3 engine changes during Indianapolis 500 practice have sent Chevrolet and teams in search of answers
Alexander Rossi's crew spent Wednesday night changing the engine in his car. At least IndyCar's Ed Carpenter Racing had some experience making the switch. “I am concerned,” said Rossi, the 2016 Indy winner and a former Formula One driver.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Alexander Rossi's crew spent Wednesday night changing the engine in his car. At least IndyCar's Ed Carpenter Racing had some experience making the switch. It made the same switch Tuesday night — on the team owner's car.
And with the turbocharged power boost coming Friday, qualifications set for Saturday and Sunday and the season's biggest race, a sold out Indianapolis 500, looming on May 24, it's enough to create angst for anyone — even someone with Rossi's expansive racing resume. “I am concerned,” said Rossi, the 2016 Indy winner and a former Formula One driver. “It’s not only Ed, I mean, there’s been two others as well.
So you’re going to have to ask like, we don’t have the full information as to, are they the same failures? Is it something that’s a batch thing? ” The engine manufacturer wants answers, too.
Three drivers — Rossi, Carpenter and Scott McLaughlin of Team Penske — have all made engine changes this week. A Chevy spokesman said each engine went back to Detroit for inspection. It's a perplexing problem for a series that has significantly reduced the number of mechanical failures over the past few decades.