Throughout his 11-year IndyCar career, there were rumors at various points about six-time race winner James Hinchcliffe potentially trying his hand at NASCAR. Those rumors never came to fruition.
But five years after making his final IndyCar start, the driver-turned-announcer finally got his chance to compete in a NASCAR national series race, and he made it count, finishing 10th in the Craftsman Truck Series race on the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida, the same venue where he scored his first career IndyCar victory in March 2013.
Hinchcliffe landed the opportunity to drive the No. 77 Chevrolet for Spire Motorsports after Carson Hocevar, who competes full-time for the organization’s Cup Series team, opened up the year with back-to-back starts in the truck at Daytona International Speedway and EchoPark Speedway (Atlanta Motor Speedway).
The Cup Series was at Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in Austin, Texas while the Truck Series was in St. Pete.
James Hinchcliffe replacement confirmed for Darlington race
The Truck Series has had off since that St. Petersburg race, but this weekend, the Cup Series, O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, and the Truck Series are all set to be in action at Darlington Raceway, and it’s Hocevar who is set to return to pilot the No. 77 Chevrolet for the third time in four races.
Beyond this weekend, Hocevar’s Truck Series schedule has not yet been confirmed, but he is set to run a total of 13 races this season. Even though he is a full-time Cup Series driver, he is not subjected to NASCAR’s new eight-race Truck Series limit, since he is only in his third season as a full-time competitor at the Cup level.
Even with Hocevar’s 13-race schedule, the No. 77 entry still needs a driver for 11 other races. In fact, both of the team’s trucks are full-time trucks being shared by multiple drivers.
The No. 7 Chevrolet, which is set to be driven by Connor Mosack for the second straight race after Michael McDowell drove it at Daytona and Kyle Busch drove it at Atlanta, still needs a driver for four races, with Busch confirmed for seven more and Mosack confirmed for 10 more beyond this weekend.
Fox Sports 1’s live coverage of the Buckle Up South Carolina 200 is set to begin at 7:30 p.m. ET this Friday, March 20. Begin a free trial of FuboTV today and catch all of the action from Darlington Raceway!