S30: Alexander & Conor

[Geenee]

#TeamIndyCar

Edited December 8, 2017 by Geenee

[Geenee]

Name: Alexander Rossi
Age: 26

Instagram: @alexanderrossi
Twitter: @AlexanderRossi

Hometown: Indianapolis, Indiana

Current occupation: IndyCar driver

Describe what you do: I am a professional race car driver for Andretti Autosport, driving the NAPA Auto Parts Honda in the IndyCar Series, the premiere open-wheel racing series in the United States.

Three words to describe you: Competitive, adaptive, and diverse.

Favorite hobbies: Downhill skiing and mountain biking.

What is the accomplishment you are most proud of?
Winning the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500 in 2016.

What scares you most about traveling?
Food poisoning.

What excites you most about traveling?
Seeing the beauty of the world.

What country and place would you most like to visit and why?
Fiji or Thailand. They seem like they have some of the most amazing natural landscapes.

What do you hope to accomplish by running the race (other than winning $1 million)?
The ability to check the box of one of life's great opportunities. We are always seeking adrenaline-filled experiences outside of a race car and I hope to have lots of those experiences on the Race.


Name: Conor Daly
Age: 25

Instagram: @conordaly22
Twitter: @conordaly22

Hometown: Indianapolis, Indiana

Current occupation: IndyCar driver

Describe what you do: I am a race car driver in the Verizon IndyCar Series.

Three words to describe you: Funny, outgoing, and compassionate.

Favorite hobbies: Xbox, any sport, preferably basketball, go-karting.

What is the accomplishment you are most proud of?
Becoming an IndyCar driver and competing in the Indianapolis 500. It was always my dream to make money driving race cars.

What scares you most about traveling?
Unfriendly Customs agents.

What excites you most about traveling?
New opportunities to experience the world.

What country and place would you most like to visit and why?
New Zealand because it looks awesome. Or basically any tropical island because I've never been to nice places like the Maldives or Belize. I really want to chill on a remote beach with crystal clear water.

What do you hope to accomplish by running the race (other than winning $1 million)?
I hope to gain some new skills I never thought I'd have by encountering challenges along the way. I also hope to gain some more fans for both Alex and me and IndyCar racing.

[sinycalone]

I started following Alexander and Conor because of their friendship with James Hinchcliff.  Both of them are funny and outgoing...not to mention excellent drivers.  I hope they are in it for the long haul.

[Geenee]

On 12/8/2017 at 3:59 PM, sinycalone said:

I hope they are in it for the long haul.

These two do seem to be the fittest of the five all-male teams.

[Chyna]

On 12/10/2017 at 1:45 AM, Geenee said:

These two do seem to be the fittest of the five all-male teams.

...physically, anyway...

[Haleth]

Alex is hosting a party at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway tonight. 100 days til the 2018 race. 

[Scatterbrained]

In the beginning, I wondered if "roommates" was code for something else.  I was amused throughout the season, that every time Phil suggested that Conor move out, Alexander would get a panic stricken look and start stammering about how Conor could stay a while longer.  In the end, I hope they continue to enjoy their Bert and Ernie existence.  

[ProfCrash]

6 hours ago, Scatterbrained said:

In the beginning, I wondered if "roommates" was code for something else.  I was amused throughout the season, that every time Phil suggested that Conor move out, Alexander would get a panic stricken look and start stammering about how Conor could stay a while longer.  In the end, I hope they continue to enjoy their Bert and Ernie existence.  

Alex said that he has a girlfriend. Conner laughed and said that she would probably be the reason that he moves out, that when he has crashed at other peoples houses he was booted when said individual ended up with a girlfriend moving in. This makes me think that Conner is a serial couch surfer, he also said that Alex was the first person to make him pay rent, and that he could care less about having a place of his own. Honestly, Conner is a very laid back personality who seems to be cool coasting along with his life. I have no idea what level he races but it is clear that Alex is the more successful of the two. Conner is just chill. A bit of me is surprised that he didn't find surfing because his laid back attitude seems to fit better in that culture then car racing but I know little to nothing about the folks who race or that culture. It just doesn't strike me as laid back...

[scrb]

Saw an article that Alex won the 2014 Indy 500, which earned him over $2.5 million from that race alone.

I'm sure they draw a regular salary from their teams as well as other sponsorships.

So why did they choose to go through this?

The NBA guys probably earned tens of millions in their careers too.  But I can see why they did it, probably bored in retirement and Cedric liked the show.

These guys are right at the beginning of their racing careers and probably already make good money.  So they take a month out of their careers to do this show?

[ProfCrash]

Why not? It looks like fun and you get to go to all sorts of interesting places. If you mind your P's and Q's you could increase your fan base and maybe your endorsement earnings.  And you can win a nice chunk of change while doing something interesting. They might have been filming during a down time in the race circuit as well.

The NBA guys said that the NBA or the Players Union reached out to folks and asked who might be interested. I suspect that they show did something similar for the racers and skiers and professional musicians and the like. We know that they reached out to Debate teams. They had a theme in mind, reached out to people in different industries and found some takers. Appearing on a show where you might make news fans is not a bad idea.

And $2.5 million is a lot of money but after taxes and probably sharing part of that check with his crew (I am guessing that the winnings are shared), it not nearly as much. Hopefully the money is invested and goes a long way, to go along with what ever else he has earned, but the opportunity to earn $500,000 relatively quickly was probably attractive.

[Princess Consuela]

Conor has mentioned a few times that he's a fan of Amazing Race - so I'm guessing when he got the chance to audition - he jumped at it (and it probably wasn't hard to talk Alex into doing it with him especially since it was filmed after they had finished the 2017 racing season)

They live in the same town that I do & have been on TV & in the news a lot since the race started & have talked a lot about how fun it was to do the race even though they didn't end up winning.

[chaifan]

1 hour ago, ProfCrash said:

 

The NBA guys said that the NBA or the Players Union reached out to folks and asked who might be interested. I suspect that they show did something similar for the racers and skiers and professional musicians and the like. We know that they reached out to Debate teams. They had a theme in mind, reached out to people in different industries and found some takers. Appearing on a show where you might make news fans is not a bad idea.

 

I'd love to know who producers reached out to when they ended up with Goat Yoga and the Ring Girls!  Those teams just never made any sense in this season's theme.  Violinists were also a stretch, but I'm giving them a pass since they were at least very successful in their profession (while maybe not a "competitive" endeavor).

Anyways, I ended up enjoying Team Indy far more than I thought I would when the season started.  They were a fun team to follow.  And, I'll fully admit I had them totally mixed up for well over 1/2 the race.  They seemed to focus on Conor so much, I thought he was the Indy winner and Alex was the couchsurfer.  But Conor's just more talkative, I think, and got more airtime in the talking head segments.  My bar for liking teams is pretty low - enjoy the race and don't be an asshat (to your teammate, other teams, host countries or, of course, Phil).  You do that, and there's a good chance I'll cheer for you. 

[sabretooth]

On 2/23/2018 at 10:11 AM, ProfCrash said:

And $2.5 million is a lot of money but after taxes and probably sharing part of that check with his crew (I am guessing that the winnings are shared), it not nearly as much. Hopefully the money is invested and goes a long way, to go along with what ever else he has earned, but the opportunity to earn $500,000 relatively quickly was probably attractive.

Prize winnings are split. While Alex technically 'won' the Indy 500 prize money, the check goes back to his team and based on his contract, he gets a certain percentage of the winnings. A percentage of 2.5 million is still a nice chunk of change, but its not like he walked away with the entire 2.5 million. And Indycar drivers do not make anywhere near NASCAR driver contract money; they make significantly less and the prize money in Indycar is also not at NASCAR levels. 

However, Alex and Conor represented the series well and I can't wait to see Alex back behind the wheel in two weeks. And hopefully Conor gets a ride - at least an Indy 500 ride - soon. He was fired shortly after he got back to the States after the race. But he did get off Alex's couch and into his own condo, lol. 

[Scatterbrained]

13 hours ago, sabretooth said:

Prize winnings are split. While Alex technically 'won' the Indy 500 prize money, the check goes back to his team and based on his contract, he gets a certain percentage of the winnings. A percentage of 2.5 million is still a nice chunk of change, but its not like he walked away with the entire 2.5 million. And Indycar drivers do not make anywhere near NASCAR driver contract money; they make significantly less and the prize money in Indycar is also not at NASCAR levels. 

However, Alex and Conor represented the series well and I can't wait to see Alex back behind the wheel in two weeks. And hopefully Conor gets a ride - at least an Indy 500 ride - soon. He was fired shortly after he got back to the States after the race. But he did get off Alex's couch and into his own condo, lol. 

Thanks for the info and the update.  I always wonder what happens to teams after the show.

[blackwing]

On 2/23/2018 at 12:02 AM, Scatterbrained said:

In the beginning, I wondered if "roommates" was code for something else.  I was amused throughout the season, that every time Phil suggested that Conor move out, Alexander would get a panic stricken look and start stammering about how Conor could stay a while longer.  In the end, I hope they continue to enjoy their Bert and Ernie existence.  

Google "Alex Rossi girlfriend".  She is stunning.  It really doesn't look like he's Bert or Ernie!

[sinycalone]

Conor has gotten a sponsor/team for the Indy 500...so good news for him.

Alex is joining James Hinchcliffe for a series called Off Track, staring March 22.  From what I've read, it's an "Ask Us Anything about Indy Racing" type effort.  Hinch is a hoot...and I think he and Alex will make a good team.

 

Of course, Alex and James are both part of the 2018 Indy Car racing season.

[ByaNose]

Alex came in 4th Place in the Indy 500. Pretty impressive. Connor finished further back but wasn’t last. LOL!!! Jessica & Cody were there, too. I think they are still bff with them. 

[Haleth]

Yes, they were.  Kristi was there too.  (I posted about it in the media thread but I guess it would have been more appropriate here.)  I was so rooting for Alex and he almost did it.  He was in 2nd place (coming from 32nd to start!) for a long time.

[Halting Hex]

Close, but no celebratory milk.  Alex finished 2nd in today's Indianapolis 500, getting passed for the lead by Simon Pagenaud on Turn 3 of Lap 199 (of 200).   He ran a very angry, aggressive race, but managed to recover from a bad pit stop and some lapped cars that wouldn't get out of his way with exciting passes, but Pagenaud kept the inside line and blocked him off when it counted.

Conor finished 10th, which is a good result for him, although he was up around 5th for most of the home stretch.

Cody & Jessica did not qualify. 😉

[Haleth]

I was there!  So exciting!  I was rooting for Alex and was kind of disappointed that he fell to 2nd at the very end, but Simon P really deserved the win and seems like a nice guy too.  Conor did a great job staying 6th or 7th for most of the race.

Edited May 27, 2019 by Haleth