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IndyCar: Watkins Glen race results – Alexander Rossi wins

By Asher Fair

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - MAY 29: Alexander Rossi of the United States, driver of the #98 Andretti Herta Autosport Honda Dallara, in action during the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motorspeedway on May 29, 2016 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - MAY 29: Alexander Rossi of the United States, driver of the #98 Andretti Herta Autosport Honda Dallara, in action during the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motorspeedway on May 29, 2016 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) /
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For the second time in his IndyCar career and first time this season, Alexander Rossi drove to Victory Lane, this time at Watkins Glen.

Andretti Herta Autosport’s Alexander Rossi took his second career IndyCar victory and first of the season in a surprisingly dry IndyCar Grand Prix at the Glen at the 11-turn, 3.37-mile Watkins Glen International natural terrain road course in Watkins Glen, New York. In doing so, he became the 10th different winner through 16 races this season.

Rossi, who started the race from the pole position, was dominant all race long before ultimately beating championship contender Scott Dixon to the finish line by 0.9514 seconds. Ryan Hunter-Reay finished the race in 3rd place, giving Andretti Autosport two of the top 3 finishers and giving Honda a podium sweep.

The win was Rossi’s first since he won the 2016 Indianapolis 500 in his rookie season. The win was Andretti Autosport’s first since they won this year’s Indy 500, and it was their first non-Indy 500 win since Hunter-Reay won at Pocono in 2015.

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The win was also Andretti Autosport’s first on a road course since Hunter-Reay won at Barber in 2014, and it was their first in a non-shortened road course race since he did so at Barber back in 2013.

The race featured a total of eight official lead changes among six different drivers. Rossi led over half the race, leading 32 of the race’s 60 laps. Helio Castroneves, Spencer Pigot, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Scott Dixon and Josef Newgarden also ran at the front of the field at various points throughout the race.

The race also featured a total of four caution flag periods for nine laps. The first caution flag of the race came out on lap 6 when James Hinchcliffe had a mechanical failure and stopped on the track in turn 9.

The second caution flag of the race came out on lap 15, when Takuma Sato slowed to a stop in turn 6. Sato then got back up to speed and spun out in turn 7 on lap 27, bringing out the race’s third caution flag.

The fourth and final caution flag of the race came during the race’s only contact incident, and it happened on pit lane on lap 46. Will Power passed Josef Newgarden exiting the pits, causing Newgarden’s brakes to lock up, sending him into the pit wall. He was then hit from behind by Sebastien Bourdais before Tony Kanaan also hit the pit wall behind them, ending his race.

Here are full race results from the 2017 IndyCar Grand Prix at the Glen.

  1. Alexander Rossi, #98, Andretti Herta Autosport, Honda
  2. Scott Dixon, #9, Chip Ganassi Racing, Honda
  3. Ryan Hunter-Reay, #28, Andretti Autosport, Honda
  4. Helio Castroneves, #3, Team Penske, Chevrolet
  5. Graham Rahal, #15, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, Honda
  6. Will Power, #12, Team Penske, Chevrolet
  7. Charlie Kimball, #83, Chip Ganassi Racing, Honda
  8. Max Chilton, #8, Chip Ganassi Racing, Honda
  9. Simon Pagenaud, #1, Team Penske, Chevrolet
  10. Carlos Munoz, #14, AJ Foyt Enterprises, Chevrolet
  11. Conor Daly, #4, AJ Foyt Enterprises, Chevrolet
  12. Spencer Pigot, #20, Ed Carpenter Racing, Chevrolet
  13. Ed Jones, #19, Dale Coyne Racing, Honda
  14. Jack Harvey, #7, Schmidt Peterson Motorsports, Honda
  15. JR Hildebrand, #21, Ed Carpenter Racing, Chevrolet
  16. Marco Andretti, #27, Andretti Autosport, Honda
  17. Sebastian Bourdais, #18, Dale Coyne Racing, Honda
  18. Josef Newgarden, #2, Team Penske, Chevrolet
  19. Takuma Sato, #26, Andretti Autosport, Honda
  20. Tony Kanaan, #10, Chip Ganassi Racing, Honda
  21. James Hinchcliffe, #5, Schmidt Peterson Motorsports, Honda

Next: Five replacement candidates for Takuma Sato in 2018

Who is your pick to win the final race of the 2017 IndyCar season at Sonoma, and who is your pick to win this year’s championship? Let us know in the comments below, and be sure to follow along with Beyond the Flag for the latest news, opinions and analysis stemming from a number of different motorsports series. You don’t want to miss any of it. Also be sure to follow Beyond the Flag on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.