Note: This continues a series of 2024 NTT INDYCAR SERIES team previews on INDYCAR.com from Feb. 26-March 1. The season starts Sunday, March 10 with the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by RP Funding.
Starting Lineup: Santino Ferrucci (No. 14 Sexton Properties Chevrolet), Sting Ray Robb (No. 41 Pray.com Chevrolet).
2023 in Review: The team’s season highlight was its performance in the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge. Both Ferrucci and series rookie Benjamin Pedersen qualified for the Fast 12 Shootout, with Ferrucci earning the fourth starting position and Pedersen lining up 11th. Both of those efforts were career bests at IMS. Ferrucci led 11 laps in the race, finishing third for the best result in the event for an A.J. Foyt driver since Eliseo Salazar finished third in 2000. Pedersen was on the lead lap when a host of cars came together on the front straightaway on a restart attempt at Lap 196. Ferrucci’s season also included an 11th-place finish in the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach and an 11th-place qualifying effort in the Sonsio Grand Prix at Road America presented by AMR.
New for ’24: Sting Ray Robb’s second season will be with this organization. Robb had his best race of 2023 in the season finale, a 12th-place finish in the Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.
Keep an Eye on This: The new technical alliance between Team Penske and AJ Foyt Racing figures to be impactful here. Also, figure that Robb could make a competitive gain in his second season in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES. In his past two levels, the Idaho product went from no wins to seven in USF Pro 2000 and from eighth in INDY NXT by Firestone points to second in his second seasons.
Little-Known Fact: Ferrucci has performed as well in the “500” as any non-winner. In five starts, he has an average finish of 6.0, with five consecutive top-10 finishes. Keep in mind that he has done this with four different teams – Dale Coyne Racing, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing and AJ Foyt Racing -- and his average starting position is 16.8, which means he routinely gains positions in chunks. In his first four races at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, he averaged nearly 16 positions gained. Last year he moved up only one position, but that’s impressive given that he started fourth.