In a recent conversation with Dale Earnhardt Jr., AJ Foyt Racing driver Santino Ferrucci discussed his infamous suspension before he moved to IndyCar. Ferruci described the incident that banned him from four races and fined him 60,000 Euros in 2018.Santino Ferrucci was banned for four races (consisting of the Formula 2 races at Hungaroring and Spa-Francorchamps) and fined 60,000 Euros for intentionally crashing with a Trident teammate, Arjun Maini, in 2018. It was the cool-down lap of the run following the Silverstone Sprint race in which Ferrucci deliberately crashed his car into the back of the car of Maini. Also, in the feature race, he had earlier pushed Maini wide and was not included in the sprint race results due to another intentional bump.Beyond the on-track conduct, Ferrucci was fined an additional €6,000 for driving between the Formula 2 paddock and the Formula 1 pit lane while holding a phone and wearing only one glove, which breached safety regulations. As a consequence of these events and outstanding contractual issues, Trident terminated Ferrucci's contract shortly after the ban was announced.Speaking to Dale Earnhardt Jr. on the latter's recent Dale Jr. Download podcast, the 27-year-old American driver called his incident with Maini the biggest regret of his life. He said:"It was meant for me to be flipping him off, and I was going to get right behind him and pull up real close to him. Right as I was about to do it, I was like, I think that's expensive. You pay your own fines. So before I moved back, because I already had momentum, I clipped him. I misjudged it by about this much. I didn't do any damage to the cars. I didn't think anything of it came back. You know, the stewards were like, okay, well, we need to call you in for this move and that move.""I didn't go to the stewards' meeting because I had a flight home from England, and money was tight with sponsorship, and I couldn't afford to move my flights. And in hindsight, I really regret that. Probably the biggest mistake in my career," he added.Santino Ferrucci shared a touching story about his growing friendship with NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt Jr. earlier this year. Ferrucci described how, unlike most drivers, who only exchange holiday wishes with close contacts, he received a text from Dale Earnhardt Jr. during Christmas.Santino Ferrucci reveals Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s priceless gesture that had him "freaking out" According to Ferrucci, Dale Earnhardt Jr. was the only motorsport entity to personally wish him a Merry Christmas a couple of years ago. This gesture greatly moved Ferrucci, who said he was "freaking out" because it was the coolest thing to happen to him as a race car driver and meant a lot coming from someone he admired deeply. While speaking to Chase Holden for his YouTube channel earlier this year, Ferrucci said:"Getting to meet Dale the last couple of years, I'm not gonna lie, one of the coolest things to happen to me as a race car driver. It's normally like, Christmas comes around, we text all of our sponsors, our family, our friends, and stuff... occasionally a couple of drivers. Dale was the only driver to wish me Merry Christmas. I was like freaking out. That was the coolest thing that's ever happened," he said [7:00 onwards].Ferrucci’s admiration for Dale Earnhardt Jr. grew after the latter noticed him during the 2019 Indianapolis 500. Ferrucci made a bold and daring move to avoid a multi-car wreck by driving over the grass at more than 200 mph, which earned him a fan in Earnhardt. The 50-year-old veteran publicly praised Ferrucci’s speed and racing skills before the 2020 IndyCar season, highlighting him as a talented rising driver to watch.