Phillip B. Wilson

IndyStar

Mikhail Aleshin came to Indianapolis in January, bringing with him some intriguing racing potential, spiked dark brown hair, a dry sense of humor and broken but understandable English.

He's on the verge of becoming the first Russian driver to qualify for the Indianapolis 500, although such distinction means as much to him as shopping for groceries.

Aleshin (pronounced Al-yo-shin) didn't ask where he could buy food until a month after he moved in because he doesn't like to shop. And his first restaurant experience, thanks to his Schmidt Peterson Motorsports crew, was Five Guys.

"I think the only thing you can have there is a burger," Aleshin said. "I felt strange after this. Definitely not prepared for gym."

He laughs at this recollection of an upset stomach, before rain washed out much of Tuesday practice. Aleshin is serious about racing — his best speed of 223.120 mph is second-fastest among rookies and 10th overall — but sometimes he can't help but be amused by his words.

How would be describe himself?

"Hungry," he said with a smile, forking through chicken and rice.

Does he have a love interest?

"That is very special question. Yes, it's private," he said.

What if female fans inquire?

"If they want to know, they can ask," he said, laughing again.

"He's a special Russian," said French teammate Simon Pagenaud, winner of Saturday's inaugural Grand Prix of Indianapolis. "He's very funny, even though you can't really see it on his face because he's kind of stoic.

"We've had some really good times already, some really good nights. I enjoy his company and I also enjoy him as a teammate. He's very competitive. He studies a lot, analyzes the data and writes everything down in his notebook, which is very rare for a driver, to see that attention to detail."

Aleshin, 26, spent his formative years racing in Europe, where he was Formula Renault 3.5 champion in 2010. He grew up in Moscow watching Formula One on television with his father, Peter. It wasn't about following a favorite driver, though.

"I just like to watch the fight," he said of racing.

Aleshin has already mixed it up with competitors in one weekend at IMS. In qualifying for the Grand Prix, he tangled with Sebastien Bourdais. Verizon IndyCar Series race control flagged Aleshin for interference. The punishment was starting 25th.

Despite rolling off the line from that final position, Aleshin was unable to avoid the stalled car of polesitter Sebastian Saavedra and crashed out of the race in a botched standing start.

Before that, he finished 22nd at Alabama, sixth at Long Beach and 12th at St. Petersburg.

"The results he had do not show his talent," Pagenaud said.

Team co-owner Sam Schmidt hasn't been discouraged, either.

"I don't know that I've ever had a rookie take to it this good," said Schmidt, an IndyCar Series team owner since 2001. "He took to the oval phenomenally well. His line right out of the box is incredible. He's like a sponge, listening to everything we have to say."

Sometimes his words don't come out perfectly, but one he enunciates and repeats clearly is "passionate." That he is.

"I think if you're not enjoying what you do when you do racing, it's impossible to do it well," he said. "When you're passionate about this, everything makes sense."

So it makes sense for him to not be the least bit nervous about the 230-mph straightaway speeds he will face on his first oval experience.

"Straight to Indy 500," he said. "Nice."

Call Star reporter Phillip B. Wilson at (317) 444-6642. Follow him on Twitter: @pwilson24.

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