INDIANAPOLIS – Despite concerns after having a procedure done on his right ankle and left middle finger, Alexander Rossi has been cleared to race in the Indianapolis 500 by IndyCar’s medical staff. Rossi will start the race in second as he looks for his second Indy 500 victory, 10 years after his first.
Although he’s moving around on crutches, Rossi will be in the race. Rossi — who said he’ll be driving at 99% — isn’t allowed to bear weight on the right ankle, which explains why he’s still using crutches.
“Fortunately, to drive a race car, you don’t have to bear weight,” Rossi said. “Range of motion is good. Pain is minimal. Swelling, as you can see, I fit into my race boot. I’m good to go.”
Rossi crashed into the wall on the outside of Turn 2 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway during Monday’s practice session. After Pato O’Ward and Romain Grosjean, the other two drivers in the incident, were released from the IMS infield medical center, Rossi was instead transported to a local hospital, where he had the procedures done on Monday evening.
To be cleared, Rossi had to drive on a simulator and prove he could enter and exit the car in “an appropriate amount of time.” He will have a brace on his foot while in the car.
Rossi will return to his No. 20 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet for Friday’s two-hour Carb Day practice. ECR had to go to Rossi’s backup car, which he drove at IMS in a test last fall. Rossi said the car he’ll be in this weekend is the car he expected to drive in the Indy 500 in the offseason “until some other things shifted.”
“Very fortunate it didn’t happen on Carb Day, so the team has had quite a bit of time, unfortunately for them, to rebuild a car from scratch,” Rossi said. “It’s the car I raced last year. It’s always been a Speedway car. As I said, a trying couple of days for everyone involved in the 20 car. Also, it will be a very rewarding one if we can accomplish what we think we can on Sunday.”
Going into his 11th race, Rossi will have the best starting position in his Indy 500 career. While it won’t be in the car nor physical conditions he might’ve expected, Rossi will be one of 33 drivers with a chance to win Sunday’s race.
Zion Brown is IndyStar’s motorsports reporter. Follow him at @z10nbr0wn. Get IndyStar’s motor sports coverage sent directly to your inbox with our Motor Sports newsletter. Subscribe to the YouTube channel IndyStar TV: IndyCar for a behind-the-scenes look at IndyCar and expert analysis.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Alexander Rossi ‘good to go’ for Indy 500 despite ankle, finger injuries