IndyCar: Santino Ferrucci poised to return in 2020, team unclear
By Asher Fair
Santino Ferrucci is poised to return to IndyCar for a second season in 2020, although it has not been made clear if that will be with Dale Coyne Racing.
When it comes to the 2020 IndyCar driver lineup, Santino Ferrucci is practically a lock. However, it has not yet been determined for which team he will drive next year.
Ferrucci is in his rookie IndyCar season, and he currently drives the #19 Honda for Dale Coyne Racing. The 21-year-old Woodbury, Connecticut native has the option to return to the team next year via a contract extension, but he is keeping his other options open.
Here is what he had to say about the matter, according to RACER.
"“I think we’ve had a pretty good rookie season so far, showing consistency and what we can do. And I do have something in place, an extension with Dale, but I haven’t taken that option just yet. I’ve been talking to a couple of people around the paddock, and they thought I was already signed [with Coyne], but not quite yet. A lot of people are kind of surprised to learn I have flexibility for next year.”"
In his rookie season, Ferrucci sits in 13th place in the championship standings, and in the rookie standings, he trails only Chip Ganassi Racing rookie Felix Rosenqvist.
This year’s rookie class has been one of the deepest that the sport has seen, as it also includes Circuit of the Americas race winner and 2018 Indy Lights runner-up Colton Herta of Harding Steinbrenner Racing and former Sauber Formula 1 driver Marcus Ericsson of Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports.
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Through the first 13 races of the 17-race 2019 season, Ferrucci has recorded five top 10 finishes and three additional finishes of 11th or 12th place. His average finish is 13.00, and he has completed 1,517 of the 1,521 laps that have been contested. Aside of Ferrucci, only Andretti Autosport’s Alexander Rossi, who sits in second in the championship standings, has completed this many laps.
Ferrucci’s best two finishes are his fourth place finish in the race at Texas Motor Speedway and his seventh place finish in the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis 500 that earned him Indy 500 Rookie of the Year honors. He had a chance to win the second race at the Raceway on Belle Isle based on his pit strategy, but an untimely caution flag period ruined that chance. He ended up finishing in 10th.
Coupled with his 12th place finish in the race at Iowa Speedway, a race in which his skills warranted far greater than a top 12 finish, his fourth and seventh place finishes in the two aforementioned oval races that have been contested so far this season have him in a fourth place tie in the oval championship standings with only two oval races remaining on the schedule.
Ferrucci is tied with Team Penske’s Will Power for fourth in the oval championship standings, and he trails only championship contenders Rossi and Team Penske teammates Simon Pagenaud and Josef Newgarden.
Will Santino Ferrucci be back behind the wheel of the #19 Dale Coyne Racing Honda in the 2020 IndyCar season, or will he return to the series driving for another team?