Alexander Rossi furious after IndyCar leaves him stranded on 170mph straight

The ECR driver was put in a dangerous position getting out of the car without the protection of a full course yellow

Alexander Rossi took umbrage with a hybrid issue that left him stranded on the frontstretch of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, which was only furthered after Race Control failed to throw a full course caution as he tried to exit his #20 ECR Chevrolet as cars whizzed by at over 170mph.

After 21 laps during Saturday’s Sonsio Grand Prix, the California native was left stranded on the frontstretch of the 14-turn, 2.439-mile IMS road course circuit. Instead of throwing a full course caution, however, Race Control opted for a local yellow instead, and this after a chunk of debris from another vehicle had already occupied another part of the race track for several laps.

Two laps later, as Rossi had steering wheel in hand and clearly unbuckled while trying to extract himself from his vehicle, he got out despite the danger and left race officials to finally throw a full course caution. Rossi jumped over the wall onto pit lane and began walking to his timing stand.

“It’s pretty annoying to have failures on the car because of a product we didn't ask for that doesn't improve the racing,” Rossi said. “So that's frustrating."

Rossi, who ended up finishing 24th on the day once the manic race concluded, also voiced his displeasure at the lack of a full course caution prior to him getting out of the car and being left in a vulnerable position, while qualifying was postponed on Friday due to standing water.

"Second of all, the fact that it took that long to throw a full course caution when the cars on the front straight were going by at 170 miles an hour also seems insane when they don't let us drive in the wet yesterday,” he said.

“So, I don't really know where the priorities lie. So, pretty frustrated.”

IndyCar responds

IndyCar Officiating later released the following statement on the incident:

"Following every race weekend, IndyCar Officiating thoroughly reviews and evaluates all procedures and processes. This will include the incidents involving debris and car No. 20 during today’s race on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course."