Rossi Gains 7 Spots in Detroit Race 2
DETROIT, MI (June 4, 2017) – Alexander Rossi is the master at grinding out top ten finishes in the deeply talented Verizon IndyCar Series. When a small mistake in qualifying led to a P14 spot on the gird, Rossi battled back to finish seventh.
“(Qualifying) this morning really hurt because we went out on used tires for the one-lap shootout after the red flag, and that was the wrong decision," said Rossi. "So, we started 14th instead of towards the front."
Race strategy was in play, as the team spent the afternoon discussing options for climbing back towards the front for valuable points. Rossi sits seventh in the Championship, within digits of the top five.
"In the race, we had to really make the most of the first stint on blacks and I think we did," said Rossi. "We made the reds last a long time as well, so I think the car was quite a bit better than yesterday. I think seventh was a decent result considering we started 14th and it’s pretty hard to pass here.”
"Qualifying was a disappointment so we decided on an aggressive strategy for the the race," said Rob Edwards, Strategist for No. 98 and Chief Operating Officer for Andretti Autosport. "Alex executed with both speed and fuel mileage, and we got up the sixth before losing a lot of time behind Aleshin which separated us the the top five. To be honest, we hoped for more, but we'll take the points and move on to Texas."
Graham Rahal, who won round one on Saturday, took home another victory for Honda and Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. Team Penske's Josef Newgarden and Will Power were second and third respectively. Rossi finished fifth in yesterday's race.
The teams travel to Texas Motor Speedway next weekend for the third oval of the season.
For a complete race-week schedule, CLICK HERE. Watch live practices on INDYCAR's YouTube channel or racecontrol.indycar.com.
