Franchitti pushes through the heat in NASCAR Truck Series return

Dario Franchitti starred on his return to NASCAR racing on Saturday at St. Petersburg. The three-time Indianapolis 500 winner and four-time IndyCar Series champion ran comfortably inside the Craftsman Truck Series' top 10 before late transmission problems caused the 52-year-old Scot to lose a lap and finish 27th.

Though he was nearly 20 years removed from an unrewarding NASCAR Cup season in 2008, his 80-lap turn in the No. 1 Tricon Toyota Tundra—organized by his close friend Jimmie Johnson through Legacy Motor Club—was notable for his immediate competitiveness and spending most of a hot afternoon racing between sixth and eighth position.

Franchitti struggled with the combination of Florida’s ambient heat and the immense cockpit temperatures when his helmet blower failed, which pushed the married father of two to the limit. Climbing from the truck, Franchitti made a beeline for the shade and consumed plenty of cold drinks to cool down.

Once his core temperature was reduced, and while surrounded by his wife, daughters, and friends like Johnson, Max Papis, and racing icon Mario Andretti, the open-wheel legend gathered his thoughts and spoke about the experience.

“I didn't think I was going to come in and smoke these drivers, because I'm aware of the talent level and how hard everybody's practicing now and the amount of Sim work we're doing, and the talent level, and a lot of them have figured it out, you can tell that,” Franchitti said of the talented young Truck drivers making their first St. Petersburg start.

“And it was a pleasure to share the track with them. How hard they raced from the first lap was pretty impressive.”

Franchitti spoke fondly of the opportunity presented by Johnson.

“You know, that was what I hoped I would be able to do and run somewhere close to the front,” he continued. “I knew that the Tricon truck was gonna be good. The result wasn't what it was about. I ran reasonably well, and when I started bashing into things, I came in because I thought, last thing I need to do is blow a tire somewhere and hit the wall hard, because I don't need to be doing that to myself. If I was running for the championship, it’d be a different story.”

Sitting on the pit wall, Franchitti’s last act involved placing a call to his friend and fellow St. Pete Truck racer James Hinchcliffe, who was part of the ‘bashing into things’ portion of his race. He hit the Canadian, who was able to recover to claim 10th, and made profuse apologies to his fellow former IndyCar driver, who had run inside the top five with Spire Motorsports before Franchitti’s intervention.

Emotions rose as Franchitti thought about all of the people who’ve stood behind him since a sickening IndyCar crash on the streets of Houston forced him to step away from driving. There were 30-plus drivers in the Craftsman Truck race on Saturday, but few drew as much attention as Franchitti, who was among the biggest stars at this event before retirement.

“The love from the fans this weekend, the love from my IndyCar family, my parents, my daughters, my wife, my pals,” he said as tears welled up. “You know, a lot of people have been through a lot of stuff with me, and that's pretty cool.”

Can Johnson expect a call from Franchitti on Monday to inquire about a Legacy MC Cup ride next weekend during the NASCAR/IndyCar crossover event at Phoenix Raceway?

“I think the chances of me doing an oval are probably longer odds than flying to the moon,” he said. “But never say never…another road or street course, maybe.”