ST. PETERSBURG, FL — In his first solo skilled race since 2013, four-time champion completed twenty seventh within the of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Collection.
Franchitti, who raced for Tricon Storage, spent many of the race within the prime 10 after beginning sixth. Throughout the remaining stage, Franchitti’s No. 1 Toyota Tacoma had a steering problem, inflicting him to pit and fall a lap behind. Layne Riggs gained the race.
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Friday, Franchitti mentioned his expertise racing on this avenue course in may assist him within the race. That is the primary time NASCAR’s vans have raced right here, as NASCAR and IndyCar have two joint weekends to start the IndyCar season.
“I perceive the surfaces and the small print of the circuit,” Franchitti mentioned. “It is going to really feel so much totally different within the truck, actually, than it did within the IndyCar. It was so way back. My final IndyCar begin right here was 2013. There can be numerous drivers on the market studying, me included.”
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IndyCar opens 2026 season at Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
ST PETERSBURG, FLORIDA – FEBRUARY 27: Alex Palou, driver of the #10 Chip Ganassi Racing throughout follow rounds of the NTT INDYCAR Collection Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on February 27, 2026 in St Petersburg, Florida. (Picture by David Jensen/Getty Photographs)
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IndyCar opens 2026 season at Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
ST PETERSBURG, FLORIDA – FEBRUARY 27: Alex Palou, driver of the #10 Chip Ganassi Racing throughout follow rounds of the NTT INDYCAR Collection Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on February 27, 2026 in St Petersburg, Florida. (Picture by David Jensen/Getty Photographs)
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IndyCar opens 2026 season at Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
ST PETERSBURG, FLORIDA – FEBRUARY 27: Graham Rahal, driver of the #15 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing throughout follow rounds of the NTT INDYCAR Collection Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on February 27, 2026 in St Petersburg, Florida. (Picture by David Jensen/Getty Photographs)
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IndyCar opens 2026 season at Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
ST PETERSBURG, FLORIDA – FEBRUARY 27: Will Energy, driver of the #26 Andretti International throughout follow rounds of the NTT INDYCAR Collection Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on February 27, 2026 in St Petersburg, Florida. (Picture by David Jensen/Getty Photographs)
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IndyCar opens 2026 season at Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
ST PETERSBURG, FLORIDA – FEBRUARY 27: Kyffin Simpson, driver of the #8 Chip Ganassi Racing throughout follow rounds of the NTT INDYCAR Collection Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on February 27, 2026 in St Petersburg, Florida. (Picture by David Jensen/Getty Photographs)
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IndyCar opens 2026 season at Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
ST PETERSBURG, FLORIDA – FEBRUARY 27: Romain Grosjean, driver of the #18 Dale Coyne Racing throughout follow rounds of the NTT INDYCAR Collection Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on February 27, 2026 in St Petersburg, Florida. (Picture by David Jensen/Getty Photographs)
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IndyCar opens 2026 season at Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
ST PETERSBURG, FLORIDA – FEBRUARY 27: Scott McLaughlin, driver of the #3 Workforce Penske throughout follow rounds of the NTT INDYCAR Collection Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on February 27, 2026 in St Petersburg, Florida. (Picture by David Jensen/Getty Photographs)
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IndyCar opens 2026 season at Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
ST PETERSBURG, FLORIDA – FEBRUARY 27: Romain Grosjean, driver of the #18 Dale Coyne Racing throughout follow rounds of the NTT INDYCAR Collection Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on February 27, 2026 in St Petersburg, Florida. (Picture by David Jensen/Getty Photographs)
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IndyCar opens 2026 season at Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
ST PETERSBURG, FLORIDA – FEBRUARY 27: Alexander Rossi, driver of the #20 Ed Carpenter Racing throughout follow rounds of the NTT INDYCAR Collection Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on February 27, 2026 in St Petersburg, Florida. (Picture by David Jensen/Getty Photographs)
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IndyCar opens 2026 season at Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
ST PETERSBURG, FLORIDA – FEBRUARY 27: Will Energy, driver of the #26 Andretti International throughout follow rounds of the NTT INDYCAR Collection Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on February 27, 2026 in St Petersburg, Florida. (Picture by David Jensen/Getty Photographs)
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IndyCar opens 2026 season at Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
ST PETERSBURG, FLORIDA – FEBRUARY 27: Kyle Kirkwood, driver of the #27 Andretti International throughout follow rounds of the NTT INDYCAR Collection Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on February 27, 2026 in St Petersburg, Florida. (Picture by David Jensen/Getty Photographs)
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IndyCar opens 2026 season at Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
ST PETERSBURG, FLORIDA – FEBRUARY 27: Rinus Veekay, driver of the #76 Juncos Hollinger Racing drives throughout follow rounds of the NTT INDYCAR Collection Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on February 27, 2026 in St Petersburg, Florida. (Picture by David Jensen/Getty Photographs)
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IndyCar opens 2026 season at Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
ST PETERSBURG, FLORIDA – FEBRUARY 27: Alexander Rossi, driver of the #20 Ed Carpenter Racing throughout follow rounds of the NTT INDYCAR Collection Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on February 27, 2026 in St Petersburg, Florida. (Picture by David Jensen/Getty Photographs)
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IndyCar opens 2026 season at Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
ST PETERSBURG, FLORIDA – FEBRUARY 27: Christian Rasmussen, driver of the #21 Ed Carpenter Racing drives throughout follow rounds of the NTT INDYCAR Collection Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on February 27, 2026 in St Petersburg, Florida. (Picture by David Jensen/Getty Photographs)
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IndyCar opens 2026 season at Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
ST PETERSBURG, FLORIDA – FEBRUARY 27: Alex Palou, driver of the #10 Chip Ganassi Racing throughout follow rounds of the NTT INDYCAR Collection Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on February 27, 2026 in St Petersburg, Florida. (Picture by David Jensen/Getty Photographs)
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IndyCar opens 2026 season at Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
ST PETERSBURG, FLORIDA – FEBRUARY 27: Sting Ray Robb, driver of the #77 Juncos Hollinger Racing throughout follow rounds of the NTT INDYCAR Collection Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on February 27, 2026 in St Petersburg, Florida. (Picture by David Jensen/Getty Photographs)
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IndyCar opens 2026 season at Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
ST PETERSBURG, FLORIDA – FEBRUARY 27: Louis Foster, driver of the #45 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing throughout follow rounds of the NTT INDYCAR Collection Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on February 27, 2026 in St Petersburg, Florida. (Picture by David Jensen/Getty Photographs)
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IndyCar opens 2026 season at Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
ST PETERSBURG, FLORIDA – FEBRUARY 27: Will Energy, driver of the #26 Andretti International throughout follow rounds of the NTT INDYCAR Collection Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on February 27, 2026 in St Petersburg, Florida. (Picture by David Jensen/Getty Photographs)
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IndyCar opens 2026 season at Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
ST PETERSBURG, FLORIDA – FEBRUARY 27: Santino Ferrucci, driver of the #14 A.J. Foyt Enterprises throughout follow rounds of the NTT INDYCAR Collection Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on February 27, 2026 in St Petersburg, Florida. (Picture by David Jensen/Getty Photographs)
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IndyCar opens 2026 season at Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
ST PETERSBURG, FLORIDA – FEBRUARY 27: Santino Ferrucci, driver of the #14 A.J. Foyt Enterprises drives throughout follow rounds of the NTT INDYCAR Collection Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on February 27, 2026 in St Petersburg, Florida. (Picture by David Jensen/Getty Photographs)
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IndyCar opens 2026 season at Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
ST PETERSBURG, FLORIDA – FEBRUARY 27: Alexander Rossi, driver of the #20 Ed Carpenter Racing throughout follow rounds of the NTT INDYCAR Collection Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on February 27, 2026 in St Petersburg, Florida. (Picture by David Jensen/Getty Photographs)
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IndyCar opens 2026 season at Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
ST PETERSBURG, FLORIDA – FEBRUARY 27: Graham Rahal, driver of the #15 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing throughout follow rounds of the NTT INDYCAR Collection Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on February 27, 2026 in St Petersburg, Florida. (Picture by David Jensen/Getty Photographs)
In January, Franchitti raced within the Dubai 24 Hour race of the 24H Collection Center East. He drove Parker Racing’s No. 31 touring automotive alongside three different drivers for the day-long race. That automotive positioned thirty first within the GT3 class.
Franchitti hasn’t raced professionally individually since IndyCar’s Grand Prix of Houston in 2013, when a final-lap crash gave him a concussion, two spinal fractures and a fractured ankle. .
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Franchitti started working as an advisor for Chip Ganassi Racing, which he drove for from 2008 to 2013. On account of his NASCAR obligations, he has the weekend off from his regular place with CGR.
In 2019, Franchitti was medically cleared to drive in newbie traditional automotive races, which he is executed within the UK since then.
“After I retired, I used to be fairly comfortable being retired for period of time,” he mentioned. “I used to be driving automobiles and demonstrations and stuff like that. Thought I would prefer to see what it felt like once more to do it. That is simply form of escalated from there, I would say.”
Saturday was simply the second truck race the 52-year-old Franchitti has pushed in. Franchitti completed thirty third within the Kroger 200 (now the Slim Jim 200) in 2007. He doesn’t at present plan to enter one other race this yr.
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“This isn’t a comeback,” Franchitti mentioned. “That is simply attending to expertise one thing enjoyable, being lucky sufficient to have nice pals that assist me to do this.”
