Marco Andretti to make NASCAR Truck Series debut at Mid-Ohio

Marco Andretti will make his NASCAR Truck Series debut this weekend at the O’Reilly Auto Parts 150 at Mid-Ohio in Lexington, Ohio. The 36-year-old Andretti will be racing in the No. 7 truck for Spire Motorsports.

Four different racers have driven the No. 7 truck this year: Corey LaJoie, Alex Bowman, Jonathan Davenport and Kyle Larson. Larson drove the car to a first-place finish at the inaugural 2023 Tyson 250 at North Wilkesboro Speedway in North Carolina in May.

“I can’t wait to get my feet wet in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series,” Andretti said in a statement. “I’m grateful for Group 1001 and Spire Motorsports for making this happen. I have a lot of laps in an Indy car around Mid-Ohio. It’s going to be a bit different but a lot of fun. The Cup Series guys I have spoken to said I will love it.”

The race is Andretti’s second-ever NASCAR event. He raced on the Xfinity Series last year at the Drive for the Cure 250 presented by Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Andretti finished in 36th place driving in the No. 48 Chevy for Big Machine Racing Team.

Andretti has raced at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course many times in his career, including 15 times on the IndyCar Series. He has never won the race but finished in the top 10 six times, including five in a row from 2009-2013.

After racing this weekend, Andretti will have his first race on the Camping World SRX Series next Thursday at Stafford Motor Speedway in Stafford Springs, Conn. Andretti is the defending champion of the series.

Last year was the first-ever running of the O’Reilly Auto Parts 150 at Mid-Ohio with Parker Kligerman earning the victory. It was his third win on the NASCAR Truck Series. He also led the most laps with 56.

The NASCAR Truck Series did not race this past weekend with the racing world focused on the street race in Chicago. The Grant Park 220 Chicago Street Race drew a massive rating for NASCAR, topping out at 5.383 million TV-only viewers and becoming the most-watched NASCAR race on NBC in six years.

Shane van Gisbergen won the race in his NASCAR Cup Series debut. The 34-year-old New Zealand native is a three-time Supercars Championship winner. The victory could be the start of a new racing journey for van Gisbergen if he chooses to pursue it.