ST.PETERSBURG, Fla. — A 52-year-old with a racing résumé that ranks among the all-time greats had no more left to give, exhaustion evident for all to see.
As Dario Franchitti rested on pit road after his first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race since October 2007, one could expect him to be frustrated with a 27th-place finish after running in the top 10 for most of the day.
However, the three-time Indianapolis 500 winner was anything but, despite mechanical trouble with 16 laps to go in the 80-lap race.
“I said it was really fun to start, but then it got probably a little too hot to be fun because the helmet blower stopped working,” Franchitti said, recalling his conversation with Jimmie Johnson, who put the ride together. “But I had a blast. It was really good, it was really good points, and there were points when it wasn’t, I hate to say good and I made some rookie errors. But how fortunate am I after what I went through in 2013 and I come back and do this 13 years later.”
Franchitti was involved in an accident on the final lap of an NTT IndyCar Series in October of 2013 that sent his car into the catch fence after contact with Takuma Sato. The accident injured Franchitti enough that doctors told him he risked paralysis and permanent brain damage if he had another massive accident.
Franchitti felt his mind improving over time and gained medical clearance to do January’s 24 Hours of Dubai sports car race. Early in February, Franchitti announced he would compete with TRICON around the 14-turn, 1.8-mile street circuit where he was victorious in 2011.
The anticipation built up ahead of the 80-lap race as practice was cut short and qualifying was canceled due to rain.
“It was cool because I was fully focused on the braking zone for one already in my head and getting the power down out of the last corner and getting braking into one,” Franchitti said. “I was fully zoned in, and that felt great to be in that space again.”
The No. 1 Chevrolet remained in the top 10 for much of the race, finishing sixth at the end of Stage 1 and eighth at the end of Stage 2. However, a top-10 run went south as his steering started to fail in the final portion of the race.
Going into his first street circuit race since that fateful day in Houston in 2013, Franchitti kept his expectations in check, knowing what he was up against.
“I didn’t come in here thinking I’m gonna smoke these guys,” Franchitti said. “I wanna say kids, but that’s disrespectful. I didn’t think I was going to come in and smoke these drivers because I’m aware of the talent level and how hard everybody’s practicing now and the amount of sim work they’re doing and the talent level, and a lot of them have figured it out. You can tell that, and it was a pleasure to share the track with them.”
Despite having a blast in the truck, don’t expect Franchitti to compete on an oval again, however.
“I think the chances of me doing an oval are probably longer odds than flying to the moon, but, you know, never say never on another road or street course, we’ll see.”
Christopher DeHarde has covered IndyCar racing and the Road to Indy for various outlets since 2014. In addition to open wheel racing, DeHarde has also covered IMSA and various short track racing events around Indiana. Originally from New Orleans, DeHarde moved to the Indianapolis area in 2017 to further pursue a career as a motorsports writer.
Were there any truck regulars in the race? All I saw was constant fawning over the Indy Car contingent and dignitaries that were there. It was over the top. I guess FOX doesn’t believe the series can stand on its own. It must have bummed them out that a regular won the race.