INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Alexander Rossi hobbled into his Indianapolis 500 media day interview on crutches Thursday.
He's still planning to start Sunday's big race.
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'd been cleared to drive and then spent most of his interview session playfully poking fun at questions about his health and himself.
“I have to be on crutches
because it's a non-weight bearing injury, but fortunately to drive a race car, you don't have to bear weight,” he said. “Range of motion is good. Pain is minimal. Swelling, as you can see, I fit into my race boot, so good to go.”
He was injured early in Monday's practice when his car spun going through the second turn on the Brickyard's 2.5-mile oval. He slammed hard into the outside wall then took a second shot when the trailing Pato O'Ward couldn't avoid hitting the side of Rossi's car.
Rossi, the 2016 Indy winner, was eventually transferred to a local hospital where he had surgery Monday night. Rossi's 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's qualifying.
Rossi said he needed the two surgeries to stabilize the injuries just to give him a shot to compete. He’s still being fitted for a brace and a boot that still allow him to use the car pedals properly.
“I don’t know if I’m allowed to talk about the values of the two impacts, but they were very high,” Rossi said, briefly turning serious. “And the fact that we’re here, having this conversation and joking about a sore ankle is pretty amazing.”
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's 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.
On Friday, he faces one more hurdle — making sure he's comfortable back in the cockpit during the final practice session on Indianapolis Motor Speedway's 2.5-mile oval.
He's not the only one with some work to do on Carb Day. O'Ward also will be in a backup car.
“Whatever we get (Friday) I’m going to be very grateful for, hopefully, the rain decides to at least stay away a little bit and we’ll get some running in,” the Mexican driver with Arrow McLaren said. “I want to get one full run. It's 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.”
O'Ward qualified sixth on the 33-car starting grid. Defending Indy champ Alex Palou won the pole.
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.
“If we do our jobs correctly, close to zero,” 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. "I didn’t say that. I said if we do our jobs correctly, close to zero."
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