Alexander Rossi finds pace at Washington, D.C., amidst a difficult season for ECR

Jeffrey Hrunka - INDYCAR Contributor

Casey Shepherd (Motorsports Today, 2026)

Although it was Alex Palou and Kyle Kirkwood who showed the most pace through the first two practice sessions of the Freedom 250 Grand Prix of Washington, D.C., on Saturday, Alexander Rossi made significant noise near the top of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES charts. He looks to rebound after an abysmal weekend on the streets of Markham that marked his fourth straight sub-19th-place finish.

Even with the anticipation of the Freedom 250, Rossi, driver of the No.20 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet, prefaced that a good result is necessary after an abysmal weekend at Markham.

“Each weekend that we have from now until the last race of the season is an opportunity to show you know what our capabilities are,” Rossi said. “That's the priority, regardless of if you're in the nation's capital or if you're in Milwaukee or Monterey, it's all the same for us.” 

Before the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy at Marham took the green flag last week, Rossi was forced to start at the back of the field because of an engine change. Already running near the back, he gained track position by adopting an alternate strategy compared to the leaders.

That was until Palou made contact with him off a restart, puncturing his tire and forcing him out of the race.

“There's bigger things that this [race] will mean for you in terms of like… we know in the sport you're as good as your last race, right you're constantly being judged and evaluated,” Rossi said. “It has not been a good season for ECR as a whole.” 

Fortunately, he has already shown pace through the first two practice sessions of the Freedom 250.

In the first practice session of the weekend, Rossi quickly found the top of the board, trading the top spot with teammate Christian Rasmussen, driver of the No.21Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet, and Palou, driver of the No.10 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet, on several different occasions.

Rossi eventually settled in seventh-tenths behind eventual session leader Kyle Kirkwood, driver of the No. 27 Andretti Global Honda, timing eighth with a 58.131s lap time. 

He brought that same pace to the final practice session on Saturday afternoon, filing in eighth again, with a 56.937s time, four tenths behind Palou. This rounded out an already consistent day for Ed Carpenter Racing as Rasmussen timed tenth in both sessions, displaying the evident pace off the trailer.

Even with the stresses of getting their season back on track, Rossi says it's important to take in the festivities. However, as he gets closer to qualifying on Saturday, his mindset will be fully on learning the track and setting up his car.

“You have to remind yourself, because it is a one-off, to like enjoy it and look around a little bit, like especially on the install app, because it's incredible what we're getting to do,” Rossi said. “Once you get into the rhythm of [Saturday] and going into Sunday, it's a racetrack, and everyone out there you need to beat, and you need to perform at your best.”

The NTT INDYCAR SERIES returns to action on the Streets of Washington, D.C., for the Freedom 250 Grand Prix of Washington, D.C., on Aug. 23. Fans can tune in to the race starting at 11:35 pm EST on FOX or the FOX One app.