IndyCar Series in Wisconsin; Alexander Rossi talks driving, goals

MILWAUKEE - In the old NASCAR movie "Talladega Nights," you'll hear that if you're not first, you're last. It's a catchy quote, but professional race car drivers can't abide by it.

Local perspective:

The IndyCar Series came to Wisconsin in June and encountered hot, windy conditions at Road America. When drivers returned for the Milwaukee Mile event in late August, it was cloudy and unseasonably cool.

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"You always prefer days like this," said Alexander Rossi. "The cars are happier, the engines are happier, the drivers are happier, the fans are happier."

But you can't control the weather, just as you can't control much of what happens in a race.

"Because you're dealing with a machine, because you're dealing with something that has so many things that are out of your control, you as a driver are always having to adapt.," said Rossi. "You're always trying to change your methodology and your thought process. You have to find motivation outside of winning in this sport. 

"I think that if you look at stick-and-ball sports, you look at the fact that it's one team versus another team, pretty much – it's not exactly 50-50, but pretty much you have a 50% chance of winning. In racing, you're going up against 26 competitive cars and there's a lot more out of control than there would be when there's just one other team to beat."

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Dig deeper:

In other sports, becoming a champion puts you in a separate category: World Series champion, national champ, Super Bowl champ, Masters champion. Rossi is an Indy 500 champion, but he doesn't want his resume to always highlight that.

"There's so much to accomplish in this sport," he said. "I've been fortunate enough to win some of the flagship events, but I haven't won a championship."

As Rossi hopes to continue to climb as a driver, he feels the acceleration of the series.

"When I came to the series in 2016, it was on an upward trend, but I think since then it's just exponentially been growing," said Rossi. "The partnership that we have with our broadcast partner, FOX, this year has been huge in terms of getting new fans and eyeballs to the sport.

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"We have the highest car counts we've had in a long time. You look at some of the brands we have on the cars, Splenda and Java House, these are consumer brands. It's not just (business-to-business) deals that are happening, these are actual products that are in stores. So it's an amazing series to be a part of, and I can't wait to see where it goes in the future."

Adaptation and sometimes along for the ride – such is life in IndyCar.

What's next:

Rossi had his best finish of the season at the Milwaukee Mile, fourth place in an event won by his teammate. He and his racing mates wrap up their IndyCar season in Nashville on Sunday. The finale is on the schedule on FOX6.