INDYCAR: Morning warmup crash leaves Ferrucci out of Toronto race
by William Soquet / LASTCAR.info Staff Writer
PHOTO: us-racing.com
Santino Ferrucci finished last for the 3rd time in his NTT IndyCar Series career in Sunday’s Honda Indy Toronto when his #14 Sexton Properties Chevrolet did not start the race due to crash damage from Sunday morning practice.
The finish came in Ferrucci’s 89th attempt at an IndyCar race and was his first last-place finish since the Indianapolis Grand Prix last year, 26 races ago. Across IndyCar Series history, it was the 23rd for the #14, the 125th for Chevrolet, and the 37th for a did not start.
After a rather pedestrian first season with A.J. Foyt Racing in 2023, Ferrucci became one of the most talked-about drivers in the IndyCar Series in 2024. He strung together five Top Tens in six races from the Indianapolis 500 to the first Iowa race, then closed the season on a stretch of four straight top-ten finishes that included a pole at Portland and a pair of fourth-place finishes at Milwaukee. The 2025 season has followed a similar pattern. After not cracking the top ten over the first five races of the year, Ferrucci ripped off a run of four straight top-five finishes, placing fifth at the 500, second at Detroit, fifth at Gateway, and third at Road America.
At the same time, the controversy around Ferrucci has grown significantly. Ferrucci had a physical and verbal confrontation with Kyle Kirkwood at Detroit in 2024, and while the incident didn’t merit a formal reprimand from the series, it did not help the driver’s public image. While he was able to keep his runner-up finish at Detroit this season, the car was disqualified for being underweight post-race, and he lost most of the points earned from that event. Conor Daly also called Ferrucci a “clown” after an incident at Mid-Ohio that saw both cars go off track. There were lighter moments scattered in as well. Ferrucci ran out of gas in Turn 1 at Road America, and a fan was happy to oblige his request for a beer after getting out of the car. The ensuing scene, captured by the broadcast crew, led several to call for Miller to get back into IndyCar and sponsor Ferrucci.
Ferrucci entered the Toronto race weekend tenth in the point standings, tied with teammate David Malukas and ahead of two Team Penske cars. However, that’s when the weekend began to go sideways. Ferrucci was 20th in first practice, but still about a second quicker than the two Juncos Hollinger cars at the bottom of the timesheet. He then slid to 22nd in second practice, only outpacing the two Juncos cars, Robert Shwartzman, Jacob Abel, and Devlin DeFrancesco. Assigned to Group 1 in qualifying, Ferrucci was 12th, only beating Sting Ray Robb in competition. He settled in 23rd on the starting lineup.
Usually, morning warmup is a quiet session on race day morning. Teams and drivers sort out what tire compound they want to start on, test out any adjustments made to the car after qualifying, and generally make sure everything is in order. But while dealing with a slightly wet track, Ferrucci lost the rear in the right-hand Turn 7, shooting the front-left of the car into the outside wall. The car ricocheted off the wall and slid down the short straight, hitting the wall on driver’s left of Turn 8 before skidding back to a stop in the runoff area.
Only three hours separated morning warmup from the race, and the obstacles were just too much to overcome for team and driver. All four corners of the chassis sustained damage in the crash, and Ferrucci was seen with ice on his hand/wrist area after the incident. In light of those factors, the team made the decision to not start the car for the race. All signs are a go for the next race, as Ferrucci said the Thursday afterwards that he was good to go for this weekend’s action at Laguna Seca.
Scott McLaughlin was the first car to exit the race proper, as his wheel came off of the car on Lap 3 following his first pit stop. Alexander Rossi crashed out about one-third of the way into the race, the victim of an uneven wall on the outside. On the ensuing restart, a classic Toronto turn one pileup happened, which eliminated Josef Newgarden and Jacob Abel.
LASTCAR STATISTICS
*This is the first time “did not start” has been the reason out in consecutive races since the last race of 2005 and the first race of 2006, when Thiago Medeiros and Ed Carpenter did not start and Fontana and Homestead.
*Drivers from the United States have now finished last four straight races in a row. That’s the longest streak since the last six races of 2007. Marco Andretti (2), Ryan Hunter-Reay (2), Jon Herb and Sam Hornish Jr. contributed to that streak.
*This is the first last-place finish for the #14 at Toronto since 2013, when Takuma Sato crashed out after 10 laps.
THE BOTTOM FIVE
27) #14-Santino Ferrucci / did not start
26) #3-Scott McLaughlin / 2 laps / crash
25) #20-Alexander Rossi / 29 laps / crash
24) #2-Josef Newgarden / 36 laps / crash
23) #51-Jacob Abel / 36 laps / crash
2025 LASTCAR INDYCAR SERIES MANUFACTURERS CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Chevrolet (8)
2nd) Honda (5)
2025 LASTCAR INDYCAR SERIES OWNERS CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Team Penske (4)
2nd) Dale Coyne Racing (3)
3rd) Prema Racing (2)
4th) A.J. Foyt Racing, Arrow McLaren, Chip Ganassi Racing, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (1)
2025 LASTCAR INDYCAR SERIES DRIVERS CHAMPIONSHIP
