St. Petersburg, Fla. — Dario Franchitti was glad he had hard contact with James Hinchcliffe in the opening laps of the truck race Saturday on the streets of St. Petersburg.
Well, sort of. Franchitti just didn’t want to ruin the day for a driver who was running for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series title.
With the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series drivers never having competed on a street course, the prevailing theory was that the full-time truck drivers wouldn’t need some former INDYCAR stars’ help to ruin their day.
But they put on an entertaining race that didn’t delve into the ridiculousness, with Layne Riggs prevailing.
Here are my takeaways:
1. Franchitti Fast But Hot
Franchitti, who had not raced at St. Petersburg since 2013 as he suffered an INDYCAR career-ending injury later that year, finished 27th. The four-time INDYCAR champion was running in the top 10 in the Tricon truck before a suspension issue.
As his helmet blowers failed during the race, Franchitti was overheated afterward and sat on the ground for several minutes rehydrating. He was also surprised at how difficult it was to see behind him.
“I had a great truck,” Franchitti told me and other reporters after the race. “I really did. I wish I hadn’t done so much damage to it, but that was just my experience in the truck. … I had a blast. It was really good. I made some rookie errors.
“But how fortunate am I with what I went through in 2013 to come back and do this 13 years later.”
2. Hinchcliffe Top 10!
Hinchcliffe, a former INDYCAR driver and current INDYCAR On Fox analyst, and Franchitti were philosophical about their contact on the opening laps.
Hinchcliffe to me and other reporters after the race: “The irony of it being him that hit us was it was almost funny. I was almost laughing at my helmet, but it seems kind of poetic. Seems appropriate. Honestly, I’m glad that he hit me and not a full-season guy that’s running for points. That was a big thing. I didn’t want to ruin anyone’s day.”
Franchitti: “I didn’t want to wreck Hinch. I really didn’t want to wreck anybody, especially guys running for the championship.”
Hinchcliffe rallied for a top-10 finish in the Spire Motorsports truck.
“[This] truck has been running so well for owners points, I didn’t want to let them down either,” Hinch said. “And salvaging the top 10 was great again. I learned how to race these guys a little bit. And if we could start the race again right now, I think it’d be a lot different.”
3. Johnson Pumped
Seven-time Cup champion Jimmie Johnson was pumped that the deal he put together for Franchitti went as well as it did. He sat on the box and helped call the race.
Johnson, who said he would do another deal for Franchitti for a future race if he wants it, will race that truck in San Diego.
“I’m excited to get into a truck. I’ve only raced one at Bristol,” Johnson said to me and other reporters after the race. “But this platform — the gearbox, all the elements — that’s in my sweet spot of my success and where I know the car the most. So I’m excited to get in the truck.”
4. Riggs Had Helping Hand
Road-course ace Joey Hand works with the Ford Racing drivers on their road-course skills, and Riggs said he was pivotal in getting him ready and having the confidence at St. Pete.
“I started in the simulator before, and just kind of did my own thing and thought what was fast,” Riggs said in his post-race news conference. “He’s very good at coaching, very good at nitpicking things. … I think every other lap I would hear his voice telling me something in my head of something he’s told me in the past to watch out for.”
He started 28th, so Riggs drove a great race for his first non-oval victory. Ty Majeski was second, followed by Ben Rhodes, Chandler Smith and Kaden Honeycutt.
4 ½. What’s Next
The trucks get a couple of weeks to breathe. Their next race will be at Darlington.
The track is tough on trucks, and the telecast will have a unique twist, as it will be a drivers only telecast when it comes to the broadcast team on FS1.
Kevin Harvick, Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney will be in the booth while Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Austin Cindric will be on pit road for the race.
As far as the long-term future, Riggs hopes they come back and race trucks again at St. Pete next year. It was the first time for the trucks in a true festival atmosphere that is typical of street-course events.
“I would love to come back,” Riggs said. “I could not believe how packed grandstands are. I thought we were the INDYCAR show.”
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