The spotlight on the weekend was Tyler Reddick’s elite performance at the Darlington Raceway to secure another win in the NASCAR Cup Series. Despite problems with his car early on, the driver went on to win the race and impress fans. But there was another event that had motorsports fans excited, and that was the NASCAR Truck Series at St. Petersburg, as the former IndyCar driver James Hinchcliffe was participating in it. The former IndyCar Rookie of the Year, who is now a broadcaster for channels like Fox, made an exciting return and put up an impressive performance during the race. Elated about his performance, he has already expressed a desire to return in the future.

James Hinchcliffe to return to NASCAR again?

Hinchcliffe managed to secure an impressive tenth-place finish in the NASCAR Truck Series race. Having competed in IndyCar actively, the broadcaster is no stranger to catastrophes, but Hinchcliffe was left impressed with how things went in St. Petersburg. 

“I think the potential for complete catastrophe at a street circuit is, I mean, it’s there no matter what series you’re racing,” said Hinchcliffe in an interview with Davey Segal. “I thought everybody in the truck series did a really, really respectable job, I mean, a lot of them are racing on their first-ever street track, no room for error. We had a few incidents, but I don’t think anywhere near what a lot of people were predicting. So, you know, hats off to the whole series for that.”

The 2011 IndyCar Rookie of the Year was excited about the opportunity of returning to the track. After a great career, he retired from the sport in 2021 and joined broadcasting, and has since become a key part of coverage across multiple motorsports disciplines. This being his first NASCAR race, Hinchcliffe put in a great display and may even consider a return soon.

“There are definitely opportunities, I think, in the future to jump in and do it again,” said  Hinchcliffe. “Certainly, if they’re back to St. Pete, I already told the team, I said, ‘You don’t even try to sell that seat for 2027 if it’s coming back. I’m staking my claim now.’ Who knows, there might even be some other races we can make happen.”

🚛 @Hinchtown enjoyed his first foray into the #NASCAR world at St. Pete with @SpireMotorsport so much that he wants to do it again.

🗣️ “Don’t even try to sell that seat for 2027, if it’s coming back.”

More with the Mayor on Ep. 294 of Victory Lane, available now 🎧 pic.twitter.com/KkTILzOrJ9

— Davey Segal (@DaveyCenter) March 24, 2026

Notably, James Hinchcliffe’s debut race at St. Petersburg was also the NASCAR Truck Series’ first-ever venture on a street circuit. With the race in Florida, the Truck Series tried out a similar road course way, the same as the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series and the Cup Series.

Layne Riggs in his #34 truck won the race, while Ty Majeski and Ben Rhodes finished the race in second and third positions, respectively. Chandler Smith and Kaden Honeycutt wrapped up the top five.

A tenth-place finish after starting third is impressive on a return. With Hinchcliffe already having expressed a desire to return and fans excited to see him on the track, it will be interesting to see if he continues racing throughout the year.