INDIANAPOLIS — After a wild ride at the 2025 Chili Bowl, Abacus Racing announced that NTT IndyCar Series driver Santino Ferrucci will drive for them again in the 2026 Chili Bowl as well as during the upcoming Hangtown 100 USAC National Midget Series races at Placerville Speedway on November 14-15.
The Woodbury, Conn., native and A. J. Foyt Enterprises driver will drive the No. 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.
Ferrucci had an accident during hot laps that set him back, but after finishing sixth in the C main on his preliminary night, he put on a show on Saturday.
Ferrucci started his day in the K Main and advanced through the K, J and I features before his day ended in the H main.
“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.”
