Hinchcliffe joins Dario Franchitti as former IndyCar drivers competing in the first street race in NASCAR Truck Series history.
MOORESVILLE, N.C. — The “Mayor of Hinchtown” is returning to the drivers seat to make his NASCAR debut later this month.
In a Feb. 12 press release, Spire Motorsports announced that six-time IndyCar winner, 2016 Indianapolis 500 pole winner and 2011 IndyCar Rookie of the Year James Hinchcliffe will drive the team’s No. 77 Chevrolet Silverado during the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race on the streets of St. Petersburg on Feb. 28.
Hinchcliffe will make his NASCAR debut at the track where he scored his first IndyCar win back in 2013. He will have sponsorship from Delaware Life.
“I am super excited to run my first truck race at St. Pete,” Hinchcliffe said in the press release. “When they announced the trucks would be running there, I knew I had to try to make something happen because I just love this track and I have always wanted to try something in the NASCAR world.”
He’s no stranger to St. Pete.@Hinchtown will pilot the Delaware Life No. 77 Chevrolet Silverado RST in @NASCAR_Trucks race at St. Pete.
📰: https://t.co/ZbKizJQWzC pic.twitter.com/mkoZy65SHs
— Spire Motorsports (@SpireMotorsport) February 12, 2026
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Hinchcliffe drove 10 full-time seasons in IndyCar between 2011 and 2021, notching 18 career podiums in addition to his six victories. He joined the NBC Sports broadcast booth in 2022 as an analyst and continued in that role when FOX Sports took over the broadcasting rights to IndyCar at the start of the 2025 season.
Having last drove for Andretti Autosport in IndyCar, Hinchcliffe’s NASCAR debut will be a homecoming of sorts.
TWG Global, which took over full ownership of Andretti Global in 2024, also owns Spire Motorsports.
“I have been in the Spire family for a long time, so it just made sense to run with them,” Hinchcliffe said. “I can’t thank Dan (Towriss), Jeff (Dickerson), Bill (Anthony) – really everyone at Spire – enough for making this come together.”
Hinchcliffe will be the second former IndyCar driver to compete in the race as Dario Franchitti announced Feb. 3 that he will make his second-career Truck Series start — and first since 2007 — at St. Petersburg driving the No. 1 Toyota Tundra for TRICON Garage.