Dario Franchitti cheerful, has 'no expectations' ahead of surprise NASCAR start

When looking at the field for Saturday’s first-ever street race for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (NCTS), one name in particular may jump out at you — Dario Franchitti.

The 52-year-old Scotsman has won four IndyCar titles, three Indianapolis 500s, and is even a winner in prestigious endurance racing events like the Rolex 24 and Sebring 12 Hours. And now, he will be part of the first street race in the history of the NCTS.

And he likely has more laps around the circuit than any other driver in the field, which will be critical as teams got almost no practice due to afternoon storms hitting the area on Friday.

“I think track experience, yeah, is one thing,” said Franchitti in a Friday press conference. “I understand the surfaces and the details of the circuit. It’s going to feel a lot different in the truck certainly than it did in the IndyCar.

“It was so long ago. My last IndyCar start here was 2013. There will be a lot of people out there, a lot of drivers out there learning. We included. If the rain does come, that’s going to throw a bit of a curve ball in there.”

Franchitti will start sixth, driving the #1 for TRICON Garage in a very different experience for the veteran racer.

“Felt a bit different coming to the track this morning from my job at Ganassi (as team advisor/driver coach) when all I have to do is tell these guys what they’re doing wrong,” said Franchitti with a smile. “Now I have to do it right myself. It’s exciting. It’s a very different feeling. It’s nice to experience it again. It’s nice to sort of be sitting there last night checking out all the data, looking at everything, preparing for the day. Getting here this morning, all that stuff, I was a bit late with the traffic.

“Yeah, it will be very interesting to see how today goes. I have no real expectations. I think there’s a fair chance of rain, which could throw a bit of a spanner in the works. But we’ll see.”

Jimmie Johnson’s input

Seven-time NASCAR Cup champion Jimmie Johnson, who is good friends with Dario and helped to arrange this opportunity, will be there to guide him during what it sure to be a hectic race. There will be no live pit stops as is procedure for all standalone Truck/O’Reilly races on the NASCAR calendar, so that’s at least one hurdle he won’t have to overcome.

“We already have a questionable crew chief with Jimmie,” joked Franchitti, who noted that it might get pretty crowded on his radio. “There are going to be plenty of opinions. I’m sure Scott [Dixon] is going to end up on the timing stand, as well. Poor Jeremy [Donley, crew chief] is not going to hit him. Then he really gets excited if Chip [Ganassi] shows up. As I say, I’m sure there will be a few people pointing out my errors. But that’s what you get for, what is it, 13 years of telling people what they’re doing wrong.”

But unlike fellow former IndyCar star James Hinchcliffe, who is making his first NASCAR start ever in St. Pete, this world isn’t completely foreign to Dario. He has 29 starts across all three national divisions, but none since 2008.

Franchitti noted that Johnson “is more excited about this than anybody,” and that Johnson has already been coaching him on restarts. The Trucks are in St. Pete as part of IndyCar’s opening weekend.

The desire to compete again

Dario Franchitti (left) and Scott Dixon (right) in a press conference

So, why come back? Franchitti says he was “quite happy” with retirement and simply showing up to help Ganassi with its efforts, but the racing bug never really went away either.

“But as time went on, you just want to — I wanted to experience that again. I love driving racing cars, racing vehicles. That was something I sort of discovered a little while after my retirement.

“When we were racing together, when I was racing in IndyCar, the intensity of the whole thing, it’s a different kind of enjoyment than the stuff I get to do now.”

Watch: Early caution flies as Truck Series field navigates St. Petersburg for first time