The NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series got less than a half hour of practice into their debut on the 14-turn, 1.8-mile downtown St. Petersburg Street Course before rain moved in and cancelled the remaining track activity.
NASCAR set the starting lineup for Saturday’s OnlyBulls Green Flag 150 at St. Petersburg (noon ET., FOX, NRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) based on the rulebook with Connor Mosack claiming pole position. He will start the No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevy alongside Gio Ruggiero in the No. 17 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota.
Championship points leader Chandler Smith will line up fifth.
Former IndyCar star and current FOX Sports broadcaster James Hinchcliffe will start the No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevy third in his series debut. Three-time Indianapolis 500 champion Dario Franchitti will start the No. 1 TRICON Garage Toyota sixth on the 36-truck grid with the Kaulig Racing RAM Truck “Free Agent” driver Colin Braun rolling off from the 16th position.
Kaden Honeycutt, driver of the No. 11 TRICON Garage Toyota, was fastest in the short practice session.
Star Power from Former St. Pete Winner
The four-time IndyCar Series Champion and 2011 IndyCar St. Pete Grand Prix winner Franchitti is making his first NASCAR start since 2008 and competing in his first nationally sanctioned race of any kind since 2013.
That’s the power of his longtime friend, seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion and NASCAR Cup Series LEGACY MOTOR CLUB team owner Jimmie Johnson, who persuaded Franchitti to return to the driver’s seat this weekend to steer the No. 1 TRICON Garage Toyota on the streets of St. Pete.
“He’s worked hard at putting this whole thing together from the very first conversation,’’ Franchitti said of the NASCAR Hall of Famer Johnson, who has even committed to helping guide Franchitti during the race from atop the pit box.
“Jimmie is going to be there giving me advice. Even two nights ago he’s on the phone 11:00 at night and 7:00 the next morning talking about restarts. He’s fully into it (smiling).
“When you have a seven-time NASCAR champion with you there getting that information, I wish he’d been there in 2008 doing that job. It would have helped,’’ Franchitti joked of his NASCAR foray nearly 20 years ago.
“There’s no substitute for experience. He might be thinking at some point he wished he got in the truck and drove it here instead of me, depending on how I get on.”
A Little Help from Friends
McAnally-Hilgemann Racing driver Daniel Hemric is among a group of NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series drivers making use of the ultimate training guide for the series street course debut. He’s been in contact discussing the tight and challenging downtown course with Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin, who scored his first career IndyCar Series win – from pole position – at St. Petersburg in 2022.
“Just tried to lean on Scotty a little bit about the nuances that make this place what it is,’’ said Hemric, who drives the No. 19 McAnally-Hilgemann Racing Chevrolet and has three career top-five finishes on road courses in the series.
“Obviously, he’s had a lot of success in the past and obviously I have only limited street course experience with the Chicago deal [in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series]. From what I’ve seen it’s a beautiful layout and I’m jealous we haven’t done it before now. Hope to have some fun and get on track and learn something.”
McLaughlin said a couple of NASCAR drivers actually reached out to him. In seven starts, the New Zealander has won two pole positions, claimed a pair of top-five finishes and three times has led the most laps in the race.
“There’s skill in learning your proximities, and that’s different, but the NASCAR guys do that week in and week out running so close to the fence at places like Darlington (S.C.) or Bristol (Tenn.) places like that,’’ McLaughlin said. “So that’s not really going to be too much of an issue, I think there’s more to lose if you make a mistake and go down an escape road or flat spotting a tire, hitting a fence is something where there’s a little more risk than other tracks.’’
“But there’s a lot of good road course drivers in the trucks and I think it’s good for the event to have a little collaboration with NASCAR. I’m really excited to watch it Saturday, honestly.”
Big Names on the NASCAR Grid
Saturday’s NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race will feature three “guest” drivers – joining the four-time IndyCar Series champion are former Indianapolis 500 pole-winner, now FOX Sports broadcaster Hinchcliffe, who has identified his truck with the name “Jimmy Hinch” over the door of the No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevy.
Sports car star and former NASCAR competitor Colin Braun is driving the No. 25 Kaulig Racing RAM truck as the team’s guest “free agent” this week. And the three-time Indy 500 winner Franchitti is driving for TRICON Garage in a deal brokered by his good friend NASCAR team owner Johnson.
“Just looking forward to the opportunity,’’ said Braun, who has a 2009 victory in the truck series (at Michigan driving for Jack Roush), but last raced a truck in 2011 – 15 years ago.
“I think it’s going to be a cool event, a great venue. An interesting race, I think, from the NASCAR side, obviously. You know, being the first time here for everyone, it’s a little bit of a level playing field so going to try to jump in and have some fun.”
–NASCAR Wire Service–