Jimmie Johnson brings racing icon back to NASCAR – Sports News
Jimmie Johnson has satisfied Dario Franchitti to give NASCAR one other attempt (Image: Getty)
Seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson has labored his magic and satisfied an IndyCar icon to take to the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida, within the Craftsman Truck Series.
As introduced on Tuesday, thanks to a partnership between Johnson, his Cup Series group Legacy Motor Club, and Truck Series group Tricon Garage, four-time IndyCar champion Dario Franchitti will compete within the first-ever Truck Series race on the legendary IndyCar course on Feb. 28.
The 52-year-old has solely beforehand competed within the Truck Series as soon as earlier than, ending thirty third at Martinsville Speedway for Cunningham Motorsports within the No. 41 Dodge.
As for his broader NASCAR profession, he competed part-time in each the Cup and O’Reilly’s Auto Parts Series between 2007 and 2008 for Chip Ganassi Racing. Neither delivered the 21-time IndyCar race winner a journey to victory lane, sadly, with the Scot ending a best of twenty second within the Cup Series at Martinsville and fifth at Watkins Glen within the O’Reilly’s Series.
This time round, Franchitti will run Tricon’s No. 1 Toyota, the identical truck Johnson will run on the season opener in Daytona and within the inaugural Naval Base Coronado outing in San Diego.
Franchitti is a four-time IndyCar champion (Image: Getty)
The three-time Indianapolis 500 winner, who stepped away from racing full-time 13 years in the past, stated in a assertion, “The thought of racing a NASCAR truck on a street circuit is really intriguing to me.
“The different surfaces, the fact that part of it is on an airport, then you go into the streets, the different bumps all those things you got to try and master. This was just the chance to race on a circuit that I love, and a chance to do something fun.
“This all stemmed from a conversation with Jimmie Johnson. For me, with the opportunity to race the truck, it was really him, it was the whole team that he has there [at Legacy] that made it all happen.
“His relationship with Toyota, Dollar Tree coming on a sponsor — it’s all been through Jimmie and the team at Legacy. If it goes well, great. If it doesn’t go well, I am going to be blaming Jimmie.”
The backing of Dollar Tree, which has an estimated worth of slightly below $24 billion as of Tuesday, is one thing Johnson stated he was “thankful” for, as he addressed the thrilling announcement.
“Dario and I had been talking for a long time about the chance to race together, so when he approached me about St. Petersburg, I knew I had to get to work,” Johnson stated.
“I called him back a day later with an incredible opportunity to join a championship-winning team with Toyota and the great people at Tricon.
“It’s been a lot of fun getting him integrated into the team and spending more time together, going through the process of getting him back to racing.
“I’m so excited it all came together and thankful that Dollar Tree is going to support. I am looking forward to sitting on the pit box alongside the team and sharing this experience with Dario.”
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