IndyCar: Santino Ferrucci moves to NASCAR for 2021

Santino Ferrucci is set to move on from full-time IndyCar racing to compete part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series in 2021 for Sam Hunt Racing.

After two full seasons of IndyCar competition, Santino Ferrucci is set to make the move to NASCAR for the upcoming season.

The 22-year-old Woodbury, Connecticut native is set to run 20 of the 33 races on the 2021 Xfinity Series schedule for Sam Hunt Racing, which made their series debut in 2019 and ran a part-time schedule in 2020.

The team announced this news on Twitter.

pic.twitter.com/D8E6qr9vci
— Sam Hunt Racing (@Team_SHR26) January 8, 2021

Ferrucci is set to drive the #26 Toyota in the upcoming season, and he is set to compete primarily at the intermediate tracks, namely the 1.5-mile ovals. His full schedule has not yet been announced.

He is set to make his debut on Saturday, February 27 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Here is what Ferrucci had to say about this opportunity in a team release.

"“I’m incredibly proud to join Sam Hunt Racing and (Toyota Racing Development). I think together, we will have a ton of success. Working with Sam these past few weeks has been fantastic and his drive to put out a great racecar and team is second to none.“The transition to NASCAR will be tough especially with no practice, qualifying, or testing but I welcome the challenge. My limited experience before the green flag in Miami will be the Chili Bowl and my Super Late Model test.“So far, everyone at NASCAR and the people that make up the NASCAR community have been very welcoming to me, the testing that I’ve done has gone really well, and I am excited to start racing!”"

Here is what team owner Sam Hunt had to add.

"“Santino’s passion and drive was apparent the first time we sat down together. I had heard about him, seen some stories from open wheel, but waited to form my opinion until we spent some time together one on one. He’s a great kid. He’s passionate, and he’s ready to learn the race craft of NASCAR.“He’s situationally aware and works hard for every sponsor and investor he has. I have no doubts that he will be a strong competitor for us once he learns how these heavy cars drive, and how these races run. We are all excited to get to work with him.”"

Ferrucci made his IndyCar debut in the 2018 season with Dale Coyne Racing and competed in four races, finishing as high as 11th place in the season finale at Sonoma Raceway, before landing a full-time ride with the team for the 2019 season.