Sportscar driver Graham Doyle is set for his first-ever start at the iconic Lime Rock Park this weekend. However, the 2023 Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America vice champion won’t be behind the wheel of the Lamborghini Huracán he’s accustomed to. Instead, Doyle will make his NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series debut in TRICON Garage’s No. 5 Toyota Tundra.
The deal was officially announced in early June, marking another milestone in Doyle’s rapidly growing career. Over the past several seasons, he has collected wins with Wayne Taylor Racing in Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America, a single-make series under the IMSA umbrella. Now, NASCAR is the next avenue the Tampa native is eager to explore.
“I’m like a kid in a candy store,” Doyle said. “This all started because they (NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series) came to St. Pete this year for the first time. That’s my home race—I live in Clearwater, so it’s about 25 minutes away. I figured I had to go check it out.”
“I went with my manager, Jeff Burton. He was a NASCAR driver forever, and he introduced me to a lot of great people. I was able to meet the Toyota guys, the people at TRICON, and we started talking after that. They asked me, “Where do you see yourself in three years?” We talked about that quite a bit, and then I was fortunate enough to get this opportunity and find the right people to make it happen.”
“I’ve also had a lot of help from the Toyota side. They’ve been great in helping me find additional sponsors and, ultimately, helping create this opportunity in the first place. It’s a partnership with not just DEX. We also have Sharp coming on as one of the major sponsors. Sharp was really the main force behind this, and then, of course, DEX followed me into the program.”
Since the announcement of his Truck Series debut, Doyle has been preparing extensively for the opportunity, including a test behind the wheel of a truck at Sebring less than two weeks ago. Coupled with the support of a powerhouse organization like TRICON Garage, Doyle has had all the tools necessary leading into Lime Rock.
“I’m fortunate enough to have a team like TRICON behind me, along with Toyota,” Doyle said. “They have a tremendous simulator development program, so I’ve been able to spend a lot of time in the sim, getting familiar with the track and getting a feel for what the truck is like. Then I was able to experience it in real life at Sebring. It wasn’t exactly Lime Rock, but it was a real racetrack.”
“I think, with it being probably the hottest day of my entire life, it was also probably the most fun I’ve ever had in my entire life. I got out of the truck smiling ear to ear the entire time—so excited, so happy. I was like, “I cannot believe I’m fortunate enough to be able to run one of these trucks with this team at Lime Rock.”
“After that, I could compare the two and think, “Okay, here’s what the sim did correctly. Here’s what it didn’t do correctly.” And honestly, I’ll tell you, it was basically perfect, which is crazy.”
“I’m also fortunate to have a teammate on my GT team, Jordan Taylor, who ran this race last year for, I believe, Spire Motorsports. Being able to bounce ideas off him and talk about what the race was like has been really valuable, because I believe that was his first Truck Series start as well. Just being able to talk through everything with him has been a huge help. It’s really been a big conglomeration of people helping me and pushing me, which I feel will lead to a lot of success this weekend.”
While a NASCAR Truck may be a departure from the Lamborghinis Doyle is accustomed to driving, the driving style of the heavier machines actually shares several similarities with the cars he races in Lamborghini’s single-make championship.
“I would definitely say it leans more toward the Super Trofeo side,” Doyle said. “The GT3 car has so much aero, and the Michelin tire has so much grip through the middle of the corner that you’re really gaining time from the middle of the corner to corner exit. You roll so much speed on entry, it holds that speed through the middle, and then you’re able to get to power so early.
“The Super Trofeo isn’t quite like that. You’re lacking a lot of aero, and the tire isn’t quite as good as the Michelin on the GT3 car, so you’re struggling a little more through the middle and exit of the corner. You’re really playing a balancing act—charging into the corner with a lot of speed, then trying to get the car pointed straight before launching off the corner.”
“The truck is very similar to that. It has a ton of power on the straights, you’re carrying a lot of speed into the corner, and then you’re trying to balance it through the middle, get it pointed straight, and go.”
“So I’d say it definitely favors the Super Trofeo side. There are things from the GT3 car that translate over, but it’s definitely closer to the Super Trofeo. They’re both fairly raw compared to the GT3.”
Not only is there crossover from a vehicle standpoint, but Doyle also believes several racecraft elements from IMSA competition translate directly to Truck racing.
“The biggest one would probably be managing the vehicle,” Doyle said. “Tire wear on these things is pretty significant, and I feel like the drivers who do the best are the ones who preserve their tires toward the end of a stint.”
“That’s a huge part of endurance racing as well. In the longer race format, you have to manage your equipment. You also have to keep your vehicle in one piece.”
“That’s something that’s kind of different when you come from sprint racing, which I do as well, where it’s all-out for 50 minutes, an hour and a half, or whatever the race may be. This is more of a longer format, so you have to take care of the truck.”
“If you beat up your truck or your car at the beginning of the race, you’re not going to have the best vehicle to fight with at the end. It’s a balancing act. You don’t want to lose too much time protecting your vehicle, but you also don’t want to make a low-probability move on somebody in the first 10 laps that ends up damaging the truck. If I destroy something on the truck or break something, now I’ve got an aero deficiency that’s going to hurt me at the end of the race.”
While this weekend may be a one-off for Doyle, he hopes it will serve as the beginning of a future in NASCAR, with more opportunities to come in the years ahead.
“Right now, this is my only Truck Series start for this season, but hopefully we’ll be able to continue this moving into 2027,” Doyle said. “I’d love to make more starts. I’d be thrilled to continue racing for a team like TRICON Garage. Nothing is confirmed yet, but we’re definitely hopeful there will be more opportunities in the Truck Series down the road.”
As for his goals this weekend, Doyle is focused on getting through the race cleanly and learning as much as he can.
“Yeah, I think a successful weekend for me is just remembering that this is my first event. I don’t want to set unrealistic expectations for myself. I’m approaching this as a learning experience.”
“That being said, I’m with the best team and the best manufacturer. These guys work unbelievably hard to put the best trucks on the racetrack. It reminds me a lot of Wayne Taylor Racing in that sense. You look at what Corey did last year in a TRICON truck. This team has won a lot of races and consistently puts fast trucks on the track.”
“For me, a successful weekend is taking care of the truck, not doing anything stupid on my part, making it to the finish, and learning something. If I leave here with a top-20 or even a top-15 finish and I’ve learned something that makes me a better driver, I’m going to be happy.”
“Hopefully it makes me even hungrier for next year and whatever opportunities might come in these trucks. It motivates me to keep improving in NASCAR while also continuing to improve in IMSA.”
“At the end of the day, racing is racing. Every time I get in a race car, I just want to keep improving, learn something new, and be better the next time I climb behind the wheel. That’s what I’ll consider a win.”
Doyle and the No. 5 TRICON Garage team hit the track for the first time Friday at Lime Rock Park, with practice beginning at 9 a.m. ET and qualifying at 10:05 a.m. ET. The 100-lap LIUNA 150 is scheduled for 1 p.m. ET on FS1.
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