Santino Ferrucci Harvest Grand Prix Race 1 Summary
Santino Ferrucci Harvest Grand Prix Race 1 Summary:
· Santino Ferrucci piloted the No. 18 Team SealMaster – Dale Coyne with Vasser-Sullivan entry to a 15th place finish in the inaugural Harvest Grand Prix Race 1 on the 2.439-mile, 14-turn Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course in Speedway, Indiana.
· Ferrucci qualified 20th for Race 1.
· In a strategy move, he was one of only six of the 25 drivers in the race, and the only outside the top-seven, to start on the red (alternate) Firestone tires.
· The move paid off as Ferrucci went from 20th to 11th in the first eight laps of the race.
· Shortly thereafter an incident with another driver dropped him back to 19th place where he began to battle back.
· When other teams pitted early to shed their black (primary) tires Ferrucci climbed into the top-10, leading one lap.
· His track position see-sawed back and forth as different pit strategies played out, however he eventually settled into a spot in the mid-to-low teens where he finished.
· The five positions Ferrucci gained tied him for third biggest mover of the race.
Santino Ferrucci Harvest Grand Prix Race 1 Quote:
“We showed today the No. 18 SealMaster Honda had good pace even with a smashed front wing. We were having a really good race, just Hunter-Reay didn’t want to give up the inside going into turn two and well…I wasn’t going to lift. Other than that, I’m really proud of the crew. On the last pit stop, it was nobody’s fault. One of the lug nuts got striped and that’s that. All and all I think we are ready tomorrow.”
Santino Ferrucci Fast Facts:
· Ferrucci earned 16 points today and is now 12th in the NTT IndyCar Series championship standings with 262 points.
· Ferrucci has finished in the top-10 in five of the 12 races during the 2020 season with a season high fourth in the Indianapolis 500, two sixth place finishes, both at Road America, ninth place in the GMR Grand Prix and 10th at St. Louis Race 2.
· Ferrucci is contesting his second full NTT IndyCar Series season and first with Dale Coyne w/ Vasser-Sullivan.
· The 2020 Harvest Grand Prix Race 1 was Ferrucci’s 33rd career NTT IndyCar Series start and third on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.
· In three races on the IMS road course Ferrucci has a best finish of ninth earlier this year at the GMR Grand Prix and a best starting positon of 14th in 2019.
· In 33 career IndyCar starts, Ferrucci has four top-five finishes. Fourth in the 2020 Indy 500 and fourth at Texas Motor Speedway, Pocono Raceway and World Wide Technology Raceway, all in 2019)
· Ferrucci, 22, is a native of Woodbury, Connecticut. He resides in Port St. Lucie, Florida.
Next Race:
Round 13 of the 2020 NTT IndyCar Series season will be the Harvest Grand Prix Race 2, October, 3, on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course in Speedway, Indiana.