By David Morgan, Associate Editor
INDIANAPOLIS – It’s been a long time coming, but Alexander Rossi is finally back on top of the podium in an NTT IndyCar Series race after scoring the victory in Saturday’s Gallagher Grand Prix at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Since Rossi last won at Road America in June 2019, 49 races and 1,133 days have elapsed, but that clock now resets back to zero for the driver of the No. 27 Andretti Autosport Honda.
“It’s a lot of relief I think is the main word,” Rossi said. “We’ve had some race wins that we’ve thrown away for sure, and we’ve had some weekends where we’ve just kind of not had the pace, and for whatever reason.
“I think that we knew things were trending in a good direction this year, and we had a solid test here a month or so ago. I think the one constant has been just the mental strength of the whole team. As challenging as it is for me, it’s also hard for them. They go in every day and work their butts off, and when they don’t get results, it’s hard for them, as well.
“I think as a unit, that’s one of our strengths is being able to continue to just push forward. It’s a big team win and a big thank you to the whole organization. Obviously the cars were fast.”
Rossi showed speed throughout the weekend, rocketing to the top of the board in practice on Friday morning and then backing it up with a second-place qualifying run later in the afternoon.
That speed rolled right into race day as Rossi slotted in behind his Andretti teammate Colton Herta for the majority of the first half of the race, but when Herta retired from the race on lap 42 due to a mechanical failure, Rossi ascended to the lead.
After taking over the top spot, Rossi would be undeterred, leading the last 44 laps of the race and taking the victory handily by more than three seconds over second-place finisher Christian Lundgaard.
Will Power finished third to round out the podium finishers, with his Team Penske teammates Scott McLaughlin and Josef Newgarden finishing fourth and fifth, respectively.
Rossi’s win comes in his last season for Andretti, before he heads off to Arrow McLaren SP starting in 2023, making Saturday’s win even more special as he was able to visit victory lane again with the team before saying goodbye at season’s end.
“It’s been hard for all of us,” Rossi said. “It’s been hard for Michael. It’s been hard for Rob, the sponsors. When we started…
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