WEST ALLIS – Felix Rosenqvist can level to a whole bunch of choices in or out of his management that might have pointed his profession in a special path.
One of many greatest, although, was the selection by Brian Belardi, a Mequon native then operating an Indy Lights staff, to assist Rosenqvist get to the US, which helped him launch an IndyCar profession and in the end win the a hundred and tenth Indianapolis 500 this Could.
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“I believe Indy, whenever you win that race, it is the one race the place you truly begin to look backward rather a lot at how all the things introduced you to that second,” Rosenqvist mentioned throughout a cease at one among Belardi’s residence tracks, the Milwaukee Mile.
Meyer Shank Racing with Curb Agajanian driver Felix Rosenqvist (60) pours milk on his head Sunday, Could 24, 2026, after successful the a hundred and tenth operating of the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
“It is a cool factor since you do not actually remorse something both, as a result of when you’re there all the things led me right here, proper? However yeah, Brian was positively one of many causes I obtained right here.”
Rosenqvist, eighth within the NTT IndyCar Collection standings, remains to be in search of his second win of the yr following Indy and can have two possibilities within the Snap-on Milwaukee Mile 250 doubleheader weekend Aug. 28-30.
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Rosenqvist was 24 and on his manner up within the System One ladder system in 2015, successful 13 of the 33 races and the System 3 championship with Prema Powerteam. He hoped to maneuver to GP3, however the younger Swede and his staff lacked the finances, so simply as shortly the ladder was being pulled away.
However Belardi had seen him race sports activities vehicles within the Macau Grand Prix and was impressed. When he related with Rosenqvist’s supervisor and mentor, Stefan Johansson, a former Indy-car driver, they organized a check at Homestead Miami Speedway with the staff Belardi fielded in Indy Lights (now Indy NXT). Rosenqvist was all the things Belardi had imagined and extra.
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IndyCar drivers check at Milwaukee Mile for August doubleheader
Felix Rosenqvist of Meyer Shank Racing (60) drives to the pits in NTT IndyCar Collection testing Wednesday, July 8, 2026, on the Milwaukee Mile in West Allis, Wisconsin.
(Dave Kallmann /Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
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IndyCar drivers check at Milwaukee Mile for August doubleheader
Felix Rosenqvist of Meyer Shank Racing (60) drives to the pits in NTT IndyCar Collection testing Wednesday, July 8, 2026, on the Milwaukee Mile in West Allis, Wisconsin.
(Dave Kallmann /Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
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IndyCar drivers check at Milwaukee Mile for August doubleheader
Christian Lundgaard of Arrow McLaren (7) waits to get again onto the observe throughout NTT IndyCar Collection testing Wednesday, July 8, 2026, on the Milwaukee Mile in West Allis, Wisconsin.
(Dave Kallmann /Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
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IndyCar drivers check at Milwaukee Mile for August doubleheader
Scott McLaughlin of Crew Penske (3) drives off Flip 4 in NTT IndyCar Collection testing Wednesday, July 8, 2026, on the Milwaukee Mile in West Allis, Wisconsin.
(Dave Kallmann /Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
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IndyCar drivers check at Milwaukee Mile for August doubleheader
Josef Newgarden of Crew Penske wipes his face between runs in NTT IndyCar Collection testing Wednesday, July 8, 2026, on the Milwaukee Mile in West Allis, Wisconsin.
(Dave Kallmann /Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
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IndyCar drivers check at Milwaukee Mile for August doubleheader
Kyle Kirkwood of Andretti International (27) drives down the entrance stretch in NTT IndyCar Collection testing Wednesday, July 8, 2026, on the Milwaukee Mile in West Allis, Wisconsin.
(Dave Kallmann /Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
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IndyCar drivers check at Milwaukee Mile for August doubleheader
Drivers Graham Rahal of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (15) and Rinus Veekay of Juncos Hollinger Racing (76) speak throughout NTT IndyCar Collection testing Wednesday, July 8, 2026, on the Milwaukee Mile in West Allis, Wisconsin.
(Dave Kallmann /Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
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IndyCar drivers check at Milwaukee Mile for August doubleheader
Mick Schumacher of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (47) drives into Flip 1 as crew members watch in NTT IndyCar Collection testing Wednesday, July 8, 2026, on the Milwaukee Mile in West Allis, Wisconsin.
(Dave Kallmann /Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
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IndyCar drivers check at Milwaukee Mile for August doubleheader
Kyffin Simpson of Chip Ganassi Racing (9) drives off Flip 4 in NTT IndyCar Collection testing Wednesday, July 8, 2026, on the Milwaukee Mile in West Allis, Wisconsin.
(Dave Kallmann /Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
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IndyCar drivers check at Milwaukee Mile for August doubleheader
Alexander Rossi of ECR sits subsequent two staff proprietor Ed Carpenter on the pit wall throughout NTT IndyCar Collection testing Wednesday, July 8, 2026, on the Milwaukee Mile in West Allis, Wisconsin.
(Dave Kallmann /Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
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IndyCar drivers check at Milwaukee Mile for August doubleheader
Marcus Armstrong of Meyer Shank Racing (60) drives down the entrance stretch in NTT IndyCar Collection testing Wednesday, July 8, 2026, on the Milwaukee Mile in West Allis, Wisconsin.
(Dave Kallmann /Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
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IndyCar drivers check at Milwaukee Mile for August doubleheader
Rinus Veekay of Juncos Hollinger Racing (76) sits in his automotive in NTT IndyCar Collection testing Wednesday, July 8, 2026, on the Milwaukee Mile in West Allis, Wisconsin.
(Dave Kallmann /Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
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IndyCar drivers check at Milwaukee Mile for August doubleheader
Graham Rahal of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (15) drives via Flip 1 in NTT IndyCar Collection testing Wednesday, July 8, 2026, on the Milwaukee Mile in West Allis, Wisconsin.
(Dave Kallmann /Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
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IndyCar drivers check at Milwaukee Mile for August doubleheader
Pato O’Ward of Arrow McLaren (5) drives off Flip 4 in NTT IndyCar Collection testing Wednesday, July 8, 2026, on the Milwaukee Mile in West Allis, Wisconsin.
(Dave Kallmann /Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
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IndyCar drivers check at Milwaukee Mile for August doubleheader
Marcus Armstrong of Meyer Shank Racing retains an eye fixed on information on the timing stand throughout NTT IndyCar Collection testing Wednesday, July 8, 2026, on the Milwaukee Mile in West Allis, Wisconsin.
(Dave Kallmann /Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
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IndyCar drivers check at Milwaukee Mile for August doubleheader
Rinus Veekay of Juncos Hollinger Racing (76) drives off Flip 4 in NTT IndyCar Collection testing Wednesday, July 8, 2026, on the Milwaukee Mile in West Allis, Wisconsin.
(Dave Kallmann /Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
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IndyCar drivers check at Milwaukee Mile for August doubleheader
Josef Newgarden of Crew Penske (2) drives via Flip 1 in NTT IndyCar Collection testing Wednesday, July 8, 2026, on the Milwaukee Mile in West Allis, Wisconsin.
(Dave Kallmann /Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
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IndyCar drivers check at Milwaukee Mile for August doubleheader
Marcus Ericsson of Andretti International (28) drives via Flip 4 in NTT IndyCar Collection testing Wednesday, July 8, 2026, on the Milwaukee Mile in West Allis, Wisconsin.
(Dave Kallmann /Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
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IndyCar drivers check at Milwaukee Mile for August doubleheader
Alex Palou of Chip Ganassi Racing (9) seems to his timing stand after getting out of his automotive throughout NTT IndyCar Collection testing Wednesday, July 8, 2026, on the Milwaukee Mile in West Allis, Wisconsin.
(Dave Kallmann /Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
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IndyCar drivers check at Milwaukee Mile for August doubleheader
Christian Lundgaard of Arrow McLaren (7) drives down the entrance stretch in NTT IndyCar Collection testing Wednesday, July 8, 2026, on the Milwaukee Mile in West Allis, Wisconsin.
(Dave Kallmann /Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
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IndyCar drivers check at Milwaukee Mile for August doubleheader
Romain Grosjean of Dale Coyne Racing (18) drives via Flip 4 in NTT IndyCar Collection testing Wednesday, July 8, 2026, on the Milwaukee Mile in West Allis, Wisconsin.
(Dave Kallmann /Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
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IndyCar drivers check at Milwaukee Mile for August doubleheader
Scott Dixon of Chip Ganassi Racing (9) seems to the sky as rain approaches throughout NTT IndyCar Collection testing Wednesday, July 8, 2026, on the Milwaukee Mile in West Allis, Wisconsin.
(Dave Kallmann /Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
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IndyCar drivers check at Milwaukee Mile for August doubleheader
The crew of David Malukas of Crew Penske (12) works on his automotive as teammate Josef Newgarden involves the pits in NTT IndyCar Collection testing Wednesday, July 8, 2026, on the Milwaukee Mile in West Allis, Wisconsin.
(Dave Kallmann /Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
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IndyCar drivers check at Milwaukee Mile for August doubleheader
Josef Newgarden of Crew Penske makes use of crutches to get from his automotive to his staff’s transporter throughout NTT IndyCar Collection testing Wednesday, July 8, 2026, on the Milwaukee Mile in West Allis, Wisconsin.
(Dave Kallmann /Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
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IndyCar drivers check at Milwaukee Mile for August doubleheader
Crew proprietor Dale Coyne walks towards the media heart as rain falls on NTT IndyCar Collection testing Wednesday, July 8, 2026, on the Milwaukee Mile in West Allis, Wisconsin.
(Dave Kallmann /Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
“He principally helped me to enter Indy Lights once I had no finances to take action,” mentioned Rosenqvist, who break up his time in 2016 between Lights and the Blancpain GT Dash Cup and German touring automotive sequence with Mercedes. He received three of his 10 begins for Belardi.
The efficiency earned Rosenqvist his first IndyCar check with Chip Ganassi Racing. Though it took one other 2½ years to truly attain the grid, his profession was again on the open-wheel observe.
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“That is sort of how all the things began,” Rosenqvist mentioned. “With out him, I in all probability would not be right here.”

Crew co-owner Brian Belardi sits on the timing stand in James Davison’s pit throughout Carburetion Day observe Friday, Could 25, 2018, on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, in preparation for the 102nd Indianapolis 500 Sunday.
Belardi is satisfied Rosenqvist would have discovered one other path to the U.S. and IndyCar. The motive force, although, is not so positive.
“It’s totally situational in racing,” Rosenqvist mentioned. “You do not solely have to be good at driving. Typically it is simply luck.
“Like perhaps if you do not have a finances and somebody like Brian exhibits up and says, ‘Hey, I will provide you with a shot in my automotive,’ and you find yourself successful a race and perhaps an IndyCar staff, they’re like, oh, who’s this child? I believe there’s actually loads of luck in it, and that was positively one thing I wanted for me to finish up right here later.”