In a sport where the driver focuses forward, Santino Ferrucci acknowledged finding some direction last year, and it came from an unlikely source amid unfortunate circumstances.
Think back to last year’s NTT INDYCAR SERIES doubleheader at Iowa Speedway, when Josef Newgarden’s car hit the wall rear-first. After that Sunday race, the Team Penske driver fell, hitting his head. He was taken to a local hospital, examined and held overnight for observation, leaving his status for the next race, the Gallagher Grand Prix at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, in doubt.
Team Penske wasted no time lining up a Plan B, a path no one saw coming, much less Ferrucci. Yes, he was asked – and later was signed – to replace Newgarden if wasn’t able to race six days after his Iowa fall. Ferrucci was willing to decommit to his NASCAR Xfinity Series ride that weekend to be ready to serve Roger Penske’s team.
Keep in mind, Ferrucci was selected by Team Penske despite having only one NTT INDYCAR SERIES start on a road course over the previous 12 months, and he hadn’t raced on the IMS road circuit since 2020.
“I was shocked I got a phone call, put it that way,” Ferrucci said of hearing from Team Penske president Tim Cindric. “When Tim called, it was, ‘Tim who?’
“I was like, ‘Oh, oh, sorry, sir, Mr. Cindric. Oh, my gosh.’”
Still today, Ferrucci’s infectious smile supports the genuine reaction he must have had.
“I was absolutely blown away that I got that call,” he said.
Ultimately, Ferrucci wasn’t needed as Newgarden suffered no ill effects from the fall. But just being asked by the sport’s legendary team became the defining moment of Ferrucci’s 2022 season, one that featured only three INDYCAR SERIES races with three different teams – a “serious gap year,” as he described it.
While Ferrucci didn’t get in the No. 2 Chevrolet that weekend, he felt Cindric’s pursuit opened eyes within the NTT INDYCAR SERIES paddock and contributed to AJ Foyt Racing asking him to drive its famous No. 14 Chevrolet this season, an invitation he accepted.
In gap years there is time for personal reflection, and Ferrucci said the confidence Team Penske showed in him came at a pivotal time as he straddled between pursuing INDYCAR and NASCAR rides. This gave him the direction he didn’t know he needed.
“I think that really kind of opened my eyes up to I need to be here,” he said.
Now, he is, preparing for only this third full season in the series and first since 2020.
Ferrucci has never won a pole or a race in this series, and he has made only 43 starts. But at 24 years of age, he is the experienced driver on the team owned by A.J. Foyt – rookie Benjamin Pedersen, an INDY NXT by Firestone product, is a year younger – and should be an asset particularly on the oval tracks, including the big one at IMS.
Ferrucci was the Rookie of the Year for the 2019 Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge when he finished seventh in a Dale Coyne Racing entry. He has finished fourth, sixth and 10th in the event in the years since, and he has led laps in the “500” in three of his four starts.
Connecticut native Ferrucci has been nearly as strong at other oval tracks, leading 97 laps in a fourth-place finish in 2018 at World Wide Technology Raceway and finishing fourth at Pocono Raceway that same year. Fourteen times he has suited up for an oval-track race in this series, and in nine of them he has finished in the top 10 with fourth-place finishes at four different tracks.
Ferrucci hasn’t just had strong outings on oval tracks, either. In his past 35 series races dating back to May 2018, he has finished in the top 12 in 22 races – that’s 62.9 percent of the time – with only two races ending with contact. He was 12th and 13th, respectively, when those two midrace incidents occurred on restarts.
Ferrucci is pleased to have another chance to be a full-season competitor. Over the past two years, he has had six races with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing and one each with Dreyer & Reinbold Racing and Juncos Hollinger Racing. It’s time for this comeback of sorts, he said.
“It’s nice to be with (AJ Foyt Racing) basically since September, so I kind of already feel like I’ve had a season (together) with the offseason,” he said. “Yeah, we’ll see what we can do.”
New for this year: Foyt’s team has veteran engineer Michael Cannon, who worked most recently with six-time series champion Scott Dixon at Chip Ganassi Racing. Ferrucci has lauded the hiring of Cannon and is optimistic about the team’s chances if they can find consistency. Perhaps most importantly, he has a new level of confidence in the aftermath of the Team Penske call.
“To realize they (were) really looking at me, at who I’ve become, the talent that I have, it’s just like one of those serious (moments),” he said. “Even though I didn’t get to drive (Newgarden’s) car, the pat on the back, at least for me, is a huge step for my career going forward.
“I can’t thank them enough for even having the opportunity to go there, spend time with engineers, being put on the (simulator) with them, be involved in that week – play a ‘pretend’ Penske driver for a week was pretty awesome, I’m not going to lie.”
The 17-race NTT INDYCAR SERIES season begins March 3-5 with the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by RP Funding (live, noon ET, NBC, Peacock, INDYCAR Radio Network).