Santino Ferrucci is giving NASCAR another go as he rejoins Sam Hunt Racing for the Xfinity Series races at Pocono Raceway and Indianapolis Motor Speedway on 23 July and 30 July, respectively. He will once again drive the #26 Toyota Supra.
Ferrucci made his NASCAR début in 2021 on a seven-race schedule for SHR, during which he scored top-twenty finishes in all but two starts with a best run of thirteenth at Las Vegas. While much of his career was spent doing circuit racing in the FIA formula ladder and NTT IndyCar Series, all of his NASCAR starts until Indianapolis have been on ovals.
A IndyCar full-timer in 2019 and 2020, Ferrucci has contested three races in 2022 for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (Texas), Dreyer & Reinbold Racing (Indianapolis 500), and Juncos Hollinger Racing (Detroit). He scored a ninth and tenth at Texas and Indianapolis—both ovals—before placing twenty-first at Detroit as a substitute driver for the injured Callum Ilott.
“It’s been a long time coming since last year, and I’m excited to be back behind the wheel of an Xfinity car with Toyota,” said Ferrucci. “I think the momentum from the past two years has been really good. I’ve been in a good spot mentally, and I am driving the best I ever have. I think having the experience of both IndyCar and NASCAR is very helpful. It will be easier to go to an Xfinity car this year instead of last year’s transition from an Xfinity car to an IndyCar and vice versa.”
His D&R team-mate Sage Karam also races in the Xfinity Series for Alpha Prime Racing. The pair, Conor Daly, Juan Pablo Montoya, and Jimmie Johnson comprise drivers who have run at least one 2022 IndyCar race and has NASCAR experience.
“Mine and Santino’s story is special because we both started working together when there were a lot of crossroads in our respective careers,” commented SHR’s eponymous owner. “People don’t realize how hard Santino works behind the scenes, and how he has to fight for every ounce of funding he gets. He’s an ultra-talented racer and a personality the sport needs. He doesn’t race to make friends; he races to pay his bills. I’m excited to have him come back to SHR after his fourth consecutive Indianapolis 500 top-ten finish.”
SHR’s #26 is fourteenth in owner points with a rotation of drivers that includes Parker Chase, Jeffrey Earnhardt, Derek Griffith, John Hunter Nemechek, Chandler Smith, and Ryan Truex. The car has three top tens and two top fives, the latter of which were recorded by Nemechek.