“I had no idea that was wrong”: Santino Ferrucci recalls his Phoenix clash with NASCAR star Josh Berry

NTT INDYCAR Series Java House Grand Prix of Monterey - Source: Getty
Santino Ferrucci at the NTT INDYCAR Series Java House Grand Prix of Monterey - Source: Getty

A.J. Foyt Racing driver Santino Ferrucci recently spoke about the time he raced at Phoenix. He also recalled his crash with NASCAR's Josh Berry.

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The 27-year-old drives the #14 A.J. Foyt Racing car powered by Chevrolet. In 2021, Ferrucci drove in the NASCAR series for Sam Hunt Racing, piloting the #26 Toyota Supra. During the race at Phoenix Raceway, while battling their way up the grid, Berry and Ferrucci made contact, which sent Berry into the wall. This prompted the NASCAR driver to give Ferrucci the double birds.

Santino Ferrucci recently appeared on the Dale Jr. Download podcast by Dale Earnhardt Jr. and spoke about the 2021 incident. He said: (via Dirty Mo Media on X):

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"So I hadn't realized what I had done. When I was racing and passing these guys, I didn't realise that if you commit underneath, you have to run the bottom. So in IndyCar, if you're passing someone, you just take the preferred line. I totally passed them and took the PJ 1 on the top of the preferred line and put him out on the marbles."
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"I had no idea what I did. I had no idea that was wrong and not correct etiquette, especially that early in the race. And when I came around, Chris Lambert was my spotter, who spots the 11. He said it looks like he's going to come give you the one finger salute, and I got the double bird, and I was like "wait that was for me! What did I do?" he added.
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Santino Ferrucci's 2025 season has been decent. He qualified in 27th place at the 50th anniversary ACURA Grand Prix of Long Beach and finished the race in 11th place. During the XPEL Grand Prix at Road America, he qualified in 18th place and finished third.


Santino Ferrucci makes his feelings known after his career-best finish at the Detroit Grand Prix

Santino Ferrucci spoke about how he felt after scoring his career-best finish at the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix on June 1. He started the race in 21st place and made his way up the grid to finish in the runner-up spot.

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The 27-year-old had started the race on primary tires, and he made up places with the help of strategic calls and perfectly timed caution periods. While in conversation with FOX after the race, the Connecticut native expressed his emotions as he said (via IndyCar on FOX):

“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.”
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“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.”

Santino Ferrucci's previous best finish was third in the 2023 Indianapolis 500. He currently sits in 13th place in the drivers' championship with 248 points.

Stay updated with the 2025 IndyCar schedule, standings, qualifying, results today, series news, and the latest IndyCar racing news all in one place.

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Edited by Samya Majumdar
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