More than 12 years after injuries from a serious crash prompted premature retirement from racing, four-time IndyCar champion and three-time Indianapolis 500 winner Dario Franchitti will be back behind the wheel again on Saturday (12 p.m. ET, FOX TV, SiriusXM, and the NASCAR Racing Network radio).

The 52-year-old Scottish native will compete in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series event, the undercard to the weekend’s main event on Sunday, the 2026 IndyCar season opener.

Franchitti is the latest noted driver to come out of retirement in the first three races of the Truck Series schedule. NASCAR Hall of Famer Tony Stewart started the current streak when he competed in the Truck season opener two weeks ago in Daytona.

Saturday, former IndyCar driver turned broadcaster James Hinchcliffe will join Franchitti on the starting grid in a truck, while seven-time NASCAR champ Jimmie Johnson will serve as Franchitti’s crew chief – or as Franchitti jokingly calls JJ, the “Chief Aggravation Officer.”

Franchitti hasn’t raced competitively since 2013

With the exception of some significantly slower historical races he’s competed in since 2019, Franchitti has not raced competitively since October 2013, when he was seriously injured in a crash in the penultimate 2013 IndyCar race at Houston, suffering two fractured vertebrae, a broken ankle, and a concussion. Doctors feared that if he continued racing and had another hard hit, he was risking permanent paralysis, as well as significant neurological damage.

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“I was quite happy (in his early retirement years),” Franchitti said. “I love coming to the circuit and helping the Ganassi guys try to find that extra edge.

“But as time went on, 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.”

The flying Scotsman never gave up his love of the sport or his desire to once again race. He’s spent most of the time since his forced retirement serving as a consultant and driving coach for Chip Ganassi Racing.

Now, with the help of TRICON Garage, Johnson and his Legacy Motor Club, as well as Chip Ganassi Racing, it’s Franchitti’s turn to have some fun once again in the No. 1 Dollar Tree-sponsored Toyota Tundra TRD Pro.

“The thought of racing a NASCAR truck on a street circuit is really intriguing to me,” Franchitti said. “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.”

Franchitti not sure if he’ll add more races to his schedule

While Stewart’s and Hinchcliffe’s starts will likely be one-offs, Franchitti is taking a wait-and-see approach to Saturday’s race. If he does well and enjoys the overall experience, he’s already considering racing in the Truck race on June 19 at Naval Base Coronado near San Diego, plus other potential additional truck races in the future.

He’s also currently listed on the roster of reserve drivers who may be called upon for this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans (June 13-14).

“We don’t have a seniors’ tour, we don’t have that kind of thing,” Franchitti said. “We don’t have that outlet to go and play. This is a chance to do that.

“When I retired, I was quite happy being retired for a good amount of time. I was driving cars and demonstrations and stuff like that. Thought I’d like to see what it felt like again to do it. That’s just sort of escalated from there, I’d say.

“I’ve been fortunate over the last seven years to drive some really exceptional cars at some fun circuits. This is just the next extension of that.”

This isn’t Franchitti’s first foray into NASCAR, having made 28 combined starts (2007 and 2008) in both NASCAR Cup and the former Xfinity Series, with a best finish of fifth place in an Xfinity race at Watkins Glen. He also has one prior Truck race start in 2007 (33 in fall race at Martinsville).

But Franchitti is no stranger to the temporary road course layout in the Streets of St. Petersburg, having made eight previous starts in an Indy car, including a win in the 2011 event there.

“I retired in 2013 and I didn’t think I would race again,” he said. “Then in 2019, I started racing historic cars, things from like 1960, but then more recently more modern stuff. This was just the chance to race on a circuit that I love, and a chance to do something fun.

“I love street circuits. 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. So, I think I have given it quite a lot of thought. My experience of the circuit will be very helpful, but my lack of experience with the truck I think will probably even things out quite a bit.”

Franchitti was one of the most successful drivers in IndyCar history

Prior to his career-ending race at Houston, Franchitti was one of the greatest drivers in IndyCar history. He made 265 starts, capturing 31 wins and 91 podium finishes, along with 32 pole positions. Most notably, he won four championships (2007, 2009, 2010 and 2011), and three Indianapolis 500 victories (2007, 2010 and 2012).

The former husband of actress Ashley Judd is excited to get back behind the wheel, but is also managing his expectations, knowing it’s been so long since his last race.

Even though he’s been around racing most of his life, Franchitti admitted Friday that he came into this weekend feeling a bit out of place.

“I felt a bit different coming to the track this morning from my job at Ganassi, when all I have to do is tell these guys what they’re doing wrong,” he said. “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. … Yeah, it will be very interesting to see how (it) goes. I have no real expectations.”

The same can be said about Franchitti’s expectations for Johnson atop his pit box, calling strategy as a crew chief for the first time in his own career. In fact, Franchitti jokingly said that he’s so apprehensive of Johnson’s ability that he declined Scott Dixon’s offer to be his spotter in the Truck race.

“We already have a questionable crew chief with Jimmie,” Franchitti laughed.

Johnson had a brief two-year run in IndyCar (2021, 2022) after his regular NASCAR Cup career came to an end. Interestingly, Johnson announced Friday that the 2027 Daytona 500 will be the last official race of his racing career.

“Jimmie is more excited about this than anybody,” Franchitti said of Johnson. “He’s worked hard at putting this whole thing together from the very first conversation. Jimmie is going to be there giving me advice. Even two nights ago he’s on the phone 11:00 at night and 7:00 the next morning talking about restarts. He’s fully into it (smiling).”

“I’m sure there will be a few people pointing out my errors. But that’s what you get for 13 years of telling people what they’re doing wrong.”

Even with his own achievements during his very successful IndyCar career, Franchitti is still being an astute student when it comes to listening to Johnson during Saturday’s race, especially since this will be the Truck Series’ first race ever on a street course.

“When you have a seven-time NASCAR champion with you there getting that information, I wish he’d been there in 2008 doing that job,” Franchitti said. “It would have helped. There’s no substitute for experience. He might be thinking at some point he wished he got in the truck and drove it here instead of me, depending on how I get on.

“He’s going to drive the truck in San Diego, as well. Yeah, he’ll have the headset on. I’ll be very thankful for his input during the race.”

Dixon is looking forward to seeing how much Franchitti still has in him.

“I don’t think I would have in the cards seen that Dario would be racing a truck in 2026,” Dixon said. “I think it just shows you that anything’s possible. It’s the fun side of it. I’m sure it’s going to still be extremely competitive for Dario. Dario is only here to try and win.”

Not having to worry about driver or owner points or even a big paycheck is incentive enough for Franchitti. Simply put, he just wants to have fun.

Franchitti says adamantly: “This is not a comeback”

“This is not a comeback. This is just getting to experience something fun, being fortunate enough to have great friends that help me to do that.

“If I can come out of that and go, ‘I’ve done a good job,’ that’s success. I don’t know what that result looks like. For me, there’s a big fun element here. This is about testing myself, about pushing myself and about having fun. Honestly, in situations like when I was at the top of my game in IndyCar, the fun element was in the winning, not in the doing.

“Since I started in 2019, racing old cars and all that sort of stuff, the fun element has come back into it. It was all about the enjoyment and love of driving and the love of racing. I am really surprised that I discovered that later in my racing life, shall we say, after I retired.”

But even though he’s doing Saturday’s race for the fun of it, Franchitti already has an excuse ready if he doesn’t do as well as he hopes: “If it goes well, great. If it doesn’t go well, I am going to be blaming Jimmie.”