Dale Coyne Racing announced Santino Ferrucci’s return to the team and IndyCar for the final two races of the 2018 season in the #39 Cly-Del Manufacturing-sponsored Honda car.
The young American not only marks a return to the series after his debut in Detroit, but it will be his racing return after being banned by the FIA Formula 2 Championship and then dropped by Trident for the remainder of the F2 season.
The 20-year-old will drive in Portland (September 2) and Sonoma (September 16). “I am extremely grateful to Dale (Coyne) and everyone at Dale Coyne Racing for giving me this opportunity to get back behind the wheel of an Indy car in Portland and Sonoma,” he said.
“I’m also excited to be bringing my long-time sponsor Cly-Del on board and introducing them to the world of IndyCar racing. I truly enjoyed my time with Dale Coyne Racing in Detroit earlier this season and I couldn’t be more excited to be back with them for a couple more races as I look to the future and enter the next chapter of my career.”
Team owner Dale Coyne said: “We were very impressed with Santino at Detroit this year, and not just by his performance behind the wheel, but also by his professionalism and maturity outside of the race car.
“We’ve had lengthy discussions with Santino in the past few months and we’re excited to have him back for the final two rounds of the season. We look forward to seeing what he will do with this opportunity as he gets back behind the wheel of an Indy Car. We’re also happy to welcome Cly-Del to our ever-growing family of sponsors.”
Meanwhile, sponsor’s Cly-Del Manufacturing Company’s Bob Garthwait added: “We are very excited to sponsor Santino Ferrucci and Dale Coyne Racing at the Portland & Sonoma IndyCar races.
“Excellence in motorsport requires strong teamwork, precision engineering, and quality execution. These have been our core values at Cly-Del for the last 79 years, making this partnership an outstanding fit. We wish the team well and hope to see more great racing from the series.”
Since the drama in F2, Ferrucci has been actively seeking a future in America, most notably in IndyCar. Ferrucci will be racing in a third car alongside the regulars Sebastien Bourdais and Pietro Fittipaldi in the two races.
While his Formula 1 future looks slim after moving out from F1, the American is still connected with the Haas F1 Team though as the squad is yet to take a call whether to keep him as a development driver or not.