Valuable Points in Iowa Doubleheader
The IndyCar Series dove headfirst into a hot doubleheader weekend at Iowa Speedway. Alexander Rossi, who has had an uncharacteristically poor start to the season, is coming off a podium finish at Road America. But in a span of three races and a pair of top-tens in Iowa, he moved from 23rd to 10th in the Championship.
In race 1, the No. 27 machine started 6th and finished 5th. "I think our car was alright," said Rossi. "I think we went on the strategy to win the race but we didn't have the car to do that amount of laps. Ultimately, it was the right strategy but the wrong car for that strategy. Our strength was the first 30-40 laps of the stint, but then we couldn’t look after the tires like the people that beat us. It’s disappointing because I thought that the AutoNation / NAPA team was looking good for at least a podium, but it slipped away from us with tire degradation.”
In race 2, Rossi started a dismal 21st, but rallied back to finish 8th. “Everyone hung in there," said Rossi, who had ran as high as fifth.
"The AutoNation / NAPA guys were awesome in the pits again, which is so great and such a reward for their hard work this offseason – couldn’t have done that without them. Rob had a good strategy call to get us back on the lead lap. Ultimately, I think it was an okay day considering where we started. I think we were a little bit worse in some places than yesterday and a little bit better in some places. I think, ultimately, we just had an eighth-place car so that’s the way it went. We’ll keep marching forward.”
