Rasmussen Reigns at Milwaukee for 1st Career INDYCAR Win
Chris Owens/Penske Entertainment
By Dennis Krause
The NTT INDYCAR SERIES has a new Mr. Excitement.
His name is Christian Rasmussen and he drives the No. 21 ECR Splenda Stevia Chevrolet.
Over the last 28-laps of Sunday’s Snap-on Milwaukee Mile 250, Rasmussen put on a show, taking advantage of fresh Firestone Firehawk tires and confidently picking off the six drivers in front of him to win his first career series race.
“The race went our way,” said Rasmussen. “We did what we do best on ovals: running whatever line the car in front is not (smiling). We were amazing in traffic, which that's what made the main difference today, again, I think. Then with a good call there at the end going onto the new tires, having something to fight with.
“Yeah, pretty cool getting my first win here. Good Sunday.”
What looked like another Alex Palou dominated race win was turned on its head when seemingly out of nowhere, sprinkles of rain caused the caution flag to be waved for the fifth and final time on lap 209, only to stop as quickly as they began. Running first through third, Palou’s No 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, Scott McLaughlin in the Sonsio Team Penske Chevrolet and the No. 2 Snap-on Team Penske Chevrolet of Josef Newgarden elected to stay out and maintain track position, while a number of drivers behind chose to pit, including Rasmussen.
Joe Skibinski/Penske Entertainment
That five-seconds of rain proved decisive in the outcome of the race.
“Yeah,” Rasmussen agreed. “We talked about this before the race, knowing if there's going to be a late yellow, we set kind of the margin if you can have a 20-lap advantage on the other cars, that's going to make a big difference. That's what we did. We went to the new tires.
“I've been very comfortable on especially the new tires even passing other cars. We were doing that pretty well early in the stints. Yeah, I was feeling good.”
When the green came back out, Rasmussen picked off the leaders one-by-one. Once he passed McLaughlin for second, he took off after Palou, who led a race high 199 laps, taking big chunks of time out of the champion’s lead until passing him on lap 235.
“I've been racing for (many years),” Rasmussen said. “I know you don't put it all in one lap. Just seeing the gap get smaller and smaller, I kind of kept doing my thing.
“I didn't really now he know how it was going go to whenever I got up to him. The tire deg was obviously huge here this weekend. I knew I had a tire advantage on him, but kind of once the peak of your tire goes off, it gets you down into a level where it can be kind of tough to overtake. I didn't know how it was going to go.
“I knew I was going to go for it, try to get my first win,” said the 25-year-old Copenhagen, Denmark native. “Got it done into turn one. From there, it's still not won at that point. There was still more laps to go. We all know how well he saves his tires. You don't know how that tire advantage might go away or whatever.
“I wanted a couple of cars in between us to feel like I was safe, so that's what I did. Once I had a two-car gap in between us, I thought that we can calm down here and just ride it to the finish.”
Joe Skibinski/Penske Entertainment
While some of his moves in traffic in the closing laps looked a bit daring, Rasmussen claimed they weren’t.
“I have full confidence. It was no different. I think the most interesting one, I think the one with Alex at the very end, most of your tire advantage has gone away. I didn't know how it was going to go, if I had enough to get past him.
“I knew I would have enough to run the top. But if I would have enough grip to actually get past him, I didn't know. Obviously we did. But I was confident in what I was doing,”
In his two years in IndyCar, Rasmussen has developed a reputation for being a an aggressive driver - which he doesn’t dispute.
“I think my... I don't know. I'm aggressive on track. I feel like I learned a lot of lessons last year of how people drive in the series. I've kind of taken that and kind of replicated that.
“I think I'm on the aggressive side, but I also don't think I'm (over aggressive). Feel like we had last year to kind of tone that or kind of get it into the right spot. I feel like we're doing really well with it this year.”
Paul Hurley/Penske Entertainment
Rasmussen’s aggressive style is what drew him to team owner Ed Carpenter.
“Christian impressed us a ton before he ever got in one of our cars,” Carpenter explained, “the way he finished off the INDY NXT championship that he won. The back half of that season (2023), it was a tight battle, but he really took control of it at the end. That level of intensity, dedication and improvement that he showed from his two years in that championship is really what stood out to me.”
“Then we put him in a car at Barber (Motorsports Park) against Oliver Askew. A bit of a showdown. He rose to that challenge, as well. When you put a car in front of him, especially when he's got a tire advantage, it's a scary thing.
“People talk about they don't like everything he does. We haven't asked him to change one thing. He's attacking and being aggressive, not settling for anything. That's the mentality we want to have as a team.
“Really proud of the effort and the way he finished today.”
While Rasmussen, who completed a race-high 48 on-track passes in the race, wasn’t the only driver on new tires in the closing laps of Sunday’s race, he was the only one making the moves he did. Why?
“I think he showed on ovals especially, but everywhere really all year, he's pretty relentless when he's feeling it and is confident in the car,” said Carpenter. “So I think he wanted it more today than anyone else. That's what it looked like to me."
Dennis Krause has spent decades covering all forms of motorsports, including over 40 Indianapolis 500s, with stints at WIBA Radio, PIT PASS - Radio’s Premier Motorsports Magazine and Motorsports Minute. Follow him on X @DennisKrause500 or motorsportsminute.bluesky.social or motorsportsminute on Threads or MotorsportsMinute+ on Facebook.