![\"Felix](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/05-29-FRO-FOX.jpg\")
<\/p>\nFelix Rosenqvist\u2019s first week as an Indianapolis 500 champion created an appreciation he didn\u2019t see coming, and it was the result of being photographed and interviewed nearly nonstop since taking the checkered flag at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the most dramatic way possible.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s kind of like a weird experience, like paparazzi stuff,\u201d he said Friday. \u201cThat kind of made me happy that I\u2019m not like super-duper famous.\u201d<\/p>\n
The past several days would suggest Rosenqvist has significantly moved up in Q Score. Based on his post-race schedule provided by INDYCAR, Rosenqvist gave more than 50 scheduled one-on-one media interviews since passing David Malukas just ahead of Indy\u2019s famous Yard of Bricks, and that doesn\u2019t include impromptu conversations with people seeking to understand the emotions associated with winning \u201cThe Greatest Spectacle in Racing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rosenqvist rallied to edge Malukas by .0233 of a second in a side-by-side finish.<\/p>\n
The \u201c500\u201d ended about 4 p.m. ET, and more than five hours passed before Rosenqvist finished with his media obligations. The official count was 14 interviews after several initial television hits and a lengthy press conference in the DEX Imaging Media Center.<\/p>\n
Monday\u2019s flurry was more of the same. Rosenqvist had his first on-air session at 7:20 a.m. Roughly 15 interviews and a winner\u2019s day-after photo shoot later, he prepped for the Victory Celebration at the JW Marriott, where all his competitors congratulated him before he got on stage to accept the awards and thank his wife, family, friends and Meyer Shank Racing w\/Curb Agajanian. An hour later, he was bound for Indy\u2019s traditional New York media tour.<\/p>\n
Rosenqvist met INDYCAR representatives in the hotel lobby at 7:45 a.m. in the Big Apple, and the day included another dozen or so media interviews. At 6 p.m., he was on the red carpet for the world movie premiere of \u201cPressure,\u201d starring Indy 500 honorary starter Brendan Fraser.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Wednesday began at 9 a.m. with the first of another 10 scheduled media interviews (photo, above). There were visits to the Empire State Building and Times Square for photo shoots. At 5:30 p.m., he boarded a flight back to Indianapolis, where he lives.<\/p>\n
The time at home was brief, to say the least. Rosenqvist\u2019s departure Thursday to Indianapolis International Airport was set for 6:10 a.m., and by 11 a.m. he was the featured guest at a media luncheon to kick off this weekend\u2019s Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear (Sunday, 12:30 p.m., FOX, FOX One, INDYCAR Radio powered by OnlyBulls). Two hours later, he threw out the first pitch at a Detroit Tigers game (photo, top). (The ball was a bit high but on target.)<\/p>\n
Rosenqvist had every reason to be gassed when Friday\u2019s first practice began. He felt fatigued, but he said he was energized at the same time.<\/p>\n
\u201cObviously, (I\u2019m) tired, but I had fun with it,\u201d he said of the attention. \u201c(There were) a lot of interviews, but you\u2019ve got to strike when the iron is hot, right? Also, I feel like I\u2019m representing motorsports in a way maybe we normally (can\u2019t). It\u2019s kind of cool. It\u2019s good for the sport.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rosenqvist said he didn\u2019t get to prepare for this weekend\u2019s street race as his norm \u2013 he didn\u2019t get any time in the simulator, for example \u2013 but team and engineering meetings have been held on schedule.<\/p>\n
\u201cPhysically (I\u2019m) not in the best possible shape, but I don\u2019t know, it\u2019s pretty standard,\u201d he said after Friday\u2019s practice. \u201c(Other preparation) wasn\u2019t really that compromised \u2013 it\u2019s actually the same as it was (for the Sonsio Grand Prix) when we had our baby.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rosenqvist missed a few days in advance of the IMS road course race as his daughter, Stella, was born May 4.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve all done this many times,\u201d he said of racing in Detroit. \u201cMaybe you\u2019re losing a little bit to the others in the first couple of laps, but that\u2019s all fine.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Felix](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/05-29-FRO-Car.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Rosenqvist posted the 11th-fastest lap of Friday\u2019s practice, and he expects his No. 60 Honda (photo, above) will be higher on the speed chart when Saturday\u2019s practice and qualifying sessions are held.<\/p>\n
Regardless of what happens, Rosenqvist knows he will be better prepared for next year\u2019s \u201c500.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just bigger than I expected,\u201d he said. \u201cThe outreach I\u2019ve received, other athletes contacting me saying it was a great performance \u2026 you don\u2019t really know before you win it.<\/p>\n
\u201cObviously, I\u2019ve (competed in the race) seven times and almost won it, but after those you kind of move on with your life and don\u2019t follow so closely what happens to the winner.\u201d<\/p>\n
Now he knows. It\u2019s a whirlwind.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Felix Rosenqvist\u2019s first week as an Indianapolis 500 champion created an appreciation he didn\u2019t see coming, and it…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":466893,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[85,46,105],"class_list":["post-466892","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/466892","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=466892"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/466892\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/466893"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=466892"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=466892"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=466892"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}