​INDIANAPOLIS – After becoming the first driver to test IndyCar’s new car – the Dallara IR28 – to begin August, Alexander Rossi was also the first to drive the chassis around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval Wednesday.In August, Rossi applauded the smoothness of the car, calling it “really rewarding to drive.” Rossi didn’t have quite the same level of optimism after Wednesday’s test, as he acknowledged that it’ll take time for the IR28 to have the oval performance of IndyCar’s current car, the DW12. Despite that, the Ed Carpenter Racing driver didn’t feel there were many issues with the IR28 around the oval.“The baseline car here is probably less good than a car that’s been developed for 15 years,” Rossi said after the test. “Whereas the road course test was really eye-opening because this car immediately elevates everything that anyone’s ever done on a road course.“So it’s two unfair comparisons, I would say. Do I still love the car? Absolutely. Will it be amazing around here? Yes. But the plug-and-play performance that you got on the road course spec isn’t always gonna happen.”During the test, which was to prioritize the car’s functionality more than its speed, the IR28 peaked in the 215-mph range. With temperatures that topped out just below 90 degrees and minimal boost to the car – which still doesn’t have the engine or hybrid system that’ll be used when it debuts in 2028 – Rossi said Wednesday’s speed was “to be expected.”When Alex Palou tests the car Thursday, the high is supposed to be around 80 degrees. But with a 50% chance of rain Thursday, there’s a chance Palou won’t get to take the car around the oval until Friday afternoon.“I think that conditions were warmer than expected,” Rossi said. “So that obviously plays a pretty big role around here in terms of overall performance that you’re going to get out of the car. I think that if it’s cooler tomorrow – if they get running in – or Friday, that those numbers will change a little bit.”IndyCar wants the IR28 to break records at each type of track it goes to, including IMS – where Arie Luyendyk’s one-lap record of 237.498 mph and four-lap qualifying record of 236.986 mph have stood since 1996. As adjustments are made to the chassis and it does legitimate qualifying simulations – which Rossi didn’t do – it’ll be interesting to see if it challenges those speeds.Due to a brief shower of rain over IMS shortly after 4 p.m., Rossi’s test was paused and eventually ended before it was supposed to at 5 p.m. He said that because of the rain, Dallara and IndyCar did only around 85% of what they wanted during the test.“It does everything that an Indy car should do around here,” Rossi said. “We got through some basic mechanical and aero(dynamic) changes to kind of understand the offsets that they’re going to present to us in a couple of years. And there was no surprises. I mean, it was really pretty standard.