Santino Ferrucci has been confirmed to return to the NTT INDYCAR SERIES this year, driving for Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser-Sullivan in the team’s No. 18 Team SealMaster Honda.

In his first full season in the series, Ferrucci won the Indianapolis 500’s Rookie of the Year award after advancing 16 positions to finish seventh in Dale Coyne Racing’s No. 19 car.

For the season, Ferrucci completed the third-most laps by any driver in the series and had the fourth-highest number of points scored on oval tracks.

Sebastien Bourdais drove the No. 18 car, sponsored by SealMaster Pavement Products, last year.

The No. 18 entry is owned by Dale Coyne, one-time CART champion Jimmy Vasser and James “Sulli” Sullivan. The season begins Sunday, March 15 with the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. Ferrucci finished ninth in that race last year.

“We’re very happy to have Santino back with us for the 2020 season,” said Coyne (pictured here with Ferrucci). “He had a very good rookie season, and he was absolutely stellar on the ovals. We look forward to him building on that this year.

"I think he surprised a lot of people in 2019, and he has the potential to do even better in his sophomore year as he now moves to the No. 18 car."

Last year, the 21-year-old from Woodbury, Connecticut finished fourth at three oval tracks: Texas Motor Speedway, Pocono Raceway and World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway. He led 97 laps at the St. Louis-area track, helping him finish eighth in laps led for the season with 118. Twenty of those laps came in the second of the two street races in Detroit.

“I’m extremely honored that Dale, Jimmy, and Sulli have put their faith in me to carry this program forward,” Ferrucci said. “The SealMaster car has had a lot of success in the past two seasons. I’m eager to move into the No.18 car and get spring training started. I also want to say a big thank you to SealMaster for believing in me, and I’m beyond excited to represent them on the biggest stage.”

Ferrucci’s first chance to drive the No. 18 car will be at the open test Feb. 11-12 at Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas.

“What a big moment for DCVS and the program as we begin our next chapter,” Sullivan said. “This new crop of young fast IndyCar racers is no joke, and we’re energized to have Ferrucci leading our charge in the SealMaster machine. I expect you’ll see some big moments from us in 2020.”

Ferrucci will team with Spain’s Alex Palou, who last month was named to drive for Dale Coyne Racing with Team Goh. Palou, 22, raced last year in the Super Formula series, winning a race and capturing top-rookie honors.