INDYCAR.COM - ROSSI BELIEVES HE IS IN 'GOOD PLACE' FOR 2019 TITLE BID
INDYCAR.COM - When Alexander Rossi reflects on finishing second to Scott Dixon in the 2018 NTT IndyCar Series championship, the Andretti Autosport driver realizes how he took an important step forward that bodes well for the future.
The 27-year-old Californian showed up at each race knowing he could win. In his previous two seasons, Rossi didn’t think that was always the case.
That’s why he sounds so much more confident in making a run at the title this season.
“We finished every race, so we didn’t have like catastrophic days,” Rossi said. “We had the same amount of wins as (Dixon, three) and I think the same amount of podiums (Dixon had nine, Rossi eight). But when I would finish like 11th, he would finish fourth. That’s just what he does. He’s won five championships for a reason. He’s one of the best that’s ever done it.
“In the past if I was in an opportunity to win, I had to win because I might not get that opportunity for four or 14 months,” the driver of the No. 27 NAPA AUTO PARTS Honda added. “But now, with the place that Andretti is at, the place I’m at, the place Honda is at, the cars being virtually the same this year to last year, if you’re having a day where you’re fourth or fifth, it’s OK because theoretically next week you should be just as strong.”
Rossi won three races (Long Beach, Mid-Ohio and Pocono) with one second, four thirds, a fourth and a fifth to push Dixon to the limit in a final-race showdown. Dixon finished...[READ THE REST ON INDYCAR.COM]
