Alexander Rossi enjoys first INDYCAR victory since before pandemic; Noblesville’s Conor Daly mounts comeback, but it was not enough
By RICHIE HALL
SPEEDWAY – The predominant emotion for Alexander Rossi after he finished the Gallagher Grand Prix Saturday was relief.
Rossi had been trying to end a long winless drought for nearly three years, and he finally succeeded at the Grand Prix. The 30-year-old Californian dominated the second half of the race and went on to claim his first NTT INDYCAR Series victory since 2019.
It was an interesting circle for Rossi. He came to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2016 for the first time and walked away as a rookie champion. This was his first-ever road course victory at the Speedway, and it came at a great time.
Two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Takuma Sato was one of the drivers in the Gallagher Grand Prix. (Reporter photo by Kirk Green)
Rossi assumed the lead on Lap 42. His Andretti Autosport teammate Colton Herta had been running in front and running pretty well. But mechanical problems sent him back to pit lane and ended his race prematurely. Once Rossi got the lead, he stayed in front by a comfortable margin until the checkered flag.
“It’s a relief, man,” said Rossi. “It’s been so many things for so long, and I do feel for Colton, I do. But I’m happy, like, thankfully something came our way.”
The race was relatively uneventful, save for Herta’s sudden exit. Only five of the 85 laps were run under caution. Dalton Kellett caused two laps of yellow when he went off course early, then Simon Pagenaud went off on Lap 35, causing three laps of caution. Pagenaud and Herta were the only two drivers unable to finish the race.
Felix Rosenqvist, the pole winner, led the first seven laps before Herta took over Lap 8. Scott McLaughlin and Will Power also led laps before Herta grabbed the lead back on Lap 31. He led until Lap 42, when the mechanical issues began.
After that, it was all Rossi. Despite his winless streak, Rossi never lost confidence. He felt as if his race pace was the best of anyone else, and Rossi was asked that question during the post-race interview on NBC.
“I think (Herta) was definitely strong,” said Rossi. “Obviously we have pretty much the same race car. So it would’ve been interesting. I don’t want to take anything away from what he did from ninth to get to that position, it was incredible. But it was the 27’s turn, so that’s awesome.”
The victory at the Gallagher Grand Prix was the eighth of Rossi’s career.
Alex Palou finished 10th at the Gallagher Grand Prix. (Reporter photo by Kirk Green)
Christian Lundgaard, the Danish driver competing in his rookie season, finished a strong second to Rossi. Lundgaard stayed close to Rossi during the latter half of the race, moving into the runner-up position by Lap 45 and staying there from that point forward. He cut Rossi’s advantage to 2.7 seconds during the last few laps, but eventually finished 3.5441 seconds behind the winner. Lundgaard, who turned 21 last week, thus finished on the podium for the first time in 10 INDYCAR races.
“I think the result speaks for itself,” said Lundgaard when asked about the progress he was making. “This weekend we knew we had a strong car. I wasn’t so happy in practice. I think that was definitely something that we found there. And when we roll into qualifying with my last year’s car. Look here we are.”
Power placed third, his 85th INDYCAR podium finish. He led the race for seven laps in between McLaughlin and Herta, eventually settled in third place, and held off McLaughlin for the second half of the race to get a podium spot.
“A great recovery, man,” said Power. “You can never expect a normal day in INDYCAR. Everyone is very aggressive, and it’s so hard to win in this series. It’s the toughest series in the world. Great job by the Verizon 5G guys. It’s amazing we can go back there and recover all the way to third.”
McLaughlin finished in fourth place, with Josef Newgarden taking fifth.
Noblesville’s Conor Daly talks with his team after finishing the Gallagher Grand Prix Race. Daly had a frustrating day but managed to finish in 17th place. (Reporter photo by Kirk Green)
Noblesville’s Conor Daly endured a frustrating day. He was running in sixth place during the early part of the race, but stalled out in pit lane, knocking him to the back of the field. Daly was able to work his way back, but eventually finished in 17th place.
ALLMENDINGER WINS PENNZOIL 150
A.J. Allmendinger was the winner at the Pennzoil 150, the NASCAR Xfinity Series that took place after the Grand Prix race. Alex Bowman placed second, 2.084 seconds behind Allmendinger.
2013 Indianapolis 500 starter Allmendinger beat Alex Bowman’s No. 17 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet to the finish line by 2.084 seconds on the 14-turn, 2.439-mile road course. Justin Allgaier, who won the Xfinity Series race in 2018 at IMS, finished third in the No. 7 BRANDT/Precision Build Chevrolet.
Allmendinger rallied from a slow pit stop on Lap 16 of the 62-lap race that dropped him from the lead to 14th place. He took the lead for good on Lap 45.
The main NASCAR race, the Verizon 200, takes place this afternoon, with the green flag at 2:30 p.m.
A.J. Allmandinger and his friends kiss the bricks after Allmandinger won the Pennzoil 150 NASCAR Xfinity Series race. (Reporter photo by Kent Graham)
Race Results
INDIANAPOLIS – Results Saturday of the Gallagher Grand Prix NTT INDYCAR SERIES event on the 2.439-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course, with order of finish, starting position in parentheses, driver, engine, laps completed and reason out (if any):
1. (2) Alexander Rossi, Honda, 85, Running
2. (6) Christian Lundgaard, Honda, 85, Running
3. (4) Will Power, Chevrolet, 85, Running
4. (15) Scott McLaughlin, Chevrolet, 85, Running
5. (5) Josef Newgarden, Chevrolet, 85, Running
6. (8) Rinus VeeKay, Chevrolet, 85, Running
7. (17) Graham Rahal, Honda, 85, Running
8. (20) Scott Dixon, Honda, 85, Running
9. (1) Felix Rosenqvist, Chevrolet, 85, Running
10. (7) Alex Palou, Honda, 85, Running
11. (25) Marcus Ericsson, Honda, 85, Running
12. (3) Pato O’Ward, Chevrolet, 85, Running
13. (11) David Malukas, Honda, 85, Running
14. (19) Callum Ilott, Chevrolet, 85, Running
15. (18) Takuma Sato, Honda, 85, Running
16. (22) Romain Grosjean, Honda, 85, Running
17. (10) Conor Daly, Chevrolet, 85, Running
18. (14) Devlin DeFrancesco, Honda, 85, Running
19. (16) Helio Castroneves, Honda, 85, Running
20. (13) Jack Harvey, Honda, 85, Running
21. (24) Dalton Kellett, Chevrolet, 84, Running
22. (23) Jimmie Johnson, Honda, 84, Running
23. (21) Kyle Kirkwood, Chevrolet, 84, Running
24. (9) Colton Herta, Honda, 42, Mechanical
25. (12) Simon Pagenaud, Honda, 34, Off Course
Race Statistics
Winner’s average speed: 114.483 mph
Time of Race: 01:48:39.1825
Margin of victory: 3.5441 seconds
Cautions: 2 for 5 laps
Lead changes: 5 among 5 drivers
Lap Leaders:
Rosenqvist 1 – 7
Herta 8 – 13
McLaughlin 14 – 23
Power 24 – 30
Herta 31 – 41
Rossi 42 – 85
NTT INDYCAR SERIES Point Standings:
Power 431, Ericsson 422, Newgarden 399, Dixon 393, O’Ward 385, Palou 379, McLaughlin 350, Rossi 318, Rosenqvist 299, Herta 285, VeeKay 282, Rahal 274, Pagenaud 262, Grosjean 259, Lundgaard 248, Daly 236, Malukas 221, Castroneves 207, Sato 199, Ilott 166, Johnson 166, Harvey 158, DeFrancesco 151, Kirkwood 133, Kellett 103, Tony Kanaan 78, Santino Ferrucci 71, Ed Carpenter 67, Tatiana Calderon 58, JR Hildebrand 53, Juan Pablo Montoya 44, Simona De Silvestro 21, Marco Andretti 17, Sage Karam 14, Stefan Wilson 10.