The win allowed team owner Michael Andretti to celebrate in the 100th running of a race that has tormented his family. And making this one of the more unusual rookie wins in the history of the Indianapolis 500, Rossi accomplished the feat by crossing the finish line on little more than fumes in the 100th running of the iconic vehicle race.
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“It’s obviously a huge honor and privilege, something I’m going to carry with a great sense of responsibility”, Rossi said.
“We’ve had our struggles. I’m just happy to get to the end of one”.
1 Oval race Rossi had run anywhere in any series before Sunday.
“I saw that he was very confident going into the race”.
Alexander Rossi outlasted his faster rivals – and his fuel tank – for a stunning victory Sunday in the historic 100th running of “The Greatest Spectacle In Racing”.
“Today’s gut-wrenching just because I think I had a winning vehicle”, Newgarden said.
The 24-year-old Californian spent three years as an F1 test driver and raced five times last year, then switched to IndyCar and used a fuel-saving run to take a shocking 200-lap triumph on the 4km Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval. No other auto had gone more than 31 laps between stops Sunday; Rossi went 36 on his final stint.
Rossi said his team, including owners Michael Andretti and Bryan Herta, “rolled the dice and came through and made it happen”.
Rossi stretched his fuel to the finish before running out of gas after taking the checkered flag. “It’s been a new experience for me”, said Rossi. “I was like, ‘Wow, I need to see a psychiatrist after this'”.
Even more incredible: That Hunter-Reay and Bell coming together in the pits actually helped Rossi, who drafted off Hunter-Reay as a back marker in the closing laps, thereby saving precious drops of fuel. They couldn’t catch Rossi, with Munoz finishing second just ahead of Newgarden.
“Things worked out incredibly well for me to come here and work with Andretti Autosport”.
“I was really disappointed when it comes to fuel and you lose the race because of that”, an emotional Munoz told the AP. “Half a lap short, that’s what it took”.
“I mean, man, it’s hard not to say the wrong thing”.
Sure. An American kid who left America came back to win 100th 500 for an American whose family name is synonymous mostly with heartache here.
Everyone laughed. Curveballs. And none more wicked than Rossi himself, an American who chose to follow the path least followed by Americans, leaving California at 16 for Europe to pursue Formula One.
Although he’s a relief driver for Manor Racing in F1, Rossi has no scheduled F1 races and IndyCar right now is his top commitment. He now drives for Brian Herta in partnership with Andretti Autosport. “Everyone was on different strategies, and they played that strategy”.
Newgarden, along with Hunter-Reay, Bell, Kanaan and James Hinchcliffe, had the strongest cars most of the race.
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Hinchcliffe, the polesitter who missed this race previous year after a near-fatal accident in a practice session, faded to seventh despite being one of the best cars in the field.
