Rossi: “ECR Taking Steps in the Right Direction”

By Dennis Krause

While the final standings in the first two races of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES may not have reflected it, ECR is a team to be reckoned with.

At least, that’s the feeling of Alexander Rossi, now in his second season as the driver of the No. 20 ECR Java House Chevrolet. Coming off a sixth-place finish at Phoenix Raceway, a race that could have been won by the No. 21 car driven by teammate Christian Rasmussen, Rossi believes ECR is more competitive than last year, even if it isn’t quite to the level of Team Penske or Chip Ganassi Racing.

“I think that ultimately they are the benchmark,” Rossi conceded, “and have been for the past decade and a half, maybe two decades.

“ECR is certainly taking steps in the right direction. We're only two races in. I think both cars on both weekends had their own dramas to varying degrees that didn't showcase the full potential both in qualifying and the race.

“I think the team has taken a step forward from last year, which was already a big structural and organizational change from 2024. But unfortunately so far in 2026, it hasn't really been shown at the end of the day on paper and race results.

“The good thing about this sport is, especially the schedule right now, you're back on track in a couple of days. Obviously being the Java House Grand Prix of Arlington, there's a lot of incentive for Christian and I this weekend to put together a complete weekend that can showcase the steps that ECR has taken in the off-season.”

Rasmussen had the car to beat at Phoenix, leading for a total of 69 laps after starting 18th, only to finish 14th after sustaining crash damage in the latter stages of the race.

“I mean, at the end of the day, yeah, it stings, especially when you have such a strong package and you're so strong throughout the whole race,” Rasmussen acknowledged.

“At the end of the day that's racing. That's how it is sometimes. Racing is, you know, 95% losses, then you live for the last 5%.

“Yeah, we're looking forward to the next weekend, seeing we were the car to beat, we had the package, we did everything right. The way I'm looking at it, we have been the car to beat in two out of the last three oval races. There's no reason that we can't make that three for four or four for five, et cetera, going forward.

“We're looking forward, taking the positives, leaving the negatives, then see what we can do here this next weekend in Arlington.”

Given that this weekend’s race is a temporary/street circuit around the Dallas Cowboys’ stadium and the Texas Rangers’ ballpark, no one has been able to be on track for real. That means all preparation has been done via simulation.

According to Rossi, once the drivers are able to get onto the circuit, they find the simulation vs. reality to be very close.

“Yeah, usually not that different at all because the track scans are very high quality. But for a place like this that's brand-new, you don't have a full surface scan. You only have essentially a GPS scan with walls kind of placed around the perimeter.

“Both Honda and Chevy have kind of the same track model,” noted Rossi, “so you don't have any sort of the bumps modeled or grip differential depending on surfaces.

“I think it's a great tool to at least know what corner comes next. But in terms of, like, brake points and grip levels, how fast you can actually go, the line, where bumps are, that sort of thing, everyone will be figuring that out together kind of starting from zero.”

Rasmussen adds that even though the circuit is new, that doesn’t mean they spend more time on the simulator than tracks they’re familiar with.

“I think it's a little bit probably less than we usually do just because we don't have that track scan yet. Without all of the bumps and undulations of the track, it's not really precise enough.

“Once you kind of get the layout of the actual track, there's not really much more you can find there before we get a proper scan.”

While a completely new track may level the playing field initially, by the time the second practice and qualifying rolls around, teams will have figured things out and it will be back to pretty much the normal order — depending on track evolution.

“Yeah,” said Rossi, “I think the big thing is the evolution of the track performance, right? When we show up there, not unlike any other street course we go to, it starts at a very low level in terms of the potential for ultimate lap time. Every lap that gets turned in every session that happens, it just ramps up continually.

“Even if what you thought was the limit of the braking zone in turn five five laps ago, that could change by 15 or 20 feet by the time you see it again. It requires you to always be thinking on your feet.

“I think that's more of a characteristic of street courses in general. At the end of the session we have tools and software that will show what other drivers are doing from a line standpoint, so there might be a little bit of an adjustment here and there based on someone experimenting with something and found a quicker way to go through a section of that track.

“Again, by the time you get into practice two and qualifying, everyone is going to be doing the same thing.”

Speaking of qualifying, this weekend the Fast Six session will be single-car runs instead of a group. That change has Rossi all fired up.

“I'm thrilled about it. I think it's been talked about internally for a while. I think it will add a huge amount of excitement to what is already a pretty awesome and entertaining qualifying format.

“I think the big thing that's really cool is if you make it to the Fast Six, it's quite an accomplishment. To be able to reward your partners by getting kind of three minutes of focused TV time on your car 'cause you made it into the Fast Six is a win-win for everyone. It will make the commentators' jobs easier. It will make the broadcast, as I said, even more exciting.

“Obviously we don't know what we don't know,” countered Rossi. “I'm sure there's some things that we haven't thought about yet that potentially could change that opinion. Certainly going into this weekend, I know that everyone on the drivers' side is super pumped. Hopefully it will continue after this.”

With Java House as the race’s title sponsor, as well as on both of the ECR cars this weekend, it’s a bit of added pressure for Rossi and Rasmussen.

“Yeah, I mean, it's a race you certainly want to show well at. I think Java House and Splenda and Heartland as groups have set quite a standard,” Rossi noted. “As they came into the championship last year with what they've done with brand activation and commercials, the livery of the cars, just kind of the whole aesthetic of the team really has been elevated to a level that is really not rivaled by any other teams besides McLaren and their orange stuff.

“I would say this is going to be a hugely important race for Java House as they look to expand their market share across the nation.

"Having two cars carry the brand is a big honor for both of us. Yeah, I mean, there's always pressure obviously to perform on a race weekend, but certainly when you've got the title sponsor on your car, you know that your boss is going to be handing out trophies on the podium, you want to be one of those guys out there.”

A podium finish for either Rossi or Rasmussen, or both, would certainly go a long way to actually showcasing ECR’s full potential.

Dennis Krause has spent decades covering all forms of motorsports, including over 40 Indianapolis 500s, with stints at WIBA Radio, PIT PASS - Radio’s Premier Motorsports Magazine and Motorsports Minute. Follow him on X @DennisKrause500 or motorsportsminute.bluesky.social or motorsportsminute on Threads or MotorsportsMinute+ on Facebook.

Rossi: “ECR Taking Steps in the Right Direction”

Newgarden, INDYCAR Get It Right at Phoenix