Santino Ferrucci gave Dreyer & Reinbold something to smile about by handing the two-car organization a strong 10th-place finish in the 106th Indianapolis 500 in the team’s annual one-off event. (Photo: James Black | Penske Entertainment)
In his fourth career Indianapolis 500 start, Santino Ferrucci kept the good times rolling at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway by getting his fourth consecutive top-10 finish in the NTT IndyCar Series premier event.
“I’m pretty stout with it,” Ferrucci said.
“These guys deserve way better than that today. We ran in the top-five most of today. We were fast.”
In his Indy 500 debut, in 2019, Ferrucci finished seventh. The next three finishes were fourth (2020), sixth (2021) and 10th this year.
The speed in Ferrucci’s No. 23 Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Chevrolet in the race made him look like a potential dark horse contender to spoil the Chip Ganassi Racing party at the front of the field.
There was a close call with Conor Daly’s No. 20 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet on the backstretch entering Turn 3 and the two drivers made contact. Luckily, Ferrucci was fortunate enough to keep grinding in what could’ve been a race-ending moment.
He’s known as someone who isn’t afraid to push the limits and earned this reputation through his previous IndyCar opportunities with Dale Coyne Racing and Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing.
As a driver who’s not running full-time, Ferrucci knows he needs to make the most of every opportunity since there’s no telling when he’ll start his next IndyCar race. This also allows him to take more chances with nothing to lose.
Plus, driving for a team that only runs the Indy 500 as a one-off event, the entire organization can pour all of its resources into putting together a strong program for the Month of May.
Ferrucci gave credit to his Dreyer & Reinbold pit crew for getting the job done on pit road and helping him earn much needed track position on a warm day in the Hoosier State.
“Hats off to all of Dreyer & Reinbold on pit lane,” Ferrucci said.
“Oh my God, did this car go up and down faster than I’ve ever seen any other car go up and down. These guys worked so hard.”
Considering the amount of luck needed year after year to find success in the Indianapolis 500, some of Santino Ferrucci’s competitors are likely wondering where they can find similar good fortunes. (Photo: Chris Jones | Penske Entertainment)
During the closing laps of the 500-mile race, Ferrucci’s No. 23 Chevrolet started fading down the running order. What seemed like a day that could see them potentially having an outside chance at stealing a win turned into trying to maintain a strong performance.
“At the end of the second to last run, in the last run, we just lost the balance of the car and I was just chasing it and chasing it in the tools,” Ferrucci said.
“By the time I finally got it back, it was too late, I was already running 10th and just hang on in the last restart. We brought home the Screamin’ Sicilian in the top-10 so I can’t complain. I’m pretty happy with the result.”
Ferrucci plans to review the race with his Dreyer & Reinbold team to understand why the car lost pace in the late stages. He believes he had the car to beat during the first three stints of the race.
Nevertheless, the driver of the No. 23 Chevrolet plans to return to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway next year to see if he can get five consecutive top-10 finishes in the crown jewel racing event known as the “Greatest Spectacle In Racing.”
