After dominating the 2019 REV Group Grand Prix, it would be the same Road America venue that saw Alexander Rossi finally end a horrible run of luck with a third place finish in the second race of the REV Group Grand Prix Presented by AMR Doubleheader.
Rossi hasn’t led a single lap since that world class performance in 2019 and his luck was not great to start this new season, either.
At the Genesys 300, Rossi dealt with mechanical issues just before the race started, and had to fight through penalties to finish 15th. At the GMR Grand Prix, he developed a fuel pressure problem during the race that they were unable to fix, forcing Rossi to retire.
His first race at Road America wasn’t much better, as he went off track in turn 13 on the opening lap, smashing a sponsor board and forcing him to pit, effectively ending his day. Later in the race, contact with Carlin’s Max Chilton caused a flat tire and a broken left front steering arm.
Sunday was much kinder to the Andretti Autosport driver, as he qualified fifth and had a quietly quick performance, allowing him to grab his first podium of the season behind the thrilling battle between Patricio “Pato” O’Ward and Felix Rosenqvist for the win.
After the race, Rossi commented on finally getting his season started.
“After the last couple races, it’s good to finish on the lead lap,” he said.
“There has never been a question of our commitment and determination, and I think that was on display today. We just kept our heads down and kept working at it. It was good to get some momentum going, at least.
“Our season started later than others, but we’re going to take this to Iowa next weekend and hopefully continue on this trend.”
Next up is Iowa Speedway for Rossi and the NTT Data INDYCAR Series. Rossi has three top-10 finishes at Iowa since he joined the series in 2016, and feels confident in the momentum the team now has.
“[Iowa] hasn’t been one of our best tracks, but we’re going to change that this year,” he declared.
