IndyCar: Santino Ferrucci set for 2021 Indy 500 return

2019 Indy 500 Rookie of the Year Santino Ferrucci is set to compete in the race for a third time this year despite no longer being a full-time IndyCar driver.

Santino Ferrucci spent the last two seasons competing full-time for Dale Coyne Racing’s IndyCar team before moving to the NASCAR Xfinity Series as a part-time driver for Sam Hunt Racing.

The 22-year-old Woodbury, Connecticut native has competed in four Xfinity Series races thus far and recorded three top 15 finishes, including a career-high finish of 13th place at Las Vegas Motor Speedway last month.

However, when he announced his transition from IndyCar to NASCAR, he made clear that he would still like to compete in the 2021 Indy 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway if given the opportunity to be in a competitive car.

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Ferrucci is set to join full-time drivers Takuma Sato, the 2017 and 2020 Indy 500 winner, and Graham Rahal at Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing for the 105th running of the 200-lap race around the four-turn, 2.5-mile (4.023-kilometer) oval in Speedway, Indiana next month.

He will not be competing in any more Xfinity Series races until after the Indy 500 so that he can be fully committed and focused on running the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing”.

In 35 career IndyCar starts, Ferrucci has recorded 12 top 10 finishes. In 11 starts on ovals, he has recorded six of those 12 top 10 finishes, including four career-high finishes of fourth place at Texas Motor Speedway, Pocono Raceway, World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway and Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

He went from 23rd place to seventh to win Rookie of the Year honors in the 2019 Indy 500, and he followed that up in 2020 by going from 19th to fourth behind only his two new teammates and Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon.

This year, he is set to compete in the Indy 500 with sponsorship from Hy-Vee, Inc., a supermarket chain with 275 retail stores across eight states in the Midwest.

Here is what he had to say about this opportunity.

"“I am excited to be competing in the Indianapolis 500 with Hy-Vee and Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. It’s a great opportunity and I cannot thank the team, owners and partners enough for believing in me. I’m super excited to start spending some time at the shop in Indianapolis and preparing for an incredible run this May.”"

He believes he is set to enter this year’s Indy 500 with his best chance yet.

"“They’re definitely trying to stack the deck. I don’t think they could have built a better driver lineup and this is probably the best opportunity I’ve had at Indianapolis.”"

Ferrucci is the 31st confirmed driver for this race, with at least three more expected to produce bumping for the first time since 2019.

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Tune in to NBC at 11:00 a.m. ET on Sunday, May 30 for the live broadcast of the 105th running of the Indy 500 from Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Qualifying is scheduled to take place on Saturday, May 22 and Sunday, May 23.