Santino Ferrucci on standby for Josef Newgarden at Indy

Josef Newgarden‘s frightening medical situation following the NTT IndyCar Series Sunday race at Iowa Speedway has prompted Team Penske to place Santino Ferrucci on reserve duty for Saturday’s Gallagher Grand Prix on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course.

After Newgarden’s race and hopes of a weekend sweep ended with a lap 236 crash while leading, he fainted in the motorhome lot and suffered a head abrasion upon hitting the ground. He was awake and alert while being observed by medical personnel before being airlifted to MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center, the latter of which was stressed as being due to traffic and not due to imminent health danger. He was held overnight for further evaluation before being released on Monday and returning home to Nashville.

“Per series protocols, Newgarden will be reevaluated by the INDYCAR Medical Team on Thursday to determine his status for the Gallagher Grand Prix,” reads a Team Penske statement on Monday. “Should Newgarden not be able to race, Ferrucci will take the wheel of the No. 2 PPG Chevrolet.”

Ferrucci is already scheduled to be at Indianapolis as he is competing in the NASCAR Xfinity Series that same day with Sam Hunt Racing. However, in the event that his services are needed with Penske, the timing makes it unlikely (but not necessarily impossible) he will pull double duty by running both races as Xfinity starts immediately after IndyCar.

The 24-year-old has been a bit of a “super sub” in 2022. Save for the Indianapolis 500 with Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, his two other starts this season have been as an injury replacement: in March, he ran the Texas race in the #45 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda as a last-minute callup when Jack Harvey was not cleared following a hard wreck in final practice; three months later, he filled the #77 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet for Callum Ilott at Detroit after Ilott broke his hand at the Indy 500.

“As of right now, Santino Ferrucci remains the pilot of the No. 26 Toyota GR Supra for the NASCAR Xfinity Series event in Indianapolis,” posted SHR. “Sam Hunt Racing’s plans remain unchanged, but the team will navigate forward should changes need to be made. We’re excited for Santino to have this opportunity to be on standby for Team Penske, while also sending well wishes to Josef as he recovers.”

If Ferrucci fills in for Newgarden, the championship battle becomes a greater challenge once the latter returns to action. His Iowa Race #1 win enabled him to climb from fourth to second in standings to Marcus Ericsson, trailing by just fifteen points, but his Race #2 crash sank him down to third and he now faces a thirty-four-point deficit.