By David Morgan, Associate Editor
A long-time fixture of the NTT IndyCar Series paddock, Dario Franchitti will be stepping back to his NASCAR past as he will climb behind the wheel of the No. 1 Tricon Garage Toyota for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series debut in St. Petersburg on February 28.
When it was announced that the Truck Series would be joining the slate for the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg weekend, it was seemingly a matter of when, not if, the race would draw interest from the IndyCar paddock.
With a little help from seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson and his Legacy Motor Club team, Franchitti elected to enter the fray.
The 52-year old Scotsman, a four-time champion in IndyCar and three-time Indianapolis 500 winner, took a detour into NASCAR back in 2007 and 2008, making a combined 29 starts between the Cup Series (10 starts), O’Reilly Auto Parts Series (18 starts), and Truck Series (one start).
His best NASCAR result came in the O’Reilly Series in 2008, when he claimed a pole and a career-best top-five at Watkins Glen.
Franchitti retired from full-time racing in 2013, but has remained as a driver coach and advisor at Chip Ganassi Racing, among other endeavors, to stay active in the motorsports community.
Still, the allure of a return to the cockpit was too much to dismiss, so 17 years after his last NASCAR start, he’ll be back behind the wheel in one of the more unique events on the Truck Series schedule.
“I’m Dario Franchitti, 3x Indianapolis 500 winner and I’m driving the No. 1 Toyota Tundra for TRICON.”
Chills. pic.twitter.com/9dT4u0Nj4Y
— TRICON (@TRICONGarage) February 3, 2026
“The thought of racing a NASCAR truck on a street circuit is really intriguing to me. The different surfaces, the fact that part of it is on an airport, then you go into the streets, the different bumps all those things you got to try and master. This was just the chance to race on a circuit that I love, and a chance to do something fun,” said Franchitti.
“This all stemmed from a conversation with Jimmie Johnson. For me, with the opportunity to race the truck, it was really him, it was the whole team that he has there [at LEGACY MC] that made it all happen. His relationship with Toyota, Dollar Tree coming on a sponsor — it’s all been through Jimmie and the team at LEGACY MC.
“If it goes well, great. If it doesn’t go well, I am going to be blaming Jimmie.”
Johnson will be making a start with Tricon later in the season when the Truck Series heads to San Diego, but his focus for now, aside from his duties in the Cup Series with Legacy Motor Club, will be helping Franchitti in St. Petersburg at the end of the month.
“Dario and I had been talking for a long time about the chance to race together, so when he approached me about St. Petersburg, I knew I had to get to work. I called him back a day later with an incredible opportunity to join a championship-winning team with Toyota and the great people at TRICON,” said Johnson. “It’s been a lot of fun getting him integrated into the team and spending more time together, going through the process of getting him back to racing.
“I’m so excited it all came together and thankful that Dollar Tree is going to support. I am looking forward to sitting on the pit box alongside the team and sharing this experience with Dario.”
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