Santino Ferrucci is feeling for all the team personnel that are in the midst of a quick turnaround following a grueling three-week stretch at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS).
The run for teams began with the Sonsio Grand Prix on the IMS road course May 8-9, before shifting to the oval two days later in preparation for Indy 500. Crews put in long hours, with 4 a.m. wakeup calls and working deep into the night, all in an effort to make the most of the electrifying speeds of Indy 500 qualifying the next weekend before capping it off with “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.”
Although Indy 500 winner Felix Rosenqvist is off on the celebratory media tour, it will be abbreviated for him - and no moment for the teams to catch their breath - as the IndyCar Series heads to the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix this weekend. And any respite needed won’t arrive until after the trip to World Wide Technology Raceway set for June 8-9.
Fresh off a record-extending eighth consecutive top 10 in as many Indy 500 starts, the latest which came courtesy of an eighth-place finish, the 27-year-old Connecticut native is already preparing to drive his motorhome from IMS to Detroit.
“I feel like I've been packing my bus for the last two days, so... quite entertaining,” Ferrucci said, during an IndyCar media call on Wednesday. “I've almost got it there.
“Yeah, I wish we had the week off, but we continue on into Detroit.”
When asked to expand on his thoughts about having the weekend off following the Indy 500 by Motorsport.com, Ferrucci shared how his thoughts are with the team personnel, notably the crew around his #14 AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet.
“Yeah, not necessarily for me, it's tough to go into the shop and see the crew that have been turning cars around, turn around cars to go to Detroit, when you're having 4 a.m. starts non-stop,” said Ferrucci, who finished a career-best second at Detroit last year.
“Yeah, I get that you want to ride the momentum as a series, but you also don't want to burn out your people that bring the cars to the track. Being a smaller team, I think it's a little bit more difficult for us to instantly turn these things around.
“No, I get the idea of the momentum. For me it doesn't matter. I'm up in Indianapolis until post St. Louis. I'm with the bus and the dogs. My wife flies in and out. Yeah, a little different schedule.”
