The lead change summary in the box score from today’s ABC Supply 500 reads like a phone book. If only 10 names were repeated again and again, that is.
One of those recurring names – Alexander Rossi – appeared more than most.
Rossi led seven times for 44 laps before finishing third at Pocono Raceway, just 0.7112 of a second behind Will Power, who beat Team Penske teammate Josef Newgarden to the finish line by 0.5268 of a second.
The most interesting thing about Rossi’s podium finish? The fuel trim knob on his No. 98 Andretti Autosport/Curb Honda broke midway through the race, leaving him helpless to adjust the car’s fuel mixture.
“We were stuck in the mix, and it certainly wasn’t optimum,” Rossi said. “It made restarts challenging, and definitely at the end when the two guys in front of me were pushing quite hard. We didn’t have all of our full-on power, which is usually quite strong around here. It was a bit unfortunate.”
Before the malfunction, though, Rossi appeared to have the strongest car in the race. Starting from the sixth position, he first found his way to the front on Lap 12, then proceeded to accumulate all 44 of his leading laps within the first 114 circuits of the 200-lap race.
“We got right to the front from the beginning, which was positive,” Rossi said. “Really, it was our race to control at that point from a fuel standpoint. … Being on the podium backs up kind of the form we know we have on superspeedways, and it’s good momentum going into the last few races.”
It also was good momentum for the series’ recent record of back-and-forth racing on superspeedways. Nearly half of the 22-car field led laps, and there were 42 lead changes overall – a Pocono race record. All of which made Rossi happy.
“I had a smile on my face the whole race,” he said. “It’s rare that you don’t driving Indy cars, especially at a track as awesome as this. I had fun for the entire race, and any time you’re leading, there’s some satisfaction that goes with it.”
“It’s also a double-edged sword around here because you’re not making very good fuel numbers, so you want a lead just because it makes you happy, but then your crew is like, ‘You shouldn’t be doing this.’ There’s a balance to that, like everything.”
As teams and drivers turn their focus to Saturday’s Bommarito Automotive Group 500 presented by Valvoline at Gateway Motorsports Park in Madison, Illinois, Rossi stands eighth in the Verizon IndyCar Series standings. He is 100 points behind Newgarden, who leads second-place Scott Dixon by 18 points.
“At the end of the day, it was a strong showing for Andretti Autosport,” said Rossi, the 2016 Indianapolis 500 winner. “We validated what we’re capable of on the superspeedways. But it’s difficult to beat these guys, so we’re going to keep working at it and hopefully get it done the next few races.”
source: indycar.com