that need it the most. That’s what the organization is about and that is what Trackhosue is about. That’s why this is a priceless relationship.”
Obviously you have an insane schedule. How do you keep up with the races? Are you able to watch them live or do you see them after the fact?
“I try as much as I can to be honest with you, but most of the time I’m taking off on Sunday to get to the next spot. What I do is I have someone in the team who is a Trackhouse fan. He keeps me up to date on everything that’s going on. And what I try not to do is ... I keep in touch with the drivers but what I don’t like to do is overwhelm them. I’m always here if they need advice, and any time that the team says ‘Hey, we really need you at this event,’ I try my hardest and when I say I, I mean we, I mean us. I don’t do this by myself, to move everything around to find a way to make it happen. We were just in Boston last night and I want to give a big shout out to Enrique Iglesias and Ricky Martin for giving me an opportunity to be able to tour with them. So coming off stage last night, I came straight to homestead. Just so wild. Why dream it when you can live it?”
How do you keep this energy up?
“Here’s a little secret: I’m a first-generation Cuban-American, Miami boy raised in the 80s in Miami. So I’m a product of Miami in the 80s; I just never did the product, but I’ve got the energy.”
The 20th anniversary of the NASCAR Drive for Diversity. What does it mean to you to see that NASCAR is actually walking the walk with its action points on diversity?
“It’s funny you say that. One of the neighborhoods that I lived in here in Miami, which went from the heroin capital of Miami to the art Mecca of the world, and that’s called Wynwood. In Wynwood, the saying is ’Don’t talk about it; be about it.’ So there’s nothing better than to be part of an organization and partner up to an amazing team like Trackhouse, be a part of an organization and not just talking about it but being about it. And for me, my favorite story of NASCAR and why I relate to it at another level is because I’m a negative to a positive. If it wasn’t for a teacher changing my life and certain people giving me the right direction, then we all know how the story ends. ... I tell you that why? Don’t talk about it; be about it. Negative to positive is my story and so is NASCAR’s story. They started bootlegging the moonshine, right? And they took that and made it one of the biggest sports in the United States of America. And now we’re here through Drive for Diversity to make it something that is worldwide. To me, it’s an honor to be here and I always love to get involved with things that are a challenge. And I love when people don’t believe. I love when people hate, when they dislike. That just adds fuel to the fire that erupts the volcano and that’s when we show up and show out. That’s what we’re doing right now.”
What’s it like when you walk through the garages?
“As someone who first came out to the Daytona 500 right after the shutdown and NASCAR happened to be one of the only sports to open up, the first reaction was ‘And what the [expletive] is Pitbull doing here?’ I got it. We were walking around, doing what we were doing. The second time that I came out, I brought a good friend of mine, a mentor and business partner. His name’s Tony Robbins. So now they’re looking at going ‘What are Pitbull and Tony Robbins doing here?’ By the third time I came out, I started to see Trackhouse hats, Trackhouse shirts, Trackhouse jackets, and that to me it showed the impact. So I love to be involved with new challenges, in learning different people and how they move. I love the loyalty behind the fan base of NASCAR. It’s phenomenal. And when I really fell in love was at Daytona 500 in in 2021. I was across the street at the PF Changs there. I walk in and one of the NASCAR fans, he’s like, ‘Well, you sure don’t dress like a NASCAR owner.’ I started messing with him, so I sent him a round of beers and he sent me a round the shots. I sent him a round of beers. He sent me a round of shots. And when I went to go get up because usually what I do is I sneak off and then I go take care of bill for them, he already took care of me. I was like, ‘Oh, OK, this is this the kind of folks that I’m dealing with. That showed me a lot of the community and the culture of NASCAR. That’s when I knew this is where I was not only meant to be, but I’m a student. I’m here to learn. I’m never gonna sit here and act like I know something that I don’t, but I’m definitely here to learn. And that’s what I feel like walking out there.”
