Hinchcliffe to make NASCAR Truck debut with Spire at St. Petersburg

James Hinchcliffe will make his NASCAR debut later this month with a ride in the Craftsman Truck Series with Spire Motorsports. 

Hinchcliffe will drive the No. 77 Chevrolet with sponsorship from Delaware Life in St. Petersburg. It will be the first time the Truck Series has competed on the 1.8-mile, 14-turn street course.

“I am super excited to run my first truck race at St. Pete,” said Hinchcliffe. “When they announced the trucks would be running there, I knew I had to try to make something happen because I just love this track and I have always wanted to try something in the NASCAR world. I have been in the Spire family for a long time, so it just made sense to run with them. I can’t thank Dan (Towriss), Jeff (Dickerson), Bill (Anthony) – really, everyone at Spire – enough for making this come together.

“It will be a baptism of fire, having my first race in a truck being on a street course with no room for error. But these races always look like so much fun, so I am really looking forward to the opportunity. Plus, I love that it’s going to be shown on FOX Sports, with some of my IndyCar colleagues joining the broadcast, so that should add an extra layer of fun to it.”

Hinchcliffe is a current television broadcaster for Fox Sports on the IndyCar side and contributes to F1 TV for Formula 1. He retired from driving in the IndyCar Series after the 2021 season and 18 podium finishes and six victories.

“James had an amazing open-wheel career with wins and poles across all kinds of formulas, but I’m not even sure he’s ever watched a NASCAR race.” Spire Motorsports co-owner Jeff Dickerson said. “I know it means a little more to Dan (Towriss) and I, personally, to be able to do this with him and when he called Dan and wanted to give it a go it seemed right on brand for all of us. 

“This definitely won’t be the first time we’ve been out on a ledge together. We’re all really grateful to Delaware Life for coming along for the ride and giving us a weekend to remember.”