Santino Ferrucci has been a racing prodigy for much of his life. When he was 13 years old, he posed with three-time Indianapolis 500 winner Dario Franchitti next to the Borg-Warner Trophy.

In 2011, Ferrucci was a development driver for McLaren and attended the NASCAR race at Watkins Glen International with Tony Stewart, the former IndyCar Series champion and 1996 Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year – the two were even interviewed on the old SPEED TV network. Ferrucci also was with Stewart when that driver did a race car swap with Formula One World Champion Lewis Hamilton at Watkins Glen.

At that time, Stewart said of Ferrucci, “He is very wise beyond his years.”

Eight years later, the 21-year-old NTT IndyCar Series rookie driver for Dale Coyne Racing reflected on how those connections have helped him through his racing career.

“I had a photo with Dario Franchitti with the Borg-Warner Trophy with me with the crazy hair that was taken at Toronto when I was 13 or 14,” he told NTT INDYCAR Mobile. “Dario is an awesome dude, just to talk to. Dan Wheldon is also the person that helped put me with the people that he did. They are some of the people I’m with today.

“It’s crazy to think of the connection you’ve made with those guys when I was kid, just meeting those guys was awesome because they were heroes of mine, but they also made a difference.”

Ferrucci’s road to IndyCar has included a few episodes of adversity along the way, some even self-inflicted, but the young driver from Woodbury, Conn., has been impressive in his first full season in IndyCar. He enters Sunday’s ABC Supply 500 at Pocono Raceway 13th in the standings, one position ahead of fellow rookie Colton Herta. He is two positions ahead of another rookie driver, Marcus Ericsson, who has 97 Formula One World Championship starts in his career.

Felix Rosenqvist of Chip Ganassi Racing is the highest rookie in the standings in ninth place.

“On a stats level, we are considered the underdog, but I grew up racing against Felix Rosenqvist in Formula 3,” Ferrucci said. “The approach this year has been more unique for me. It’s about consistency in my opinion.

“If we do a good job every weekend, a solid job. Not try too much, not expect too much, but keep bringing the car home in one piece, keep finishing the races and gaining experience. This championship is long, and it shows. Here and there you will get really good finishes if you have a little bit of luck on your side.

“At Detroit, we led 20 laps and that was pretty awesome. We were unlucky with the caution. Then at Texas, we raced our way from the back of the pack up to the front.”

At 21, Ferrucci has taken advantage of even more veteran experience at Dale Coyne Racing. His teammate is four-time Champ Car Series champion Sebastien Bourdais.

“It’s been massive,” Ferrucci said of what he has learned from Bourdais. “What has been nice is I did some simulator work this year and we have been on different setups all year long. He got in the sim and did some development and that brought us closer together. Our feedback has been similar.

“The street courses are tricky with the lines. You have to be on certain parts of the track and be on the brakes in certain references. Having his knowledge to come to a place like Toronto accelerates my learning curve a lot.”

Ferrucci also has one of the savviest engineers in the paddock in Michael Cannon.

“He is amazing with rookies,” Ferrucci said. “My strategy engineer, Olivier Boisson, has also done a phenomenal job. The whole team is developing something special with the car to help aid my driving style. I like a loose car, something not as protected. The amount of research they put into the baseline setup, the differential, the dampers, it’s been huge.

“They’ve allowed me to drive a little bit more like myself and have tuned it to my style. That’s been a nice change.”

Ferrucci’s clean driving style in IndyCar and his interaction with fans off the track have helped quiet some of the skeptics who don’t want to forget the past. Ferrucci is more interested about the future and so far, he has done a tremendous job of keeping it clean.

When Franchitti took the time to pose with Ferrucci when he was just 13 it left a lasting impact on the rookie driver. That is one reason why Ferrucci makes sure he poses for the kids that want a photo or an autograph. They might be the future stars of IndyCar.

“Fans make up our sport,” Ferrucci said. “They are the reason we are here. To take the extra time to sign autographs and meeting little kids and sign pictures and talk about your experiences, that is what makes the experience for them and the reason we keep coming back.”

Next up for the NTT IndyCar Series is the Aug. 18 race at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway. The ABC Supply 500 is the first of four races to close the 2019 season. NBCSN will have the television coverage at 2 p.m. ET (green flag at 2:45 p.m. ET). The Advance Auto Parts INDYCAR Radio Network provides the radio call, with coverage on SiriusXM Radio (XM 209, Sirius 98, Internet/App 970).