By: Zach Catanzareti, Staff Writer
From 32nd on the grid, Alexander Rossi was behind the eight ball from the start of the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday. From then on, however, the day slowly came to the Andretti Autosport driver, rising to the top of the field in the closing stages.
Rossi, the 2016 Indy 500 champion, did more than just quietly overtake cars when it counted, he took them to school. The American used the late restarts to his advantage, passing multiple cars on the outside lane to enter the second position.
“Your ass is clenched around here quite a bit of time,” Rossi said. “Especially with this new car, it moves around a lot. You’re just trying to take the opportunities that are given to you and execute with the car you have. No doubt, when you’re passing cars, you have a smile on your face.”
One battle was particularly close between himself and Andretti teammate Ryan Hunter-Reay.
“You know your teammate will always give you that little extra more,” he said. “Ryan and I have a lot of respect, we’re so close every week. He’s going to race me hard and I expect him to.”
Leading just one lap on the day, Rossi lacked the clean-air opportunities seen mostly by Will Power and Ed Carpenter. The No. 27 Chevrolet was unable to pounce while fuel strategy played a small factor at the end of the 500.
“We didn’t qualify on the last row by pace,” he said. “So, I thought by halfway, we were 18th, we were making good progress and we could probably get to the front. We had two good restarts, we were third and I was like, ‘Alright, we can make this happen.’
“No doubt, I know what to expect. I know mentally how the race works. From that standpoint, there’s not the anxiety because I’ve been here twice before.”
Rossi closes the championship gap to just two markers behind Josef Newgarden, who finished Sunday in the eighth spot. Though that’s a positive heading into the Duel in Detriot this weekend, that lost Indy 500 ring will be on his mind until then.
“I’m disappointed still because you always will think about the what-ifs,” he said. “What if we started 10th? Would that have changed something? Maybe, maybe not. The end of the day, it was a good championship day, we finished in front of Josef [Newgarden] so that was good.”
BACK TO GREEN!🚦@AlexanderRossi AGAIN makes a move in Turn 2 on the OUTSIDE.👀
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