Alexander Rossi sees Indy 500 hopes go up in flames on pit road

IndyCar operator Alexander Rossi was having an unthinkable time astatine the Indianapolis 500 arsenic helium was competing toward the beforehand of the pack, but it each ended successful the blink of an eye.

On Lap 73, Rossi’s conveyance began to leak fluid from the back. It was causing problems for Alex Palou, who was instantly down Rossi’s No. 20. Rossi entered the pits and was told the unit would instrumentality a infinitesimal to fig retired what was going connected with his car.

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Alexander Rossi, operator of the #20 ECR Java House Chevrolet, leaves his car arsenic it catches connected occurrence connected pit roadworthy during the NTT IndyCar Series109th Running Of The Indianapolis 500 astatine Indianapolis Motor Speedway connected May 25, 2025, successful Indianapolis, Indiana. (James Gilbert/Getty Images)

Rossi pulled into his pit box, and his car was covered successful flames. He rushed retired of his cockpit arsenic officials came implicit to extinguish the fire. Rossi got retired of the car and threw his gloves down to the ground. 

Rossi’s fueler Mike Miller needed to beryllium attended to arsenic well, arsenic helium inactive had flames connected him successful the pits. He appeared to beryllium OK arsenic the contented was being taken attraction of.

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A occurrence is enactment retired portion Ed Carpenter Racing operator Alexander Rossi (20) is successful the pits Sunday, May 25, 2025, during the 109th moving of the Indianapolis 500 astatine Indianapolis Motor Speedway. (Doug McSchooler/for IndyStar / USA Today Network via Imagn Images)

"Thankfully Mike’s OK too. It’s ever a unspeakable concern and it’s truthful disappointing," Rossi told FOX from his pit box. "That was specified a phenomenal racecar, and the squad made a large determination to enactment retired determination erstwhile that archetypal divided happened with the strategy, and everything we were doing connected the 20 Java House basal was awesome. That’s what’s truthful achy astir this time is you got to person truthful galore things spell right. It’s conscionable disappointing due to the fact that it’s different accidental gone."

Rossi said the gearbox’s somesthesia started to summation arsenic the contention went on, and helium believed that was astatine slightest 1 of the reasons wherefore his conveyance went up successful flames.

The erstwhile winners of the Indianapolis 500, apical row, near to right, Alexander Rossi, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Helio Castroneves, of Brazil, and Marcus Ericsson, of Sweden, bottommost row, Will Power, of Australia, Josef Newgarden, Scott Dixon, of New Zealand, and Takuma Sato, of Japan, airs for a photograph connected the start/finish enactment earlier signifier for the Indianapolis 500 car contention astatine the Indianapolis Motor Speedway successful Indianapolis, Monday, May 19, 2025.  (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

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Rossi won the race successful 2016. He finished 4th successful 2024 and 5th successful 2023 and 2022.

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