A.J. Foyt Racing delivers a statement after ‘unintentional oversight’ cost them $25,000 and shattered Santino Ferrucci’s Detroit effort

A.J.Foyt racing driver Santino Ferrucci finished the Detroit Grand Prix on a high note on Sunday, June 1. However, the celebrations were cut short after the team and the driver were handed penalties. The team put out a statement explaining the situation.

On Monday, June 2, IndyCar announced penalties for the A.J. Foyt racing team and car #14 after it was found to be underweight during the post-race inspection. The combined weight was found to be 1.8 pounds lighter than the required weight of 185-186 pounds. The team was also fined $25,000, and the prize money was taken away.

The team has now put out a statement highlighting that this was unintentional and not to gain a competitive advantage. The statement read:

"We acknowledge and accept the penalty issued for being 1.8 pounds under the required driver ballast weight," the team said in a statement. "This was an unintentional oversight, and we take full responsibility for the mistake. Our car was, in fact, 10 pounds over the minimum total weight, and the discrepancy in ballast was not intended to gain a competitive advantage."

"However, we recognize that compliance with every rule is critical to ensuring fairness in this sport, no matter how minor the deviation may seem. We are working closely with our technical team to strengthen our processes and ensure this does not happen again," it added.

Santino Ferrucci retained second place, his career-best finish in the IndyCar Series. He started from 21st place on the grid and led the race, but was soon overtaken by Andretti Global's Kyle Kirkwood.

The Connecticut native's season is off to a decent start as he qualified in 19th place for the season's maiden race at the Firestone Grand Prix of St Petersburg on March 2, where he finished 14th. During the 50th anniversary ACURA Grand Prix of Long Beach on April 13, he started the race in 27th spot and finished the race in 11th place.

During the 109th running of the Indianapolis 500 on May 25, Santino Ferrucci qualified in 15th place and took the checkered flag in fifth place. The team and Ferrucci will be looking forward to bouncing back during the upcoming Bommarito Automotive Group 500, which will take place on June 15.

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Santino Ferrucci makes his feelings known after Detroit Grand Prix podium finish

The A.J.Foyt Racing driver Santino Ferrucci finished the race in second place after struggling during qualifying and starting in 21st place. His previous career-best finish came during the 2023 Indianapolis 500, where he finished the race in third place. The race panned out in Ferrucci's favor as he got lucky with the caution flags and strategic decisions.

While talking to Fox after the race, Santino Ferrucci expressed his emotions and said:

“First off, huge, huge shout out to this whole team. I mean, we were struggling in qualifying. I struggled. I made a lot of mistakes. I was really hard on myself yesterday because I felt like it was all on me.”

“Pit stops were phenomenal. The stand was amazing. I mean, perfect strategy. I just got lucky with that yellow, and, man, I don't think I've ever been so happy to see a red flag because I was really struggling. I don't know what I did with the tires, but I couldn't get them to come back to life. But, man, Kyle was so fast today, so congratulations to him and his team on this win, and man, I'm just happy to bring Chevrolet on the podium,” he added.

Ferrucci is currently 14th in the drivers' championship with 118 points.