Three-time Indy 500 champion Dario Franchitti steps inside a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series entry for the first time since 2008, as the veteran looks to put all the pieces together for a stellar weekend with Tricon.

“This is a pretty awesome opportunity,” Franchitti tells GT REPORT ahead of his return. “Yeah, I’m excited. There are a lot of unknowns — definitely more questions than answers right now. I know the circuit, and that’s about it. Driving the truck? I’ve done, I don’t know, about half a day in it. So yeah, it’s all very new. I’m looking forward to the challenge, but I’m not quite sure how we’re going to stack up yet. That’s pretty normal in circumstances like this.”

Joining Franchitti for the unique opportunity is seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson.

Johnson, who is set to compete in the same No. 1 truck later in the year at San Diego, brings a wealth of NASCAR knowledge that has helped everything come together for this special race.

“He’s changed his role now,” Franchitti jokingly stated. “He’s gone from crew chief to, I think, ‘chief aggravation officer’ — that was his new title — and number-one fan. So we joke about it, but you’ve got Jimmie (Johnson) doing a fantastic job as the crew chief, and you’ve got a seven-time NASCAR champion on the stand. We were up there just now talking about it, and Jimmie was asking, ‘When do you want me to talk to you?’ I said, ‘Certainly in practice — when I come in and tell you what it’s doing. Then give me the benefit of your wisdom and what you think.’ So it’s fabulous to have him. Having a seven-time Cup champion there is one thing, but having him there as my pal, my buddy, and really the guy who put this all together — that’s really cool.”

For Franchitti, the nuances of the Truck Series have changed slightly since his last start in 2008.

Leading up to the race, the Scottish-born driver was able to get some valuable laps to prepare and better understand the truck heading into his return to the series.

“The biggest thing was just getting comfortable in the truck — trying to understand how to make it go through a corner quickly, what its capabilities are, what happens when you reach the braking limit, and what it feels like when you go too far. Just getting used to it like any vehicle. I was pleasantly surprised by how the truck handled. Obviously, the Tricon trucks are very good. For me, it was just a case of getting comfortable and not trying to reinvent the wheel. The truck is quick — so what do I need to do to drive it quickly?”

While adjusting to the Truck may be new for Franchitti, he is no stranger to the St. Pete circuit.

A 2011 winner on the famed Florida street course, Franchitti brings experience and success that not many in the Truck garage have at this track.

“I love coming to St. Pete. It’s been over 20 years now since I first raced here. I’ve had a little break, but I was still coming every year doing the advisor role with Chip Ganassi — doing the track walk and all the minute details. I love the event, and it’s fun to be back racing here.”

As for balancing patience and aggression while racing on the streets of St. Pete, Franchitti stated that “street-course racing is all about getting into a rhythm. One of the hardest things is skimming the car — or in this case the truck — between the walls and being inch-perfect. There’s really no room for error. You make a slight mistake in Turn 8, for example, and you’re either going down the runoff or into the tires. If you go into the tires, you’re going to have five trucks smashing into you afterward, and your day’s likely done.”

Although Dario is stepping into a Truck for the first time in 2026, it isn’t the first race on his season calendar.

Franchitti joined the grid for the 24H Dubai race back in January with Team Parker Racing in a return not only to sports car racing but also a special debut in new machinery.

“I’d actually never driven a GT3 car before — I’d always driven prototypes. So that was new. It was interesting to experience things like track limits, how hard the guys drive, and how much they smash the cars over curbs and just abuse them — and these cars take 24 hours. That was fun. It was me, my friend Shaun (Lynn), his son Max (Lynn), and Rob Huff. We just did it for fun. We race old cars together, so it was cool to do something modern.”

As for what’s to come for Franchitti in sports cars, a Le Mans bid is still of interest.

Listed as a reserve entrant for Blackthorn’s Aston Martin effort, the chance for Franchitti to check off the historic twice-around-the-clock classic in France remains on the radar.

“The Blackthorn guys had mentioned it before, and I kept saying, ‘I’m not sure.’ Then Johnny Adam called and said Claude, who owns Blackthorn, really wanted to do this and wanted to talk to me. He called, and he had such enthusiasm that I thought, ‘Absolutely, let’s try to do it.’ But it was late in the day to put everything together, and even though they put a lot of effort into getting the entry, it was quite late. We might regroup. I’d like to do something with them. There’s the Ecurie Ecosse connection, and they’re raising funds for Race Against Dementia — Jeremy Stewart’s charity — so there’s a lot of good behind it. I’d like to do Le Mans at some point. I’ve gone from being in a headspace where I always said no to being in one where I’m saying yes a lot more. I mean, I ran in Jimmie’s Mint 400 truck with a passenger seat — definitely the dumbest and possibly the scariest thing I’ve ever done. That tells you my mindset right now. And I’m lucky to have a very understanding wife who just shakes her head and says, ‘Have fun, darling.’”

Not only is Le Mans on the radar, but a potential Mazda MX-5 Cup run in the future may also be in the works.

With Scott Dixon wanting to join the fray, Dixon and Dario may be the new pairing we see in the MX-5 Cup paddock sometime down the road.

“Yeah, we might do it somewhere. Not sure we’ll do Daytona, but we’ll see.”

As for the weekend as a whole, Dario is excited to take on this new challenge.

Featuring a stellar lineup of drivers from all different forms of motorsport, Franchitti feels this weekend truly opens doors for different series.

“I love that. For so long — certainly when I started racing in IndyCar — teams didn’t really like you doing other stuff. That was true in F1 and NASCAR too — everyone stuck to their lane. It started to change when we went and did Daytona. Bit by bit, people started branching out. Now you see the most extreme examples, like Max Verstappen driving a GT3 at the Nürburgring, but then you’ve got old retired guys like me jumping in a truck, Bamber and Sébastien in the MX-5 race, Hinchy here. We’re all just looking for chances to have fun. It definitely adds more interest to the event. But I was talking to Hinchy about this — we’re not underestimating the talent and the seriousness of what the truck regulars do week in and week out. Those guys are really good at what they do. We’re here having fun, and I want to win and do a good job, but I’m coming into their championship for a weekend.”

Header image: Photo courtesy of Tricon Garage