IndyCar: Road America was Alexander Rossi’s worst statistical track

By Asher Fair | Jun 24, 2019

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - MAY 27: Alexander Rossi, driver of the #27 NAPA Auto Parts Honda is introduced prior to the 102nd Running of the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motorspeedway on May 27, 2018 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images) /

The fact that Road America was historically Alexander Rossi’s worst statistical track on the IndyCar schedule did not prevent him from dominating Sunday’s race there.

The theme of the 2019 IndyCar season for Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden had been the success that he has had at tracks that had previously been some of his worst statistical tracks on the IndyCar schedule.

He had earned three victories in the season’s first nine races, and he had never won at any of the three tracks where he earned these victories. Two of these tracks were among his worst tracks when looking at all of his average finishing positions and his best finishes, track by track.

However, with several of the remaining tracks on this year’s schedule being tracks at which he has had a ton of success, the focus began to turn to just how high Newgarden’s ceiling would be given the fact that he already had a 25-point lead (367 to 342) over Andretti Autosport’s Alexander Rossi in the championship standings heading into this past Sunday’s race at Road America, arguably Newgarden’s overall best track.

That then led to a similar realization for Rossi, although it flew a lot more under the radar; many of his best tracks still remained on the 2019 schedule as well, making it look like the championship battle would turn into a two-driver battle between the two young Americans.

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But while he ran in the top five at Road America for much of last season’s race at the track before a mechanical issue relegated him to a 16th place finish, this track was not one of these tracks.

Of the 16 different tracks on this year’s 17-race schedule, 14 are tracks at which Rossi had previously competed entering the season. His average top finish at these tracks, excluding Road America, was 3.08, and his worst top finish at them was eighth place at Portland International Raceway. His top finish at Road America, meanwhile, was 13th, which he recorded in the 2017 season.

Excluding Road America, his average finishing position in 39 career starts at these tracks was 8.46. His average finishing position at Road America in three career starts, meanwhile, was 14.67, his worst at an individual track on this year’s schedule.

So what did Rossi do in this past Sunday’s REV Group Grand Prix at Road America?

All he did was start in second place, take the lead on the opening lap, hold the lead except during one pit stop and lead 54 of the race’s 55 laps around the 14-turn, 4.048-mile (6.515-kilometer) Road America natural terrain road course in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin en route to a blistering 28.439-second victory over Team Penske’s Will Power in second place, a margin of victory that has not been topped since 2009.

Newgarden, who entered this race with an average finishing position of 3.67 in three starts at Road America, lowered this average to 3.50 with an impressive third place finish. But he and Power were simply blown away by what Rossi was able to do, and this was illustrated clearly by the looks on their faces after the race.

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Seven tracks remain on this year’s IndyCar schedule, including six at which Alexander Rossi has previously competed. His average finishing position in 15 career starts at these six tracks is 7.53. In the last two seasons, it is 5.18 in 11 starts. Last season alone, it was 4.83 in six starts.

Given what he just pulled off at what was statistically his worst track on the schedule, this is beyond what you might call a scary thought for the rest of the field.