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Alexander Rossi finds himself in his first major racing series championship battle as he arrived in the San Francisco Bay Area this week. The 26-year-old Rossi, who won the 100thIndianapolis 500 as a rookie in 2016, has emerged into one of the top young talents in international motorsports.

The former Formula 1 driver for Manor Racing has found a home in the Verizon IndyCar Series and has become one of its biggest stars. He enters the final weekend of the season just 29 points behind four-time IndyCar Series champion Scott Dixon. Sunday’s IndyCar Grand Prix of Sonoma pays double points.

What it all means is that Dixon needs can finish third or higher and close out Rossi and clinch his fifth career IndyCar title. Rossi’s attitude is to “run the table” by winning the pole, leading the most laps and winning the race at Sonoma Raceway.

That is certainly achievable, but it still might not be enough.

“For sure,” Rossi told Autoweek. “It’s a double-points race, the second of two, with the Indianapolis 500 being the other one. It’s a big race for us from that standpoint. It’s the last time the Verizon IndyCar Series will compete at Sonoma Raceway. It’s my home track. I have 50-70 guests who will be joining us this weekend.

“But I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: You go into it like any other race weekend. You focus on trying to build a fast race car, start up front come Sunday afternoon. If we do that, then we will put ourselves in a good position to celebrate a championship on Sunday night.”

Autoweek spent Wednesday with the four Verizon IndyCar Series championship contenders in a tour of San Francisco. Autoweek caught up with Rossi at Pier 39 in San Francisco for this exclusive video interview.

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