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Fuel issues hamper Alexander Rossi’s Indy 500 title defense

Alexander Rossi spent much of the 101st Indianapolis 500 presented by PennGrade Motor Oil battling amongst the leaders. However, for the second consecutive year, the efforts from him and Andretti-Herta Autosport team were hampered by fuel issues.

During a pit for the lap 134 engine failure of teammate Ryan Hunter-Reay, Rossi’s No. 98 NAPA Auto Parts/Curb Honda team had trouble engaging the fuel nozzle, resulting in a longer pit stop that dropped him to the middle of the field.

While he and the team used strategy to rebound from such an incident during last year’s race to take victory, circumstances did not play out in his favor this year. Rossi spent the rest of the race mired in traffic and was not in position to take advantage of alternate strategies.

Rossi rebounded to finish seventh, but he and the team know they missed an opportunity to contend for victory.

“Two years in a row to have fuel problems is pretty tough to swallow,” he lamented. “Obviously, it worked last year. You can’t rely on not fueling the car every year and getting results; it’s difficult. The NAPA Auto Parts Honda was awesome from the get-go. Then we didn’t have the downforce to be that far back.”

Rossi has shown an uptick in speed this year and has been a frontrunner at most events, but bad luck has kept he and the No. 98 team from contending for victory. Nonetheless, he now sits fifth in the championship following their performances at Indianapolis.

Follow Kyle Lavigne.