When the 2026 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series schedule came out late last season, one race immediately caught the attention of most: A race on the Streets of St. Petersburg on Saturday, Feb. 28 as the opening act to the NTT IndyCar Series main event on Sunday, March 1.
Well, race fans, that weekend is finally upon us.
Even now, the thought of the Truck Series competing at St. Pete, not only in conjunction with IndyCar, but as a standalone NASCAR race, doesn’t seem real at all. It sort of felt like a typo on the schedule in some way; though the fact that there were no leaks and it was a tightly-kept secret up until the reveal probably is the reason for that feeling.
Nevertheless, it’s happening. The Truck Series will compete in its first of two street races (the other being Coronado Naval Base in San Diego), and it will likely be the race of the year.
Whether it will be the best race or the worst race remains to be seen, but either way, it’ll be one to remember.
Before even taking to the track, the star-studded lineup is of great note.
First, there’s Dario Franchitti, a four-time IndyCar champion with over 30 wins across IndyCar and Champ Car. The 2011 IndyCar winner at St. Pete hasn’t been in a truck since his lone start in the series in 2007, hasn’t been in a NASCAR vehicle since 2008 and hasn’t raced competitively since his 2013 career-ending crash on the streets of Houston.
Franchitti will drive the No. 1 Toyota for TRICON Garage with sponsorship from Dollar Tree. The deal came together in partnership with Legacy Motor Club, after simply a conversation between Franchitti and Legacy owner Jimmie Johnson, who will drive TRICON’s No. 1 in the other street race at Coronado later this season. In an even more interesting turn of events, Johnson himself will serve as Franchitti’s crew chief at St. Pete after Jerame Donley sat atop the box for the team’s first two races.
The move sounds crazy, but Johnson has raced an IndyCar at St. Pete in the 2020s – far more recently than Franchitti. So he will certainly have some tips and tricks for handling a NASCAR vehicle (because he’s been in one of those recently too) around a track like St. Pete.
With a seven-time NASCAR champion on the box and a four-time IndyCar champion behind the wheel, driving for a team that just won the Truck Series championship last season, you likely can’t go wrong penciling in truck No. 1 as a favorite to win.
Franchitti won’t be the only IndyCar veteran in the field. James Hinchcliffe, currently a broadcaster for IndyCar on FOX, will get back behind the wheel of a racecar, this time driving the No. 77 for Spire Motorsports in what will be his NASCAR debut.
Like Franchitti, Hinchcliffe is also no stranger to victory lane in St. Petersburg, having won the 2013 iteration of the IndyCar race. However, unlike Franchitti, Hinchcliffe is still racing to this day, albeit sporadically, running the IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship endurance races at Daytona International Speedway, Sebring International Raceway and Road Atlanta for Petit Le Mans.
Spire is coming off of a one-two finish at EchoPark Speedway, with the same No. 77 Hinchcliffe is set to step foot in finishing second with Carson Hocevar behind the wheel. Combine that with not only Hinchcliffe’s experience on road courses, but having an equally-skilled road course racer in Connor Mosack as his teammate in the No. 7, and Hinch could challenge for a high finish, maybe even a victory.
While not an IndyCar veteran like the previous two, Colin Braun does have a single IndyCar start – and it just so happens that it came at St. Petersburg in 2024. The IMSA veteran is the newest addition to Kaulig Racing’s Free Agent Program, and will be the third driver in three races to drive the No. 25 Ram.
Unlike the previous two, Braun is well-versed in a truck. He competed in the series full-time in 2008 and 2009, notching a win at Michigan International Speedway in the latter season. However, his last NASCAR start came in a truck in 2011, so there will no doubt be some rust for Braun to shake off over the weekend.
It’s weird to call Braun – the one with the most Truck Series experience (and even a win) and the most active racer of the three – the “wild card” of the trio. But with Braun having the least experience at the track, plus the unknowns of the Truck Series at St. Pete as well as Kaulig’s Ram program as a whole, Braun’s performance could range between standing in victory lane or in the garage by the end of the first turn – but then again, isn’t that just racing as a whole?
Franchitti, Hinchcliffe, Mosack and Braun are also joined by several other drivers with road course experience – Carter Fartuch and Jackson Lee are competing for Team Reaume, 2025 zMAX CARS Tour Pro Late Model champion Ben Maier is driving for Niece Motorsports, Adam Andretti will serve as a teammate to Franchitti at TRICON, Wesley Slimp is back in Halmar Friesen Racing’s No. 62 truck and Nathan Nicholson will drive the Freedom Racing Enterprises No. 76 in place of team owner Spencer Boyd (who surprisingly opted not to field two trucks like he has in recent years).
On top of that, Niece teammates Tyler Reif and Landen Lewis begin their part-time schedules at the Florida street course, while other road course aficionados such as Andres Perez and Kris Wright look toward a potential big points day in the new-old Chase format.
So yeah, it’s already going to be a race to remember. And we haven’t even discussed what kind of racing we might see.
Admittedly, given recent history of the Truck Series, it’s hard not to feel a little bit of apprehension for what might go down on Saturday. A street course is a brand new phenomenon to the Truck Series. Add in a bunch of inexperienced drivers mentioned above and some tight spots on the track, including a sweeping hairpin to end the lap, and this race could feature more laps under yellow than under green.
Not to mention, this will likely be a slow race for the Truck Series even if the whole race goes green. Obviously trucks are a lot heavier than an IndyCar, and IndyCars are able to get around the track in about a minute (Scott McLaughlin won the pole last year with a speed of 108.653 mph). It’d be a surprise if the truckers can reach an average lap speed above 100 mph given the weight difference and how tight the track is. It’ll also require harder braking than an IndyCar would.
It could be single file the whole time once we get beyond a lap after a restart. Track position may mean everything.
But with the unknown comes a little bit of fun.
No one likes a wreckfest by any means, but the lack of experience for some could produce some unlikely candidates up front. Even though it’s been years since Braun, Franchitti and Hinchcliffe have turned a lap at the 1.8-mile track, they still have more experience than most, and maybe that’ll ultimately cycle them to the front.
Maybe the trucks can carry more speed than we thought, and it’ll be a fast race. Perhaps we’ll get a 2018 Cup Series Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL-esque finish that will cement St. Petersburg’s place on the schedule for years to come.
We just don’t know.
It’s probably the first time since that Cup race at the ROVAL in 2018 where I’ve gone into a race with little-to-no clue on what in the world we’ll expect.
But no matter which way it swings, this race will more than likely be one for the history books.
I would like to know NASCAR’s approval process. I mean how does Franchitti get approved to race if he has not raced anything since 2013? They did not let Mike Wallace drive in the Daytona 500 last year because he hadn’t raced in like 10 years. I know there is a difference between a street course and the high banks of Daytona but come on.I’m not sure Cleetus McFarland should have been approved for the Daytona truck race with his limited experience and the fact that he hit the wall in his test at Rockingham.
Again, be consistent NASCAR. What’s the approval process?
Yeah, it seems NASCAR could learn from F1 here, where they require a “superlicense”, which has specifics laid out to obtain the license. No license, no race. As it is, NASCAR opens themselves up to fair criticism about who gets to race, and who does not.
You’re right that the bar for running on drafting tracks is higher, which makes sense.
As for “McFarland”, I was wondering the same until I thought about his experience in ARCA running on drafting tracks. I’d guess that’s why they allowed it, though obviously he embarrassed himself shortly after the green flag waved.
Don’t worry, the author said that Franchitti is one of the favorites, so its all good.
I don’t care how many wins or how many championship you have or how many wins/championships your supposed crew chief has, not racing in 13 years and almost 20 in a truck does not make you a favorite for anything. Funny take though.