Alexander Rossi announced at Media Day that he is cleared to drive in the 110th running of the Indianapolis 500.
Rossi suffered an ankle injury in a crash during Monday’s practice session. He will drive a backup car, which is the car he drove in last year’s race and contended for the win until a pit fire took him out of the race.
The boot he wore on Tuesday and Wednesday is gone, but he is using crutches.
Per IndyCar rules, Rossi retains his middle of the front row starting position.
Pit Stop Challenge Bracket
16 car/driver combinations will compete in an expanded Pit Stop Challenge on Carb Day tomorrow.
Alexander Rossi will have the cast removed from his ankle today, and he will be reevaluated. The backup car being prepared is the one h drove in last year’s 500. Rossi was in contention until an issue in the pits caused him to drop out. I hope we hear something by the end of the day.
The number 5 McLaren of Pato O’ward will be a rebuilt backup car as well. O’Ward’s didn’t appear to be as badly damaged as Rossi’s, but apparently it was extensive enough to warrant going to a backup car.
Pit Selections
Interesting choice by Rossi, picking clean entry over clear exit. All three Penske cars took clear exit pits.
We are waiting to see when he will be cleared to drive. The team will go to a backup car and retain their starting spot if he is able to go. If not, the car moves to 31st. Callum Ilott is likely to be his replacement. Chevy will make it happen.
Lightning halted what was an intense, hectic practice session after an hour and m18 minutes. The day after qualifying practice saw lots of running in traffic. Pole sitter Alex Palou was one of the last cars to get on track.
Josef Newgarden had the fastest lap,. 226.198 mph, when practice was stopped due to lightning in the area.
Thirty minutes into the session, the track’s 2026 incident free streak ended with a serious crash in turn 2 involving Alexander Rossi, Pato O’Ward, and Romain Grosjean. Rossi went too low in turn 2, spun hard into the outside wall, lifting the front of his car.
O’Ward spun trying to avoid Rossi, bit slammed into the side of Rossi’s car/ Romain Grosjean also spun to avoid the incident, brushing the wall and sliding to the grass on the inside of the track.
The older I get. the more accidents like this bother me. I am thankful for the safety innovations IndyCar has implemented. A look at Rossi’s aeroscreen after today’s incident shows that the safety features work.
O’Ward and Grosjean were seen and released by the medical staff. Rossi was sent to a local hospital for further evaluation. I will post an update as soon as I have one.
I took a couple of photos of both cars. O’Ward’s looks repairable. I’m not sure Rossi’s is. Replacing the car is allowed and if rossi is cleared to drive, he will keep his number two starting spot. If Rossi is unable to drive, the car will move to the rear of the field.
AVONDALE, Arizona (Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026) – Alexander Rossi’s last oval victory in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES came in August 2018 at Pocono Raceway. There’s a strong chance that drought may end in 2026, based on the results of the second and final day of the Unser INDYCAR Open Test at Phoenix Raceway on Wednesday. Rossi led both sessions on the 1-mile oval, including the fastest overall lap
2016 Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge winner Rossi turned his best lap of 174.542 mph in the No. 20 ECR Java House Chevrolet during the afternoon session, which started 90 minutes late due to passing sprinkles. He also led this morning at 174.444. “We got through everything we wanted, and when you can do that, it’s a good day,” Rossi said. “Christian’s (Rasmussen) car is also strong, so there’s nothing more I could ask for.”
All 25 drivers expected to compete at the season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on Sunday, March 1 tested both days at Phoenix, which returns to the NTT INDYCAR SERIES for the first time since 2018 with the Good Ranchers 250 on Saturday, March 7
.“We have a good baseline, and it feels like we are on top of it,” Rossi said of ECR’s Phoenix setups.
Two-time series champion Josef Newgarden ended up second overall at 174.362 in the No. 2 XPEL Team Penske Chevrolet with his best lap this morning. Newgarden was second fastest Tuesday on the opening day of the test at 172.201 behind new teammate David Malukas, as 24 drivers posted faster laps today than Tuesday.
Reigning and four-time series champion Alex Palou was third overall at 174.220 in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. ECR landed both of its drivers in the top four overall, as 2025 Milwaukee Mile winner Christian Rasmussen followed Palou at 173.924, good for second in the afternoon session behind teammate Rossi.
Malukas continued his strong oval form in his early days with Team Penske, rounding out the top five overall at 173.759 in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet.Formula One veteran Mick Schumacher continued to make steps in his oval racing education by ending up the fastest rookie over both days. He turned a top lap of 171.096 mph in the No. 47 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda today to lead the three rookies in the field and end up 18th overall. Schumacher gained more than 7 mph today, as his top lap Tuesday was 164.006.
There was just one incident today. 2022 Indianapolis 500 winner Marcus Ericsson was unhurt 49 minutes into the afternoon session when his No. 28 Delaware Life Honda fielded by Andretti Global did a quarter-spin in Turn 4 and hit the SAFER Barrier with the rear of the car. Over two days of testing, 25 drivers turned 4,853 laps. Series veteran Will Power was the workhorse, turning a test-high 259 laps – more than the race distance March 7 – as he settles into Andretti Global after 16 full-time seasons with Team Penske.
INDIANAPOLIS, IN (September 25, 2024) – Ed Carpenter Racing (ECR) announced today the team’s driver lineup for the 2025 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season. Indianapolis 500 champion Alexander Rossi will join the team behind the wheel of the No. 20 Chevrolet for 2025 and Christian Rasmussen, who recently completed his rookie season with ECR, has been elevated to full-time driver of the No. 21 Chevrolet, both on multi-year deals. Team co-owner Ed Carpenter will round out ECR’s three-car lineup for the Indianapolis 500. This news comes on the heels of welcoming Heartland Food Products Group and their iconic brands, Splenda and Java House, to the ECR family. Carpenter is thrilled with both the addition of veteran Rossi and the future for Rasmussen. “It is an exciting day to not only welcome Alex to the team, but to extend our relationship with Christian,” said Carpenter. “We are very excited about our lineup, and other partnership announcements that will be forthcoming. As excited as I am about these additions, I also want to thank Rinus (VeeKay) for his five years with the team. It is always hard to say goodbye to a teammate and a friend, but I am confident that Rinus’ career will continue to blossom. As we look ahead to 2025 and beyond, I am fully focused on getting ECR back to new heights, winning races and contending for championships.” Rossi joins ECR after nine previous seasons in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES. Rossi has 30 career podium finishes, including eight victories, most notably the 2016 Indianapolis 500. The Nevada City, California native was the first American rookie to win since 1928. Rossi’s talent has taken him worldwide, with wins in F2, World Series by Renault, and the 24 Hours of Daytona along with starts in a Formula 1, the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the Baja 1000 and the Bathurst 1000. Rossi is eager to join his new team and begin preparations for the 2025 season. “I’m honored that Ed (Carpenter) and the entire ECR ownership group recognize the value I can bring to the team,” said Rossi. “Their commitment to excellence, along with the power of Chevrolet and the ambitious plans they have for the future made this opportunity impossible to pass up. I’m eager to get started and contribute to the team’s continued success.” Rasmussen’s performance in his rookie NTT INDYCAR SERIES season earned him the opportunity to continue with ECR in a full-time role. Rasmussen joined ECR in 2024 after winning three championships in four years, including the 2023 INDY NXT title. In his debut Indianapolis 500, he drove from 24th to 12th and was the highest finishing rookie in the field. While Carpenter was scheduled to drive the No. 20 in the final three oval races of 2024, he provided the seat to Rasmussen to continue his development. Though he had not driven a lap at the Milwaukee Mile prior, he finished just outside of the Top 10. At the season finale at Nashville Superspeedway, Rasmussen drove from 25th to 14th and secured a Leader’s Circle position for the No. 20. After a partial rookie year, Rasmussen is excited to race the full season next year. “I’m incredibly excited to earn a full-time role with Ed Carpenter Racing,” said Rasmussen. “My rookie year in INDYCAR was full of firsts, and I can’t wait to bring everything I’ve learned into my second season. I’m extremely grateful for this opportunity and looking forward to team up with Alexander (Rossi) to push the team forward and fight towards the front of the grid more consistently.” Carpenter will return to the driver’s seat in the team’s third entry for the 2025 Indianapolis 500, rounding out the team’s lineup. Additional announcements regarding the upcoming season will be made in due course. The 2025 NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship will begin March 2, 2025 in the downtown Streets of St. Petersburg, Florida.
About Ed Carpenter Racing Ed Carpenter Racing (ECR) first entered the NTT INDYCAR SERIES in 2012. The Indianapolis-based race team has proven its versatility by collecting eight wins across each type of track the series competes on – street and road courses, short ovals and speedways. ECR is led by IndyCar’s only team owner/driver, Ed Carpenter, three-time pole winner for the Indianapolis 500 (2013, 2014 and 2018). The 2025 season will see Carpenter compete in the 109th Running of the Indianapolis 500. The 2025 season will see Alexander Rossi in the No. 20 Chevrolet as he joins the team alongside returning Christian Rasmussen in the No. 21 Chevrolet. More information on Ed Carpenter Racing may be found at http://www.edcarpenterracing.com/.
Juri Vips will return to Indycar at Portland as Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing adds a fourth car, the 75 which Takuma Sato drove in the Indianapolis 500.
The team announcement:
ZIONSVILLE, Ind. (August 7, 2024) – Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (RLL) announced today that Estonian driver Juri Vips will return to NTT INDYCAR SERIES competition for his third start with the team at the BitNile.com Grand Prix of Portland on August 25. He competed for the team in Portland and Laguna Seca in 2023 and will pilot the No. 75 AMADA Honda in the team’s fourth entry in Portland, along with those for Graham Rahal, Pietro Fittipaldi and Christian Lundgaard.
This will mark his second race at Portland International Raceway, where he made his series debut in 2023. He started and finished 18th and used that experience to run up front the following weekend at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca where he was sixth fastest in Practice 1 and a mere -0.05 from advancing to the Firestone Fast Six on Saturday, qualifying seventh. After a six-grid penalty in the race for an unapproved engine change, he started 13th and was collected in a multi-car crash on the opening lap but soldiered on to finish 24th.
Vips first tested an Indy car for RLL on October 12, 2022, at Sebring International Raceway and again at Barber Motorsports Park on March 13, 2023, and has performed static simulator testing for RLL since 2023. AMADA was also the primary sponsor of the No. 75 Honda-powered entry for Takuma Sato at the 2024 Indianapolis 500.
The 2024 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season resumes with the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 on August 17 which will be broadcast live on USA beginning at 6:00 p.m. ET. All on-track action can be seen on NBC’s Peacock Premium streaming service. For more information about the series or team, visit http://www.indycar.com and http://www.rahal.com.
QUOTEBOARD:
BOBBY RAHAL, co-owner of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing: “We’re pleased to be able to run Juri in Portland for a number of reasons. For one, he showed at both Portland and Laguna Seca last year that he certainly has the pace to feature in any event he runs with us. He has done a lot of work for us in the simulator this year, which has helped us understand the hybrid system, so it’s nice to reward him for his effort. I’m hopeful that this will lead to more races for him with RLL.”
JURI VIPS, driver of the No. 75 AMADA Honda at Portland: “I’m very grateful to the team for giving me this opportunity. I have been working closely with the team on the simulator program and it has been a year since I have been in the car, but I’m confident that the experience gained last year at Portland and Laguna Seca will help me to get up to speed quickly. It will still be a very big challenge and one I am very much looking forward to.”
Alexander Rossi
Rossi Gets Thumbs Up from Indycar Medical
Arrow Mclaren announced today that Alexander Rossi has been cleared by Indycar medial to drive again, and he will be in the number 7 car at World Wide Technology Raceway the weekend of August 15- 16.
Rossi broke his left thumb in a practice crash in Toronto before the last race before the Olympic break. He had surgery the following Monday.
Theo Pourchaire will substitute for the injured Alexander Rossi in the number 7 car at Toronto. Rossi broke his right thumb in a practice crash yesterday.
The Pit Window by Mike Silver 