Alexander Rossi is charging hard toward the front of the field after benefiting from a Lap 44 caution - Graham Rahal pulled off on the back straight away after suffering a loss of power.
Rossi, who damaged the front wing of his No. 27 Napa Auto Parts Honda and cut a right-front tire after contact with his Andretti Autosport teammate Marco Andretti after opening lap contact, had just pitted when the yellow came out for Rahal, and was able to stay on the lead lap.
As a result, he was able catch back up to the remainder of the field, and even pitted again under the yellow for a splash of a fuel and a set of the Firestone alternate reds.
Rossi restarted in 20th, but was immediately on the charge after a Lap 50 restart. He vaulted up to 15th, taking advantage of restart chaos that saw a mad scramble in the final corner.
.@IndyCar restart can only be described as "chaotic"
— INDYCAR on NBC (@IndyCaronNBC) September 17, 2018
Take a look:
@RaceSonoma //#SonomaGP pic.twitter.com/hud2b0YKCN
By Lap 60, when Rossi pitted for the final time, Rossi had bulldozed his way up to seventh, making a slew of aggressive passes along the way.
.@AlexanderRossi bumps @josefnewgarden. "See ya later!"
— INDYCAR on NBC (@IndyCaronNBC) September 17, 2018
@RaceSonoma //#SonomaGP pic.twitter.com/Wxn7eKsPtI
With final stops complete and under 20 laps left, Rossi sits fifth. However, Scott Dixon still runs solidly in second to leader Ryan Hunter-Reay. Dixon has had a trouble-free day and leads Rossi by 49 points with less than 20 laps remaining.
Will Power and Josef Newgarden run third and eighth respectively, but with Spencer Pigot and Takuma Sato officially out, their title chances are all but gone.