{"id":1050,"date":"2026-05-21T21:37:17","date_gmt":"2026-05-21T21:37:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=1050"},"modified":"2026-05-21T21:37:17","modified_gmt":"2026-05-21T21:37:17","slug":"alexander-rossi-is-expected-to-start-the-indianapolis-500-after-medical-team-clears-him-to-drive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=1050","title":{"rendered":"Alexander Rossi is expected to start the Indianapolis 500 after medical team clears him to drive"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) \u2014 Alexander Rossi hobbled into his Indianapolis 500 media day interview on crutches Thursday.<\/p>\n

Read more Elliott Avent, NC State baseball coach for 30 years, retiring from \u2018dream job\u2019 at season\u2019s end<\/a><\/p>\n

\n He\u2019s still planning to start Sunday\u2019s big race.\n <\/p>\n

Three days after having surgery on his right ankle and the middle finger of his left hand following a crash, the Californian told reporters he\u2019d been cleared to drive and then spent most of his interview session playfully poking fun at questions about his health and himself.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have to be on crutches because it\u2019s a non-weight bearing injury, but fortunately to drive a race car, you don\u2019t have to bear weight,\u201d he said. \u201cRange of motion is good. Pain is minimal. Swelling, as you can see, I fit into my race boot, so good to go.\u201d<\/p>\n

He was injured early in Monday\u2019s practice when his car spun going through the second turn on the Brickyard\u2019s 2.5-mile oval. He slammed hard into the outside wall then took a second shot when the trailing Pato O\u2019Ward couldn\u2019t avoid hitting the side of Rossi\u2019s car.<\/p>\n

Rossi, the 2016 Indy winner, was eventually transferred to a local hospital where he had surgery Monday night. Rossi\u2019s Ed Carpenter Racing team members spent Monday night and Tuesday preparing his backup car, the one he used last year when he led the race, hopeful Rossi would return to the cockpit and start from the No. 2 spot that he earned in last weekend\u2019s qualifying.<\/p>\n

Rossi said he needed the two surgeries to stabilize the injuries just to give him a shot to compete. He\u2019s still being fitted for a brace and a boot that still allow him to use the car pedals properly.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know if I\u2019m allowed to talk about the values of the two impacts, but they were very high,\u201d Rossi said, briefly turning serious. \u201cAnd the fact that we\u2019re here, having this conversation and joking about a sore ankle is pretty amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Earlier this week, team president Tim Broyles sounded confident Rossi would be back in his car on race day, but he first had to demonstrate to IndyCar\u2019s medical team he could drive on the simulator, climb in and out of the car within a certain time frame, prove he could react properly to certain situations in his boot and do all of it over several different increments. Only then was he cleared.<\/p>\n

Read more WNBA faces an odd statistic. Home teams have only won 29% of games<\/a><\/p>\n

On Friday, he faces one more hurdle \u2014 making sure he\u2019s comfortable back in the cockpit during the final practice session on Indianapolis Motor Speedway\u2019s 2.5-mile oval.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s not the only one with some work to do on Carb Day. O\u2019Ward also will be in a backup car.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhatever we get (Friday) I\u2019m going to be very grateful for, hopefully, the rain decides to at least stay away a little bit and we\u2019ll get some running in,\u201d the Mexican driver with Arrow McLaren said. \u201cI want to get one full run. It\u2019s very important for me. I have a new car. Regardless of it, the car will be good. It would be nice to just get a run just pepper out anything it might have.\u201d<\/p>\n

O\u2019Ward qualified sixth on the 33-car starting grid. Defending Indy champ Alex Palou won the pole.<\/p>\n

But if the rain holds off, it will give Rossi a two-hour window to test his car, his foot and his hand as he again seeks a second career Indy win.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we do our jobs correctly, close to zero,\u201d he said when asked what he expected in terms of pain on race day and before he was asked if he could avoid a painkilling shot. \u201cI didn\u2019t say that. I said if we do our jobs correctly, close to zero.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Cooler Friday with rain chances through Memorial Day weekend in central NC<\/a><\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

AP auto racing: https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/auto-racing<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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