For now, the superspeedway pack racing is done…now eyes are on the streets (and road course). While the O’Reilly and Cup Series teams arrived in Austin, Texas for Circuit of the Americas, the Craftsman Truck Series made a historic debut on the streets (and runway) of St. Petersburg, Florida.
The truck race, which was the first street course of any kind for the bulky race trucks, did not disappoint. A heck of a show was seen by all, in what was arguably one of the best races of the weekend. Typically an IndyCar course, St. Pete street course attracted some of open wheels biggest names to test themselves against the aggressive truck series regulars.
Names like Franchitti and Hinchcliffe got back behind the wheel, but in the end it was the Craftsman Truck Series regulars that showed up the most.
Dario Franchitti rounds a turn during the truck race in St. Petersburg. Photo Credit: Frontstretch.com and NKP
Streets of St. Petersburg
OnlyBulls Green Flag 150
Winner: Layne Riggs
#45 Landen Lewis
One of the biggest and best surprises of the St. Petersburg was newcomer Landen Lewis. In a stacked field full of truck veterans and open wheel experience on the layout, Lewis seemingly came from out of nowhere. In only his fourth career truck start, Lewis ran up front throughout the event, and drove his Niece Motorsports Chevrolet to a 6th-place finish after starting 8th.
The 2025 CARS Champion had a standout day in Florida, and will be making several more starts during the 2026 season with Niece Motorsports.
#25 Colin Braun
Another surprise came in the form former Roush development driver Colin Braun. Making his first truck start since 2011, Braun had a surprisingly strong return with Kaulig Racing and RAM. Tapped to drive the #25 RAM for Kaulig, the road racing specialist made fast work of the current truck field, and finished 9th in his series return.
Braun, a former NASCAR and Ford prospect, has 54 career truck starts including a 2009 win in Michigan. He also has 31 career now O’Reilly Series starts, which include a second place finish with Roush Racing at IRP in 2008.
Photo Credit: Jayski and David Jensen/Getty Images
COTA
Focused Health 250
Winner: Shane Van Gisbergen
#19 Brent Crews
The NOAP Series event at COTA also had it’s share of surprises and debuts. One debut arrived armed with the Joe Gibbs Racing #19 Toyota team. Toyota prospect Brent Crews made his official NOAP debut, and had one of the best rookie runs in recent memory. Starting 7th, Crews showed great maturity in a chaotic race and brought his Supra home 6th after leading five laps mid-race.
Crews, who has been climbing the ladder with Toyota support will run several more events in 2026 following his 18th birthday. Crews spent the 2025 season racing with JGR in the ARCA Menards Series and made limited truck starts with TRICON Garage.
#0 Alex Labbe
While not making the noise Crews did above, veteran Quebec-native Labbe had a silently strong day at COTA with SS-Green Light Racing. Making his first start of 2026, Labbe qualified the #0 Chevrolet in 28th, and finished a solid 13th by race’s end.
Labbe, who has 164 career NOAP Series starts dating back to 2016, is SS-Green Light Racing’s road course “ringer” for 2026. The results have already shown for a team with limited resources, beating several bigger names including Sam Mayer, and Carson Kvapil.
Photo Credit: Jayski and James Gilbert/Getty Images
COTA
DuraMAX Texas Grand Prix presented by RELADYNE
Winner: Tyler Reddick
#71 Michael McDowell
Improvement is the name of the game for 2026 for McDowell and his Spire Motorsports crew. The duo had a banner day in COTA this season, with road course ace McDowell starting 6th, leading five laps, and placing his Chevrolet 5th by race’s end.
McDowell and Spire struggled a bit in their first year together in 2025, but 2026 seems to have kicked the #71 Spire team into high gear, with McDowell and crew sitting 9th in points after just three races. McDowell also has finishes of 22nd (Daytona), and 20th (Atlanta).
Photo Credit: Jayski and Logan Riely/Getty Images
#16 A.J. Allmendinger
Making an appearance for the second week in a row is A.J. Allmendinger. Widely known as a road course guy, Allmendinger and his #16 Kaulig Racing crew had another strong showing in COTA. Carrying the Celsius Energy colors on this weekend, Allmendinger started the race 7th, and finished 9th in a stacked top 10.
With Allmendinger and Kaulig building all cars and engines in house this season, performance was expected to slip just a bit. Instead, the Kaulig driver finds himself just above McDowell in the standings (8th).