FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Alexa Blank
alexa@teamabacusracing.com
Santino Ferrucci back with Abacus Racing for the 2026 Chili Bowl and both Placerville races for USAC in California.
INDIANAPOLIS, November 10, 2025 — After a wild ride at the 2025 Chili Bowl, Abacus Racing announced today that NTT INDYCAR series drive Santino Ferrucci will drive for them again in the 2026 Chili Bowl as well as both USAC National Midget Series races at Placerville Speedway on November 14 and 15, 2025.
The Woodbury, Connecticut native and A. J. Foyt Enterprises driver will drive the #16 with primary sponsorship from Webco Engineering. Ferrucci made his Chili Bowl debut in 2021 and looks forward to getting back to Tulsa with Abacus.
Said Ferrucci, “To be honest, last year was a wild ride for sure. I started my preliminary night in the catch fencing during hot laps and thought it was over before it started. But the team, with some crucial help from the paddock, got the car back together and we salvaged what ended up being a pretty good night.”
Continued Ferrucci, “I am excited to get some races and laps in at Placerville so I can be more prepared for Tulsa. In all these races, you are competing again the best and what I need more than anything is to get laps.”
The program was slated to have the same “feel” last year, but both USAC races in Merced were rained out, so Ferrucci’s first time in the Abacus midget was at Tulsa.
“Any time you show up to this style of racing, the biggest thing the driver wants is confidence in the car. I love midget racing, but I can’t do it as much of it as I would like given my full-time commitments in INDYCAR. But, with Larry (Foyt)’s support, I am able to do something I love and can’t wait to get back with the boys from Abacus”, said Ferrucci.
Brent Cox, Team Principal for Abacus Racing said, “So, I was sitting next to Larry (Foyt) in Tulsa last year when Santino had his accident in hot laps, and my thought was the same as everyone else’s, ‘well, that didn’t last long.’ But, the team with some great help from the paddock got it back on track, had a good finish to its preliminary night and he made a great run through several races on Saturday. For a bit there, Santino was the show and it was a lot of fun to watch and be a part of. With everything we faced on Friday and Saturday, it really bonded Santino and the team together, and we are very excited to have him back for Placerville and the Chili Bowl.”
At last year’s Chili Bowl, Ferrucci would go on to finish 6th in the C Feature on his preliminary night, setting him up for a K Feature start on Saturday. After making it through the K Feature, J Feature and I Feature, Ferrucci was in transfer spot in the H Feature when a car spun in front of him, ending an eventful run through the “vegetable soup.”
It is results that Ferrucci hopes to improve on in 2026. Ferrucci continued, “The biggest key for me will be to get laps at Placerville to get comfortable with the car, have a good practice session on Sunday in Tulsa, and improve on my preliminary night results. The first goal is to make the A-Feature on your preliminary night. That sets you up nicely for Saturday.”
Other sponsors on Ferrucci’s midget will be Foyt Museum & Winery, Calico Coatings, Indy Fuel, Mission Roofing, JP Moery Racing, CG CPAs, Indy Custom Stone, Forecheck Marketing, Indy Power Sports, Prime 47 Indy’s Steakhouse and Triton Air.
The Chili Bowl Nationals begins on January 11, 2026 with practice, followed by five consecutive preliminary feature nights that ends with the final feature night on January 17, 2026. All nights of the Chili Bowl as well as all the USAC races will be broadcast on FloRacing.
Abacus Racing is headquartered in Indianapolis and is just the second entrant in the history of USAC to win the USAC Triple Crown as an entrant.
# # #