Rossi feeling at home
Reigning 500 champ says Indianapolis is great fit for him
Alexander Rossi already has a few local haunts.
The California native has lived in Indianapolis for a little more than a year, so it’s probably too soon to call him a regular anywhere, but he’s certainly no stranger to Hyde Park Prime Steakhouse, Union 50 and the Indianapolis Zoo (he loves dolphins).
Still, perhaps the most intriguing thing about the city to the reigning Indianapolis 500 champion is that there is plenty of it left to discover.
Although his day job, Verizon IndyCar Series driver, takes up most of his time, he’s intrigued by what he might stumble upon as he begins to explore his surroundings.
“Since being here, I’ve really enjoyed my time. Obviously, I wouldn’t have made the investment to commit full time here if I didn’t enjoy the city. So it’s grown on me quite a bit from Day One, and as I get to know it more, I think it will grow on me even more,” said Rossi, 25, who recently let The Indianapolis Star check out his new Fountain Square home.
Getting the chance to soak in the Indianapolis area and its revitalized downtown will be a pleasure, Rossi said, but it’s not one he ever thought he’d experience.
Rossi acknowledges that, beyond the Colts and the Pacers, Indy had never really shown up on his radar in his younger years on the West Coast. He grew up with aspirations of competing in Formula One, so the cities of his dreams were Paris and London.
But when Andretti-Herta Autosport came calling before the 2016 Verizon IndyCar Series season, Rossi began to form a different set of dreams. Suddenly, Indianapolis had become the center of his universe.
When he signed his contract with Andretti-Herta, Rossi quickly moved into the first apartment complex he found on the Internet — a mistake he soon regretted after realizing a frequent house guest of his was the rumblings from the nearby train tracks.
In truth, it was a house but not a home — a temporary place for him to stay close to his team while he figured out his next move.
After all, Rossi committed to only one year at Andretti-Herta, so there was a chance he might not be in IndyCar very long.
Of course, the rest of this story is well known in the racing world. A few short months after signing his IndyCar contract, he would become the first driver to win his Indy 500 debut since Helio Castroneves in 2001, go on to win rookie of the year and eventually re-sign with Andretti-Herta.
For the first time in a while, Rossi had stability in his work life, so me moved to find the same in his personal life.
A few months after re-signing with Andretti-Herta, Rossi found a place in Fountain Square he could actually envision a future in — and not in shouting distance of train tracks.
There’s a lot of work to be done, Rossi concedes — boxes to unpack and furniture to arrange — but he’s getting closer to truly feeling at home.
“The is the first time I’ve ever had all of my stuff in one place,” Rossi said. “I had things in storage in California and Florida and London up until about a month ago. And now a lot of that is under one roof, which is pretty cool. I haven’t had that in a while. ... It’s not home yet, but it’s a process.”
Rossi is looking forward to importing some of his favorite artwork from California to hang on his mostly barren walls. After that — and after a busy IndyCar season — he can continue to make his way through the city.
“It’s a pretty young downtown,” Rossi said. “You have three universities within an earshot of the city. You have two major sports team. You have IndyCar. You have a lot of things that I’m interested in. Sports and kind of (a) young vibe and atmosphere.
“There are areas of town that I’m still discovering that have kind of that hipster feel. This part of town has that going for it as well.
“So there’s nothing I feel like I miss. No traffic. The greatest airport in the world, I think. And it’s close to the greatest racetrack in the world.”