Jackson Lee is set to hit the Streets of St. Pete in a bit of a different car than he is used to.

The primarily sports car racing driver has competed in the VP Racing Fuels SportsCar Challenge and open-wheel racing, but the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is a new addition to his motorsports portfolio.

“I’m so excited to get started today,” Lee stated. “I’ve been coming here to St. Pete for about five years now. I’ve raced the last four of those events, and it’s just one of my favorite events, one of my favorite tracks on the schedule. So super cool to see that the Trucks are coming here. And when we saw that the Craftsman Series added this to their calendar, we immediately knew we needed to jump on that. We’ve got a lot of partners — we’ve got California Closets and Browning Chapman — who always support us out at this race, and they wanted to see me in a car, so it seemed like the perfect fit. So we started reaching out, got connected with Team Reaume, and the fit just seemed to be there. So now we’re going to give it our best shot. The team’s been awesome helping to get acclimated to the new car and into the new series.”

Preparation for a race such as St. Pete brings a different plan compared to other tracks on the Truck schedule.

With no proper at-home sim, sometimes you have to think outside the box to gear up for a race full of unknowns. However, for Lee, he feels it will be a positive for the weekend.

“Yeah, I honestly think the lack of available preparation, the lack of good sim models out there, works to my advantage just in my track knowledge. I’ve had plenty of people I’ve been able to talk to and pick their brains as far as how to drive this car, and I feel like I’ve got a pretty good understanding of what I need to do. I just need to go do it. So we’ve spent a lot of time using the resources I have, especially talking to the other drivers who are in the same boat as me this weekend. James Hinchcliffe is one of them, who’s been very helpful to me. We’ve been bouncing ideas back and forth as far as how we’re going to approach this weekend. I think we’re going to be in good shape. We just need to, again, go do it, go see what happens.”

Fortunately for Lee, he has many laps on this tight Florida street circuit.

As mentioned, with race experience in sports cars and open-wheel machinery, Lee brings a wealth of knowledge of the track.

“I understand the specific parts of this track where the lap time comes from. And I think it’s important to be able to maximize those sections and understand how to make the truck fast in those specific areas, which I think will work to our advantage. But there’s just a lot of fun parts about this track.”

Another benefit for Lee is his experience in different types of race cars.

From GT cars to open-wheel, prototypes, and now trucks, Lee has truly had a mixed bag of driving different cars on track.

“Yeah, I’ve always been a big believer that the more you can drive, the more seat time you can get in any type of car, the more beneficial it is. Like you said, I’ve gotten the opportunity to drive sports cars on the GT side, on the prototype side, as well as formula cars back during the Road to Indy. So checking off the stock car box now I think kind of finishes the final ladder of at least pavement cars. I would love to try some short-track stuff at some time. But yeah, just getting in all these different kinds of cars is only going to make you a better driver, and I expect nothing less than that this weekend.”

Although Lee’s focus is NASCAR this weekend, come Sebring in March, Lamborghini Super Trofeo begins his road toward a series championship.

“Yeah, I’m extremely excited to get back to Sebring, get back in the Lamborghini. That’s such a fun car to drive. And we should be able to make announcements on what our full plans for that are soon. I’m so excited for that. I think we’re going to have a really good opportunity to rack up some more wins this year. So, very excited for that. That’s a great opportunity to continue to learn, continue to develop, and then get some more wins on the board. So I can’t wait for that.”

As for his thoughts on the potential of running Lamborghini’s new Temerario in the series down the road, Lee stated that progress is always exciting.

“I haven’t had the opportunity to drive or learn much about the new cars yet, but it’s just going to create a new environment of who can learn the car the best, who can adapt the quickest. It’s always interesting when you add new equipment to a series. I’m looking forward to that, and it’s just going to be another aspect we’re going to have to deal with.”

For this weekend overall, there are many special elements in place with the Trucks competing alongside IndyCar.

The son of IndyCar pit reporter Kevin Lee, Jackson is getting the opportunity to share another weekend in his career with someone who has been instrumental in it.

“Yeah, it’s fun,” Lee said. “I think at times he’s sometimes more nervous than I am going into these races, but he’s been a massive supporter of my career ever since we got started. And having his assets and his connections in the paddock, as well as just his support and his knowledge for how to go about this on the business side and on the media side, it’s been so valuable to my career. Really, my whole family — we’ve all worked so hard to be able to raise the sponsorship and to put these deals together. Having the support on my dad’s side as well as my mom and all the work that they all put in to get me here, I’m so grateful for their support. And it’s cool to be able to do this as a family.”

Lee’s goals? Well, for him, expectations are a blank slate.

With hopes to run more races down the road in Trucks, Lee wants to bring forth a good finish for his supporters and team.

“I honestly don’t have any expectations. You know, first time in a truck, first time in any sort of stock car. I certainly want to learn to drive and get comfortable as quickly as I can. But really, I think if we just survive, we’re going to have a good finish. So, I’m hoping to be able to bring that for the team and for all my supporters this weekend. I think there’s a really big opportunity on the table here. So, if we check all the right boxes and make all the right moves, I think there’s a really good opportunity.”

(Photo Courtesy to Jackson Lee)