Final practice, air demonstrations and music acts round out schedule Friday, May 24 at IMS. Read More>
Two departure times provide more flexibility for fans who want to commute to the track on their bike on Race Day. Read More>
This partnership represents the first time a major athlete's sponsorship has been decided by a vote using blockchain technology. Read More>
View images from the shortened first day of the Indianapolis 500 Open test at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. View Photos>
View images from the once-in-a-lifetime Total Solar Eclipse event at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. View Photos>
Josef Newgarden unveils the 2024 Indianapolis 500 Ticket View Photos>
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway prides itself on its fire rescue and medical response teams that arrive to the scene of an accident within seconds. But how do they get that good? On Behind the Bricks, IMS President Doug Boles takes you through the annual Motorsports Safety Training at IMS, which features specific training scenarios for INDYCAR, NASCAR, IMSA and more to make sure every driver at IMS is safe. Watch Video>
On this episode of Doug and Drivers, 2022 Indy 500 winner Marcus Ericsson sits down with Doug Boles to talk about the pain of coming so close to scoring back-to-back wins, how he wanted to compete on ovals after his Formula 1 career and the transition to Andretti Global. Watch Video>
Why does Scott McLaughlin move his hands around so much in the car? What "button" is he pushing? What's the pressure of the iconic Yellow Submarine like? We cover that and so much more with Scott McLaughlin on the latest Doug and Drivers. Watch Video>
August 09, 2016 | By Phillip B. Wilson
How has Alexander Rossi’s life changed since winning May’s 100th Indianapolis 500 presented by PennGrade Motor Oil? He eats free submarine sandwiches at Jimmy Johns. He got to ring the bell at the New York Stock Exchange. And he attended the ESPYs as a Best Driver nominee. Other than that, the Verizon IndyCar Series rookie for Andretti Autosport still sounded as understated and ho-hum as they come during Monday’s return to Indianapolis Motor Speedway for a Firestone tire test. “It’s a lot quieter and you’re not as worked up about everything, for sure, but yeah, the first lap was special,” he said of his first time on the IMS track since his stunning May triumph. “I think it was more impactful when I drove into the track for the first time since the Month of May, a couple of weeks ago for the Brickyard (as a spectator of the annual NASCAR race).” The 24-year-old Californian redefines the “low” in low-key. He doesn’t need to shrug, although his reserved words sound like they should include the matter-of-fact body language. He works out each day, enjoys eating those subs and keeps striving to become a stronger contender in each race. This is a driver who celebrated his “500” win by taking his trainer to Jimmy Johns. It’s fair to suggest other drivers might party harder. “Welcome to my life, bro,” he said. Say this for him, eating Jimmy Johns subs became part of the perks. He received a card from the company for 18 months of free submarine sandwiches. “That’s kind of cool,” Rossi said. He also uses that word “cool” to describe the other spoils awarded to the “500” winner, including ringing the bell at the New York Stock Exchange on May 31. “That was very cool,” he said. “That was great. I was a little bit disappointed it wasn’t an actual bell. It was a button. It’s a digital bell, which is kind of weird. It’s very interesting how everything is all digitized now.” What else has been fun? “The ESPYs were cool, too,” he said of the annual awards ceremony on July 13 in Los Angeles. NASCAR’s Kyle Busch won the award, though. Not cool. “I would have understood if (Formula One’s) Lewis Hamilton won,” a smiling Rossi said, jokingly. He acknowledges more fanfare for him at tracks since his win. “That’s made my life busier,” he said. “But other than that, normal life hasn’t changed.” Rossi recently said he’s received interest for 2017 from other IndyCar teams as well as from Formula One, where he had five starts in 2015. He didn’t say who was reaching out to him. His Indy 500 victory aside, Rossi has had just two top-10 finishes in the other races, the best run a sixth at Iowa. That’s why he’s more consumed with trying to make the car better as opposed to basking in the spotlight of his lone series win. “I need to win more races, man,” he said. “It’s unbelievable, it’s amazing, it’s given my career new life, for sure, but you’re only as good as your last race so we need to definitely work on improving things and winning more at all the other tracks.” He acknowledges winning the Indy 500 once makes him want to win it again. And in addition to those modest perks, swigging the milk gave him a heightened perspective about racing at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. “I have a whole new kind of outlook on the Speedway,” he said, before going back to his favorite word. “That was very cool to come back here.”