DeFrancesco learns from Texas error but vows to stay aggressive, use haters ‘as fuel’

Devlin DeFrancesco made a mistake at Texas Motor Speedway — no ifs, ands or buts about that — and he takes full blame for the three-car crash that also wiped out veterans Helio Castroneves and Graham Rahal.

The other two incidents he has been blamed for? Well, DeFrancesco has his own opinions on any role he played in race-ending crashes for Takuma Sato and Kyle Kirkwood. Blame doesn’t really matter at this point, though: his IndyCar debut on an oval was marred by three separate incidents.

Mistakes and overaggressive driving can be bad for a reputation, particularly for a rookie trying to change the narrative surrounding his IndyCar arrival.

“People think I am just this rich kid in Miami that’s going racing and that’s just not the case,” DeFrancesco, who was the highest-qualifying rookie at Texas in 17th, told The Associated Press. “I worked my ass off to make this happen, from a physical side, from a mental standpoint, anything that could get me better. That’s all I’m focused on right now.”

Recapping all the action from @TXMotorSpeedway @IndyCar qualifying for @FollowAndretti / @Follow_SRacing today. Loved it on the Superspeedway!–#INDYCAR | #AllAndretti | #BornFast pic.twitter.com/HcoTNLhgOR

— Devlin Defrancesco (@DevlinDeFran) March 20, 2022

DeFrancesco is in his first season at the top level of American open-wheel racing (and part of a large rookie class), driving for Andretti Autosport in a Honda fielded in partnership with George and Julia Steinbrenner. He landed the promotion after one season in Indy Lights, where DeFrancesco earned a pair of podium finishes but was winless in 20 races. He finished sixth in the standings, far behind then-Andretti teammate Kirkwood and runner-up David Malukas.

Kirkwood and Malukas