For the first time in the Series history, the Craftsman Truck Series takes to the streets to race.  The Truck Series is joining the IndyCar Series on the street of St. Petersburg, Florida.

The course is 1.8 miles in length with 14 turns that includes part of a runway.

Drivers get a full 50 minute practice session.

Cole Butcher has already found the wall in practice after he got loose.

IndyCar veteran Dario Fanchitti joins the Truck Series.

Motorsport broadcast veteran Townsend Bell joins Jamie Little and Michael Waltrip in the broadcast booth for practice.

Thirty-six teams have brought trucks to St. Petersburg for the race.  Along with Dario Franchitti as a non-regular driver are Carter Fartuch, Ben Maier, Colin Braun in the 25 truck, and champion driver James Hinchcliffe.

NASCAR has red flagged practice due to rain.  The trucks have been parked and covered.

With harder rain coming down, NASCAR has cancelled the remainder of practice and qualifying.  The lineup for the race has been set according to NASCAR’s metric.  Thanks to Kyle Busch’s win in the seven truck at Atlanta last week, Connor Mosack sits on the pole with Gio Ruggiero starting alongside on the front row.

The starting lineup for the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg:
Connor Mosack
Gio Ruggiero
Jimmy Hinchcliffe
Ben Rhodes
Chandler Smith
Dario Franchetti
Wesley Slimp
Landen Lewis
Jake Garcia
Adam Andretti
Justin Haley
Daniel Dye
Tyler Ankrum
Andres Perez
Brenden Queen
Colin Braun
Stewart Friesen
Tyler Reif
Kaden Honeycutt
Kris Wright
Mini Tyrrell
Ty Majeski
Frankie Muniz
Jackson Lee
Grant Enfinger
Carter Fartuch
Nathan Nicholson
Layne Riggs
Tanner Gray
Cole Butcher
Christian Eckes
Derek White
Dawson Sutton
Daniel Hemric
Ben Maier
Timmy Hill

Stages one and two of the race are 20 laps each with stage three lasting 40 laps for a total of 80 laps around the 1.8 mile 14 turn street course.

Townsend Bell returns to join Jamie Little and Michael Waltrip in the broadcast booth.

With the Truck Series separated from the remainder of the other racing series, many of the crews that would work on the trucks are in Austin at COTA.  As a result, pit stops will be non-competitive three minute stops with the drivers returning to the track in the same spot they entered pit road.  Drivers must stay in their pit stalls for at least 65 seconds.  Pit stop service cannot begin until all of the drivers have stopped on pit road.

Connor Mosack brings the field down for the green flag start of the race with Gio Ruggiero alongside. 

Tyler Reif is stopped and is stranded on the course.  Track workers come to give Reif a push and he gets going again.

Connor Mosack takes the lead from the inside.  Ben Rhodes battles with Gio Ruggiero for second and the drivers are already testing  some three wide racing.

Lap two, Connor Mosack leads the race with Gio Ruggiero in second; Ben Rhodes, Jimmy Hinchcliffe, and Chandler Smith round out the top five.  Dario Franchitti is just outside the top five in sixth.

Lap four, Justin Haley is stopped on the track after some contact with Stewart Friesen to bring out the first caution flag of the race.

Part of the course runs along the water and there are some spectators watching from their boats.

Connor Mosack brings the field down for the green flag restart on lap seven.  Ben Rhodes gets out in front for the lead.

The top five are Ben Rhodes, Connor Mosack, Gio Ruggiero, Chandler Smith, and Jimmy Hinchcliffe.

Lap eight, now with the lead, Ben Rhodes is pulling away from the field.

Dario Franchitti saves the truck to avoid a big crash after some contact with Dario Franchitti.

Dario Franchitti enters the top five.

In a historic event, there is a Franchitti, Hinchcliffe, and an Andretti in the top 10 of a NASCAR Truck Series race.

Lap nine, after his contact with Stewart Friesen, Justin Haley is the only truck not on the lead lap.

Lap 10, the top five are Ben Rhodes, Connor Mosack, Gio Ruggiero, Chandler Smith, and Landon Lewis.

Lap 12, Chandler Smith passes Gio Ruggiero for third.

Lap 13, Ben Rhodes has a third of a second lead on Connor Mosack; Chandler Smith, Gio Ruggiero, and Landon Lewis round out the top five with Dario Franchitti in sixth.

Lap 15, Connor Mosack has caught up to leader Ben Rhodes and is challenging for the lead.

Landon Lewis has passed Chandler Smith for third.

Chandler Smith passes Gio Ruggiero for fourth.

Lap 18, Tanner Gray gets loose, spins out, and into the wall but he gets moving again and the track stays green. 

Ben Rhodes wins stage one.

The top 10 at the end of stage one:
Ben Rhodes
Connor Mosack
Landon Lewis
Chandler Smith
Gio Ruggiero
Dario Franchitti
Layne Riggs
Ty Ankrum
Kaden Honeycutt
Andres Perez

Jimmy Hinchcliffe finishes just outside the top 10 in eleventh. 

Connor Mosack has stayed out on the track, saying that he is happy with his truck.

Crews are reporting that there is not a great deal of tire fall off.

Connor Mosack brings the field down for the green flag start of stage two on lap 23 but it is Ben Rhodes who gets out in front to retake the lead.

Lap 24, Kaden Honeycutt spins out in a three wide battle.  He gets the truck moving again and the track stays green.

The top five are Ben Rhodes, Connor Mosack, Chandler Smith, Landon Lewis, and Gio Ruggioero.

Wesley Slimp if off the track.

Lap 26, the top five are Ben Rhodes, Chandler Smith, Landon Lewis, Layne Riggs, and Gio Ruggiero.  Connor Mosack has dropped to eighth.

The caution flag comes out for a crash involving several drivers.  Christian Eckes, Daniel Hemric, and Adam Andretti were involved with Andretti getting into the tire barrier.

The crew has pulled out the big hammer to make repairs on Adam Andretti’s truck.  He is the nephew of Mario Andretti who is at the track.

Ben Rhodes brings the field down for the green flag restart from the outside lane on lap 30 with Chandler Smith alongside.  Drivers are three wide going into turn one with Chandler Smith taking the lead; Layne Riggs takes second and Ben Rhodes in third.

Ben Rhodes reports he has no grip in the first part of the course.

Driving the 25 Ram Truck this week, Colin Braun is an IMSA, Truck, and NASCAR winner.

Lap 32, Layne Riggs has advanced 26 spots since the race start.

Lap 33, the top five are Chandler Smith, Layne Riggs, Ben Rhodes, Landon Lewis, and Gio Ruggiero.

Chandler Smith has pulled out to a near one second lead on his teammate Layne Riggs.

Frankie Muniz is on pit road with a battery issue.

Some of the drivers are using the IndyCar spotters for the race.

Lap 36, Chandler Smith’s lead is now down to under half a second on Layne Riggs; Ben Rhodes, Landon Lewis, and Ty Majeski round out the top five.

Lap 37, teammates Chandler Smith and Layne Riggs battle for the lead.

Layne Riggs wins stage two.

The top 10 at the end of stage two:
Layne Riggs
Chandler Smith
Landon Lewis
Ty Majeski
Ben Rhodes
Gio Ruggiero
Tyler Ankrum
Dario Franchitti
Grant Enfinger
Andres Perez

Drivers come down pit road for their service.

Layne Riggs brings the field down for the green flag start of stage three on lap 44 with Chandler Smith alongside.  Layne Riggs gets out in front.  Ty Majeski passes Chandler Smith for second.

Landon Lewis and Tyler Ankrum make contact but the track stays green.

The top five are Layne Riggs, Ty Majeski, Chandler Smith, Ben Rhodes, and Landon Lewis.

Tyler Ankrum has some damage to his truck after the on track contact.  The hood is bowed up, making it difficult to see on the right side.

With 34 laps remaining in the race, the drivers are getting very aggressive in a battle for position; with plenty of beating and banging.

Layne Riggs continues to lead the race with a near second lead on Ty Majeski; Chandler Smith, Ben Rhodes, and Landon Lewis rounding out the top five.

Cole Butcher spins out in a single truck incident, but the track stays green.

Lap 50, Layne Riggs has pulled out to a lead of nearly two seconds on Ty Majeski; Chandler Smith, Ben Rhodes, and Landon Lewis round out the top five.

Kris Wright and Dawson Sutton make contact; spinning out Wright.  The track stays green.

There are several drivers with smoking tires from tire rubs.

Derek White is stopped on the track, but the track stays green.

Lap 52, the caution flag comes out for Derek White stopped against the wall.

Some of the drivers come down pit road for service and a water bottle refill on a hot Saturday afternoon.

Layne Riggs brings the field down for the green flag restart with Ty Majeski alongside on alp 56.  Layne Riggs gets out in front but Ty Majeski is looking to battle for the lead.

The top five are Layne Riggs, Ty Majeki, Ben Rhodes, Landon Lewis, and Chandler Smith.

Chandler Smith passes Landon Lewis for fourth.

Lap 57, Layne Riggs has already pulled out to a one second lead on Ty Majeski.

Gio Ruggiero gets turned around and James Hinchcliffe spins out in a separate issue.  The track stays green.

The green flag comes out for a truck stopped on the track – Nathan Nicholson got into the wall and has some damage to his truck.

Jimmie Johnson is serving as Dario Franchitti’s crew chief…and crewman… for this race. 

Layne Riggs brings the field down for the green flag restart with Ty Majeski alongside on lap 62.  Riggs jumps out in front but going into the turn, Ty Majeski takes the lead.

Ty Majeski gets wide and Layne Riggs retakes the lead.

The top five are Layne Riggs, Ben Rhodes, Chandler Smith, Kaden Honeycutt, and Landon Lewis.  TY Majeski is in sixth place.

Dario Franchitti makes an unscheduled pit stop with just 16 laps to go.  He overshot the pit box and has to be backed up before the crew can service the truck.

Chirstian Eckes and Tyler Reif make contact but the track stays green.

With 15 laps to go, Layne Riggs has a lead of over a second on Ben Rhodes; Chandler Smith, Kaden Honeycutt, and Ty Majeski round out the top five.

With 12 laps remaining in the race, Layne Riggs has increased his lead to nearly two and a half seconds.

Ten to go, Layne Riggs has a lead of over two seconds on Ben Rhodes; Ty Majeski, Chandler Smith, and Kaden Honeycutt round out the top five.

Just seven laps remain in the race with Layne Riggs leading the race with Ben Rhodes in second; Ty Majeski, Chandler Smith, and Kaden Honeycutt rounding out the top five.

With five laps to go, Layne Riggs lead is down to a second and a half on Ben Rhodes…and falling.

Layne Riggs is approaching some slower traffic with four to go.

Stewart Friesen and Layne Riggs make contact causing some damage to the truck; the track stays green.

Three to go, Layne Riggs holds a half second lead on Ben Rhodes.

Fuel is becoming an issue for some of the ddrivers.

Layne Riggs takes the white flag.

Layne Riggs leads the race with Ben Rhodes and Ty Majeski in a battle for second.

Layne Riggs wins the race for his first road course win as he is running out of fuel.  But he saved enough for the burnout.

The unofficial results of the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg:
Layne Riggs
Ty Majeski
Ben Rhodes
Chandler Smith
Kaden Honeycutt
Landen Lewis
Andres Perez
Daniel Hemric
Colin Braun
Jimmy Hinchcliffe
Ben Maier
Justin Haley
Connor Mosack
Cole Buthcer
Christian Eckes
Jake Garcia
Tyler Reif
Daniel Dye
Brenden Queen
Kris Wright
Tanner Gray
Carter Fartuch
Grant Enfinger
Adam Andretti
Gio Ruggiero

Stewart Friesen
Dario Franchetti
Mini Tyrrell
Jackson Lee
Frankie Muniz
Tyler Ankrum
Timmy Hill
Dawson Sutton
Nathan Nicholson
Derek White
Wesley Slimp