IndyCar: Dale Coyne issues timetable on Santino Ferrucci deal

Santino Ferrucci has long been tipped to return to Dale Coyne Racing in the 2020 IndyCar season. That confirmation could now be imminent.

Back in August in the midst of an impressive rookie season in IndyCar, Santino Ferrucci stated that he had a deal in place to return to Dale Coyne Racing behind the wheel of the #19 Honda in the 2020 season but that he would keep all of his options open.

There were several speculated potential landing spots for the 21-year-old Woodbury, Connecticut native, including Arrow McLaren Racing SP and Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing.

But Arrow McLaren Racing SP instead confirmed 2018 and 2019 Indy Lights champions Patricio O’Ward and Oliver Askew as their drivers for next year while Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing’s chances of expanding to a three-car operation are nowhere near as high as they once were.

As a result, it has been expected for months that Ferrucci would return to Dale Coyne Racing next year. In late October, team owner Dale Coyne stated the following, according to NBC Sports.

More from IndyCar

"“I’m still confident we will have Santino back. It’s pretty close. I expect to have it completed by the end of next week. We test next Tuesday at Sebring, so right after that we plan on getting Santino’s deal completed.”"

Alas, that deal is still not done, more than one month later.

But Dale Coyne Racing recently unexpectedly released Sebastien Bourdais, meaning that they now have two seats with zero confirmed drivers for next year and that confirming Ferrucci is now inevitably more of a priority before the focus shifts solely to the several drivers who Coyne is considering to replace Bourdais behind the wheel of the #18 Honda.

As a result, Ferrucci’s deal is expected to be confirmed in the near future, perhaps even before Christmas.

Here is what Coyne had to say about the matter, according to Motorsport.

"“Honestly, we’re really hoping we’ll be able to make one announcement this side of Christmas and it will be everything at once – both drivers and the engineering staff. The [Santino] Ferrucci deal looks like it’s coming together and Olivier [Boisson] will be staying on as his race engineer.”"

Ferrucci finished the 2019 season in 13th place in the championship standings, but his success in the oval races is what stood out. Dale Coyne Racing have competed in IndyCar since 1984, and they entered the year with four top four finishes in oval races in their history. Ferrucci recorded three in a four-race span en route to a fourth place finish in the oval standings.

Next. Top 10 IndyCar drivers of all-time. dark

Will Santino Ferrucci be back behind the wheel of the #19 Honda for Dale Coyne Racing in the 2020 IndyCar season as expected, or will the team end up having to replace both their drivers for next year? More than likely, the former situation will be confirmed in the near future.