Dario Franchitti will make his return to NASCAR Trucks

Dario Franchitti will compete in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at St. Petersburg on February 28, driving the Toyota No. 1 for TRICON Garage. This will be a one-off appearance for the four-time IndyCar champion, who has remained retired from professional racing since 2013. Dollar Tree will sponsor the Tundra TRD Pro in a deal coordinated with Jimmie Johnson's LEGACY MOTOR CLUB.

The Origin of the Opportunity

The invitation stemmed from a conversation between Franchitti and Johnson in Europe when it was announced that the Truck Series would race in St. Pete on the Saturday before the IndyCar Grand Prix. "We were having a glass of wine one night and the Trucks race at St. Pete had just been announced. I said it would be fun," Franchitti recalled. Johnson called the next morning: "Hey, I found you a truck."

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It was a Toyota from TRICON, a truck Franchitti had recently seen win at the Charlotte ROVAL. Johnson coordinated the deal leveraging his relationship with Toyota and LEGACY MOTOR CLUB, where he is a co-owner. Dollar Tree, the primary sponsor of his Cup Series team, took on the backing.

"Dario and I have been talking for a long time about an opportunity to race together. When he contacted me about St. Petersburg, I knew I had to get to work. I called him a day later with this incredible opportunity to join a championship team with Toyota," explained Johnson, who will be on the pit wall during the race.

Previous NASCAR Experience

Franchitti made several appearances in NASCAR between 2007 and 2008 when his IndyCar team, Chip Ganassi Racing, also operated in NASCAR. During that period he ran 10 Cup Series races with a best finish of 22nd at Martinsville, 18 starts in the Nationwide Series where he achieved a fifth place at Watkins Glen, and a single Truck Series race at Martinsville in 2007 where he finished 33rd due to mechanical issues.

His career unfolded entirely in IndyCar, where he built his legacy with 31 wins between IndyCar and CART, four championships (2007, 2009, 2010, 2011) and three victories in the Indianapolis 500 (2007, 2010, 2012).

Knowledge of the St. Petersburg Circuit

St. Petersburg is a 1.8-mile circuit that Franchitti knows well. He won the inaugural IndyCar race there in March 2011, dominating with 94 laps led out of 100. He also finished fifth in 2007 and scored the pole position in 2006, although he retired from that race due to mechanical failures.

"The idea of racing a NASCAR truck on a street circuit is very interesting to me. The different surfaces, the fact that part of it is on an airport and then you enter the streets, the different bumps, all those things you have to try to master. My experience of the circuit will be very useful, but my lack of experience with the truck will probably even things out quite a bit," he explained.

The Safety-Related Retirement

He retired from professional motorsports in 2013 due to an accident in Houston during an IndyCar race. The impact fractured two vertebrae, his right ankle, and caused a concussion. Doctors warned him that another similar impact could cause permanent neurological damage, even paralysis.

"It wasn't about pain or lack of motivation, but about long-term safety. Continuing could have compromised my mobility and quality of life," he explained at the time.

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The Gradual Return to Racing

When he retired, he didn't think he would race again, but in 2019 he began participating in historic car events like the Goodwood Revival, driving 1960s machines like the Ferrari 250 SWB and AC Cobra. More recently he moved to more modern cars. In January 2026, he raced the Dubai 24 Hours in a Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO for Team Parker Racing, his first race in a contemporary GT car since retirement.

"I'm not thinking about the result. Even when I was winning in IndyCar I never thought about the result beforehand. For me, success is whether I can do my best and at the end know that I did a good job. There's a big element of fun here. It's about testing myself, pushing myself, and having fun," said Franchitti.

"Honestly, in situations when I was at the top of my game in IndyCar, the element of fun was in winning, not in doing it. Since I started in 2019 racing old cars, the element of fun has returned. It's about the enjoyment and the love of driving and racing. It surprises me that I discovered that later in my racing life, so to speak, upon retiring."

The Friendship with Jimmie Johnson

Speaking about his relationship with Johnson, Franchitti commented: "We met in 2004 or 2005 at Daytona for the 24 Hours. He was winning seven championships and I was starting to win some IndyCar championships. We had text conversations, called back and forth and then started spending more time together when he had this idea of coming to do IndyCar. I was there at Ganassi in my role as an advisor working with him. From that point on, he and his family spent a lot of time in Europe and we really got into a lot of trouble and had a lot of fun together. He's my brother, he's just an incredible guy. If it goes well, great. If it doesn't go well, I'm going to blame Jimmie."