Alexander Rossi: The Rookie Who Won the 100th Indy 500
Welcome to the Happy Hour Racing IndyCar Driver Spotlight, where we pull one driver into the garage, look under the hood at their career, and tell you what makes them tick. This week: the number 20.
The Short Version
Alexander Rossi is an American open-wheel racer who got to Formula 1, got dropped out of it, and then won the biggest race in the world in his sixth try at IndyCar. He has 8 IndyCar wins, 7 poles and 31 podiums in 182 starts, and he came within 57 points of a championship in 2018. He drives the number 20 Chevrolet for Ed Carpenter Racing and is signed there through 2027. If you only know one thing about him, know this: he won the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500 on fuel he did not have.
From a Small California Town to Formula 1
Rossi was born September 25, 1991, in Auburn, California, and grew up in Nevada City, a Gold Rush town in the Sierra foothills with no racetrack to speak of. He started karting at 10, finished high school at 16, and moved to Europe at 17 with one goal, which was Formula 1. That is a long way to go on a bet, and for a while it looked like the bet had been lost.
He spent years as a test and reserve driver for Caterham and Marussia, close enough to the F1 paddock to smell it and never quite in a race seat. He won races in GP2, the top F1 feeder series at the time, including the last two of the 2015 season at Spa and Monza. Manor Marussia finally put him in the car for five grands prix that year. His best result was 12th at the United States Grand Prix in Austin, his home race, and he became the first American to start a Formula 1 race since Scott Speed in 2007.
Then the seat went away. Most drivers who get that close and lose it never find another top ride. Rossi found one in about four months.
The 100th Indy 500
Rossi came to IndyCar in 2016 with Andretti Herta Autosport and showed up at Indianapolis in May as a rookie nobody was picking. The 100th running of the Indianapolis 500 was the biggest edition of the biggest race there is, and he qualified 11th. What happened next is one of the great gambles in Indy history. With the leaders pitting inside the final ten laps, Rossi's crew told him to stay out and save fuel. He coasted, lifted, short-shifted, and inherited the lead on lap 197. He crossed the line 4.4975 seconds ahead of Carlos Munoz at an average speed of 166.634 mph, then ran dry on the cool-down lap and had to be towed back to Victory Lane, believed to be the only time the winner of that race got a tow to his own trophy.
He was 24, it was his sixth career IndyCar start, and he was the first rookie to win the 500 since 2001 and the first American rookie to win it since 1928. He took Rookie of the Year the same season.
The Andretti Years and the Title That Got Away
Rossi stayed at Andretti through 2022 and that is where he built the rest of his record. He won at Watkins Glen in 2017, then had the best season of his career in 2018 with wins at Long Beach, Mid-Ohio and Pocono. That year he also started the Indianapolis 500 in 32nd, dead last on the grid, and finished fourth.
The 2018 title came down to a double-points finale at Sonoma. He tore up his front wing and a tire on the opening lap, recovered to seventh, and lost the championship to Scott Dixon by 57 points. He followed it with wins at Long Beach and Road America in 2019 and a third-place points finish. His most recent victory came in 2022 on the Indianapolis road course, after which he moved to Arrow McLaren for 2023 and 2024 and then to Ed Carpenter Racing for 2025.
By the Numbers
Here is the career so far. Every figure below is an NTT IndyCar Series career total.
The Ed Carpenter Chapter
Rossi joined Ed Carpenter Racing and the number 20 Chevrolet for 2025, and 2026 was his second year there. It tested him in a way nothing else in his career had.
UPDATE: Alexander Rossi is being transported to a local hospital for further evaluation, per Dr. Julia Vaizer, INDYCAR medical director.
- NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) May 18, 2026
Rossi had already qualified second for the 2026 Indianapolis 500, on the front row, when he spun in Turn 2 during Monday practice and was collected by Pato O'Ward, with Romain Grosjean caught up in it as well. He had surgery that night on a finger on his left hand and came out of it with a non-weight-bearing right ankle injury. He was cleared to race three days later and said the obvious thing out loud, which was that you do not need to bear weight to drive a race car. He started from the front row on crutches and was lifted out of the car on lap 93 when it caught fire on pit lane.
The season ended better than it ran. At the Laguna Seca finale he started fourth, led four laps and finished third, his first podium with ECR and his first anywhere since 2024. He closed 15th in the standings with 307 points and five top-ten finishes, and he is signed to the number 20 for 2027.
Off the Track
Rossi lives in Indianapolis with his wife Kelly and their son Ben. He co-hosts the podcast "Off Track with Hinch and Rossi" with former IndyCar driver and broadcaster James Hinchcliffe, which is where fans hear the dry, blunt version of him that does not always make it to a TV interview. He holds a private pilot's license, as does his team co-owner Ed Carpenter, and he is a longtime TAG Heuer ambassador.
He races outside IndyCar too. He was part of the Wayne Taylor Racing lineup that won the Rolex 24 at Daytona in 2021, and he has run sports cars alongside his open-wheel career.
Fun Stats
- He won the Indy 500 in his sixth career IndyCar start, and he has not won it since.
- He is one of the few drivers to start a Formula 1 grand prix and win the Indianapolis 500.
- His 2018 Indy 500 run went from 32nd on the grid to fourth at the finish.
- His 1,038 career laps led are more than five full Indianapolis 500s worth of laps.
- He picked the number 53 in Formula 1 because of Herbie the Love Bug.
The Bottom Line
Alexander Rossi got told no by Formula 1 and answered it by winning the 100th Indianapolis 500 as a rookie, on an empty tank, in his sixth try. Ten years and 182 starts later he is still the guy you do not want behind you when the fuel numbers get interesting.
Shop the Story
We do not carry Alexander Rossi gear yet, so no made-up links here. What we do have is Indianapolis 500 and IndyCar gear, which is the next best thing for a driver whose whole career runs through that one race in May.
