As NASCAR prepares to go road-course racing for the first time this weekend, there are plenty of road ringers in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series who will be looking to crash the party.
From the Streets of St. Petersburg for the Truck Series to Circuit of the Americas for O’Reilly, here are the road-course specialists who will compete against the stars of NASCAR for road course supremacy.
Truck Series at St. Pete
Dario Franchitti, No. 1 Toyota, TRICON Garage
Dario Franchitti, 52, will be making just the second start of his Truck career. The four-time NTT IndyCar Series champ made eight starts at St. Petersburg and scored a win on the street course in 2011.
Of course, a NASCAR truck is a totally different vehicle, but that experience could come in handy for Franchitti this weekend.
Carter Fartuch, No. 2 Ford, Team Reaume
Carter Fartuch has only two Truck starts under his belt, both of which came at road courses. The 31-year-old driver comes from the sportscar world and has helped the likes of Ross Chastain, Bubba Wallace, Kyle Busch and Jimmie Johnson improve at road courses.
Ben Maier, No. 4 Chevrolet, Niece Motorsports
Ben Maier won the 2025 CARS Tour Pro Late Model championship, but has a solid body of work in road racing. His two career Truck starts came at road courses in 2025, and he’s also competed in the Trans AM and the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge.
Adam Andretti, No. 5 Toyota, TRICON Garage
Yes, Adam Andretti comes from that line of racing royalty. The son of Aldo and nephew of Mario Andretti, 46-year-old Adam qualified eighth and finished 12th in his Truck debut at EchoPark Speedway last week. His lone ARCA Menards Series East start came at Watkins Glen in 2016.
Jackson Lee, No. 22 Ford, Team Reaume
Jackson Lee, 23, races in Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America and has prior experience in USF 2000 and IMSA. Saturday will mark his Truck debut.
Colin Braun, No. 25 RAM, Kaulig Racing
Colin Braun isn’t a total newbie to the Truck Series, having made run 53 races. He even won a race at Michigan International Speedway in 2009. His lone IndyCar start in 2024 came at St. Petersburg, and he’s a decorated veteran of IMSA.
Wesley Slimp, No. 62 Toyota, Halmar Friesen Racing
Wesley Slimp made three road-course starts with HFR last year, finishing a solid 12th at Watkins Glen International. He also has experience in Trans Am and Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America.
Nathan Nicholson, No. 76 Chevrolet, Freedom Racing Enterprises
Nathan Nicholson will make his Truck debut on Saturday. He earned two Mazda MX-5 Cup podiums at Laguna Seca in 2024 and finished third in the series standings in 2025.
James Hinchcliffe, No. 77 Chevrolet, Spire Motorsports
James Hinchcliffe scored the first of six career IndyCar wins at St. Pete in 2013 and has a wealth of road racing experience. He should be fun to watch in a field full of young drivers on Saturday.
NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series
Connor Zilisch, No. 1 Chevrolet, JR Motorsports
On the heels of a rough start to his first Cup campaign, a win on Saturday at COTA could be good for Connor Zilisch‘s soul. He’s the defending NOAPS winner at COTA and will also be a favorite for Sunday’s Cup race.
Tyler Gonzalez, No. 5 Ford, Hettinger Racing
Tyler Gonzalez, 21, will attempt to qualify for his NOAPS debut on Saturday. He also has MX-5 Cup and IMSA experience under his belt and has raced at COTA in other racing divisions, which could give him a leg up this weekend.
Shane van Gisbergen, No. 9 Chevrolet, JR Motorsports
Perhaps the only driver that could unseat Zilisch for the title of favorite at COTA on Saturday is Shane van Gisbergen, who has four NOAPS road-course wins and six more in the Cup Series. If the 2025 Sonoma NOAPS race was any indication, we could be in for another classic road-course battle between van Gisbergen and Zilisch.
Baltazar Leguizamon, No. 30 Chevrolet, Barrett Cope Racing
Baltazar Leguizamon will look to make his second NOAPS start. He failed to qualify for the 2023 race at the venue but comes back with slightly more NOAPS seat time under his belt.
Austin J. Hill, No. 35 Chevrolet, Joey Gase Motorsports
Austin J. Hill made his NOAPS debut at Watkins Glen in 2025. He also has plenty of road-course experience in F2000 and Trans Am Racing that should be a help this weekend.
Preston Pardus, No. 50 Chevrolet, Pardus Racing
Preston Pardus returns for another part-time O’Reilly season this year for his family-owned team, with COTA the No. 50’s first start. He has three top 10s in the series since 2019.
Sage Karam, No. 55 Chevrolet, Joey Gase Motorsports
The 2013 Indy NXT champion, Sage Karam has 35 NOAPS races under his belt along with 25 IndyCar starts and a wealth of experience in sportscar racing. His last NOAPS start came at the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL in October 2025.
A member of the National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA), Samuel also covers NASCAR for Yardbarker, Field Level Media, and Heavy Sports. He will attend the University of Arkansas in the fall of 2025.
Adam Andretti is the son of the late John Andretti, and the grandson of Aldo. John Andretti raced in Cup and Busch starting in the mid 90’s and was the first driver to do the Indy 500/World 600 double. John also raced in IMSA, USAC Sprint cars, Indy Cars and even NHRA Top Fuel. He passed away about 10 years ago from cancer, colon cancer I think.
Passed in 2020. Yet another crappy thing among seemingly dozens in that year.