Dale Coyne Racing has signed former Formula 2 driver Santino Ferrucci for the final two rounds of the IndyCar season at Portland and Sonoma.
The young American will drive a third car for Dale Coyne in the #39 Cly-Del Manufacturing entry alongside team-mates Sebastien Bourdais and Pietro Fittipaldi.
Ferrucci subbed in for Fittipaldi for the two-rounds at the 'Dual-in-Detroit' at the beginning of June after the Brazilian suffered broken legs following a crash at Spa-Francorchamps while driving in the World Endurance Championship.
Controversially, Ferrucci was banned for four races in the Formula 2 championship after committing a multitude of offences during the two F2 rounds at Silverstone in July and had his contract terminated by the Trident team for whom he drove for.
“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,” said Ferrucci.
“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 Boss Dale Coyne was impressed by the youngster during the two races in Detroit and felt he deserved another opportunity to race in the IndyCar series and prove his abilities.
“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,” added Coyne. “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 IndyCar."
The Grand Prix of Portland takes place on Sunday, September 2 with the IndyCar Grand Prix of Sonoma scheduled for Sunday, September 16.
