A bona fide motorsport legend will make his return to NASCAR this month after nearly two decades away.

Dario Franchetti is a four-time IndyCar champion and three-time Indy 500 winner who retired from full-time racing back in 2013, after a huge wreck at the Shell-Pennzoil Grand Prix of Houston.

That incident left the Scottish driver with a concussion, two spinal fractures and a broken right ankle which required surgery to stabilize, and effectively ended his career as a full-time racer – although he's kept his hand in, doing some classic car racing to keep his racing heart beating.

Franchetti, now 52 years old, will run the NASCAR Truck Series race at St. Petersburg, Florida at the end of the month, driving the No. 1 Tricon Garage truck at a circuit where he's had success before, dominating an IndyCar race there in 2011 to win after leading 94 of 100 laps.

The Scot hasn't raced in NASCAR since 2008, when he ran 24 races between the Cup and O'Reilly (then Nationwide) Series, and hasn't raced in the Truck Series since a single start for Cunningham Motorsports at Martinsville in 2007.

IndyCar legend reveals Jimmie Johnson made NASCAR return happen

In a press release on Tuesday morning, Franchetti said: “The thought of racing a NASCAR truck on a street circuit is really intriguing to me. The different surfaces, the fact that part of it is on an airport, then you go into the streets, the different bumps all those things you got to try and master. This was just the chance to race on a circuit that I love, and a chance to do something fun.

"This all stemmed from a conversation with Jimmie Johnson. For me, with the opportunity to race the truck, it was really him, it was the whole team that he has there [at LEGACY MC] that made it all happen.

"His relationship with Toyota, Dollar Tree coming on a sponsor — it’s all been through Jimmie and the team at LEGACY MC. If it goes well, great. If it doesn’t go well, I am going to be blaming Jimmie.”

Johnson himself added: “Dario and I had been talking for a long time about the chance to race together, so when he approached me about St. Petersburg, I knew I had to get to work.

"I called him back a day later with an incredible opportunity to join a championship-winning team with Toyota and the great people at TRICON. It’s been a lot of fun getting him integrated into the team and spending more time together, going through the process of getting him back to racing.

"I’m so excited it all came together and thankful that Dollar Tree is going to support. I am looking forward to sitting on the pit box alongside the team and sharing this experience with Dario.”

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