Alexander Rossi interview: From Amazing Race to racing for IndyCar title

Alexander Rossi got TV fame on The Amazing Race 30, but now he’s back hunting for the 2018 IndyCar season title. He told FanSided about both.

Alexander Rossi is off to a fast start in the 2018 Verizon IndyCar Series season. In two races, he’s finished on the podium twice, and currently sits second in the championship hunt.

It’s been a whirlwind time for Rossi, who earned his second victory in September at Watkins Glen, and then in October teamed up with Conor Daly for CBS‘s The Amazing Race 30.

“Team IndyCar” finished fourth on the reality show, with their last episode airing a month before Rossi rejoined Andretti Autosport for his third IndyCar campaign.

Now ahead of this weekend’s Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, FanSided connected with Alexander Rossi to discuss his 2018 IndyCar season and being back at his day job of driving faster than anyone else.

FanSided: What’s your general impression of the 2018 IndyCar season after these first two races — and podium finishes?

Alexander Rossi (AR): Right now I feel fantastic. I think [St. Petersburg] was an amazing start to the season for the whole championship and really validated everything that IndyCar did in the off season with this universal aero kit and such. It’s a very exciting time to be a part of the series through this transition, and obviously, to start off the year with a podium is a positive thing.

FanSided: Let’s talk about that aero kit. How much of a challenge has it been having to master such a major change in the car?

AR: We’re a lot busier. It’s not necessarily that guys are struggling, it’s just that you have to relearn a little bit [of] what we became so accustomed to. The driving style is pretty different because the car is moving around a lot more and you make lap time in different ways that we have in years past.

St. Pete was kind of an extended test session for all the teams because frankly, we didn’t have a lot of days on track with the car leading into St. Pete. So people are really still trying things out and learning and seeing what works and what doesn’t. Coming to Long Beach, our next street race, I think you’ll see kind of a restore to the order that you more or less would expect in terms of guys’ performances.

FanSided: The Grand Prix of Long Beach is an interesting event for you. You’ve driven better at Long Beach than your results indicate. So how do you approach the event? Do you come in with confidence, even though the numbers aren’t there yet?

AR: Absolutely. Last year, we had a pretty good shot to win and it wasn’t meant to be, so I think we have a very strong package there. It’s a track that I love driving on and an event that you know, we all love being a part of and love going to, so there’s definitely a lot of excitement to get back there and to kind of try and redeem ourselves a little bit and to get that win that we felt that we could have last year.

FanSided: You’re from California, so is there some added excitement about the first California race on the 2018 IndyCar season calendar?

AR: It’s great to be able to come back to California. It’s a beautiful weekend and everyone’s super stoked about being there. I do have quite a bit of friends and family that make the trip down from Northern California, so it’s a wonderful event and I’m really looking forward to it.

FanSided: This is your third IndyCar season, and you’ve shown marked improvement in your championship pursuit every year. What’s the secret to Alexander Rossi’s success?

AR: The entire team has made gains, to be honest. Andretti was really struggling in 2016 with quite a few different things and we made big changes in the offseason in terms of personnel and kind of our methodology and approach to car setup.