By David Morgan, Associate Editor
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Alexander Rossi has a new home for the 2025 NTT IndyCar Series as he has moved over to Ed Carpenter Racing to pilot the team’s No. 20 Chevrolet.
The 2016 Indianapolis 500 champion, who has previously driven for both Andretti Global and Arrow McLaren, comes into the year looking to blend his experience behind the wheel with the group in place at ECR to make his new home into something special.
The team itself is embarking on a new journey of sorts as Rossi joins the team, having brought another owner into the fold over the offseason. It was announced in late September that Ted Gelov, owner of Heartland Food Products Group, would join Carpenter, Tony George, and Stuart Reed in the team’s ownership group, also bringing sponsorship from his companies and an infusion of capital that the team hopes to parlay into success on the track.
Rossi was able to get some on-track time with his new team during the IndyCar test at Sebring International Raceway in mid-February and came away with a sense of excitement of the potential that this team could have this season with himself and teammate Christian Rasmussen, who enters his second full-time season with the team.
“I am honestly pretty excited about the group that’s there,” Rossi explained on the February 20th episode of his Off Track with Hinch and Rossi podcast that he shares with former driver and current FOX Sports analyst James Hinchcliffe.
“It’s really cool to be a part of a two-car team. It’s really cool to be a part of a team that can pivot very quickly. If you identify that there’s a problem or a direction you need to be going, it’s not getting this massive ship to kind of change philosophies, you’re talking to like three or four people and it’s like “Yeah.” If you get the buy in, you are going in that direction.
“There’s a lot of ability to react quickly in the organization. The mechanics are all incredibly experienced. Some of the guys in the engineering room have been at some of the best teams. There’s a lot of very good pieces, so it’s exciting.”
While Rossi expressed his enthusiasm with the group that is surrounding him at ECR, he also noted that there will be growing pains this season as they work through all of the challenges of trying to build the team up to what they know it can be.
“I have realistic expectations. We’re not going to go to St. Pete and win,” Rossi said. “This is something that’s going to be an evolution. It’s going to improve with time. It’s going to take a lot of effort. It’s going to be painful. It’s going to be what it’s going to be, but it’s a cool thing to be a part of and I think there’s the potential for surprising results at different times throughout the year.
“So, that’s kind of what you have to focus on and be ready to capitalize on that when the opportunity presents itself.”
“It’s a building year, right?” Hinchcliffe added. “The team has undergone some massive changes and have a level of funding now they’ve not previously had. And like you said, you don’t get to spend money and get toys and it just work. Like all these things are a development.”
There is reason for added optimism this weekend in St. Petersburg as both team cars were fast in the opening practice session of the weekend, clocking in inside the top-10 during the first 45 minutes of the session when all cars took to the track on the standard Firestone tires.
When all was said and done after the session concluded and the Firestone alternates, both Rossi and Rasmussen found themselves just outside the top-10 in the final rundown, making for a good start for the group as they settle in for the weekend around the 1.8-mile, 14-turn street circuit.
Whether that early speed translates for the remainder of the weekend remains to be seen, but the team is off to a healthy start nonetheless.
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