Normally when you have a rough weekend in a race, you want to get to the next track as quickly as possible. That’s the easiest way to not overthink it and to move onto the next task.

This weekend, well it gives Alexander Rossi an extra set of motivation behind it because not only does he enter after a rough go of it in Toronto, but he’s also equally as excited to see what it’s like to drive a good car with a chance of success in Iowa too.

See, he’s been waiting for a chance to have a good car at Iowa. Now, he has it. Rossi will try and snap a recent skid that’s seen him drop from sixth in points leaving Detroit to 10th in points entering this weekend’s doubleheader around the .894-mile bullring.

In the past, he’s not always welcomed racing here. That’s because of his past team that had struggled to bring good cars to these types of tracks.

“Honestly, I don’t know if I’m allowed to say this or not, but I was pretty happy that they were good in Iowa because we were really not,” Rossi said last year about McLaren at Iowa. “So it was like, well, we still have that potentially to look forward to.”

With Andretti, Rossi had been solid, but not great here either. He had 5 top 10’s in 8 tries with a worst finish of 11th entering last season.

Now, he does have a potential of a great car and we’ve seen what Pato O’Ward has done here with the same team so I’m curious on what Rossi can do this weekend with the same equipment.

“As we gear up for the doubleheader at Iowa, I feel both excited and focused,” said Rossi. “It’s always great to get back to the track immediately after a rough weekend.

“Iowa is one of the most challenging tracks that we go to, but the team has some amazing pedigree there and I can’t wait to drive our short oval package for the first time. On top of that, the support of Hy-Vee is incredible and the energy of the fans fuels us. We’ll be pushing hard to put on a great show for them. I can’t wait to get there and get started and maybe see some cool concerts along the way.”

Rossi left Detroit a little over a month ago on the cusp of a win. A breakout was already occurring with 5 top 8 finishes in the first seven races to the season. That included three straight top five finishes with a podium (3rd) in the GMR Grand Prix, 5th in the Indy 500 and 5th again in Detroit.

Then came 10th in Road America, 10th again in Mid-Ohio and 16th last week in Toronto for which his car quit on him in qualifying and as a result he had to start in the back. Then, with a first lap crash, he had no where to go.

Iowa is ironically enough, a place that a year ago wouldn’t be high up on the list of one to get his season back going again. But this year, it now is.

“Iowa has been a successful stomping ground for our team in recent years, and our oval package has been strong all year,” said Arrow McLaren Racing Director, Gavi Ward. “So this weekend is about doing the basics right, not overthinking it, and enjoying being a part of the best short oval racing in the world.”

Rossi’s main gripe this season has been finding ways to qualify better than 10th-13th. He’s started there in 6 of the 10 races. He was 26th last week. In 2 of the 3 other times that he didn’t?

Ovals.

He started third in Texas and seventh in Indy. With a strong oval package, Rossi could truly be a contender this weekend. He’s just struggled to get higher up finishes on the podium because he was always coming from behind in doing so.

Maybe he doesn’t have to worry about this in a unique format this weekend for which Saturday morning’s qualifying session (9:30 a.m. ET, Peacock, INDYCAR Radio Network) will set the lineup for both races. A strong Saturday in the speed department could lead to a strong doubleheader weekend in the pair of 250-lap races.

Chevy swept the podium on both days at Iowa last year and took 4 of the 5 spots on the lead lap on Saturday’s race last year and a 1-2-3 sweep a day later. Rossi is now in a Chevy.