Santino Ferrucci has stepped in as a last-minute replacement for Jack Harvey for today’s XPEL 375 at Texas Motor Speedway.
Ferrucci, 23, now a local Dallas resident, was at the track on Saturday when Harvey suffered a hard crash in final practice in the late afternoon. Ultimately, the wreck cracked the tub and the team was forced to move to a back-up car, which so happens to be the primary car for the Indianapolis 500.
Although Harvey was cleared and released from the Infield Care Center, he was reevaluated by IndyCar and deemed not fit to race.
“Per INDYCAR protocol, all drivers wear accelerometers that measure g-forces exhibited during an incident,” IndyCar said in a statement. “These get evaluated, fully, after each incident, and if the result of the g-forces surpasses the minimum threshold, drivers must be re-evaluated prior to returning to competition. Following the protocol, the driver of the No. 45, Jack Harvey, was re-evaluated this morning and was not cleared for racing. Harvey is working closely with the IndyCar medical team regarding next steps.”
Word of the possible change was first reported by TrackSideOnline‘s Steve Wittich, and later confirmed by TobyChristie.com as Ferrucci was suited and briefing with RLL’s engineering team. As a result of the change, the team will be relegated from its 24th-place starting position and will now start the 248-lap contest from the rear of the field.
There is familiarity for both parties as Ferrucci drove RLL’s No. 45 entry for five races last season, including the 105th Running of the Indianapolis 500. He has a best finish of fourth at Texas, which came in 2019 while driving for Dale Coyne Racing.
IndyCar will allow a 15-minute session for Ferrucci to take to the track at 10:45 a.m. ET.
