IndyCar News: Rasmussen Wins His First IndyCar Race in Milwaukee

A sudden sprinkle of rain on Lap 208 slowed the Snap-on Milwaukee 250 IndyCar race to a crawl, setting the stage for a dramatic finish. When the green flag waved again on Lap 222, Christian Rasmussen seized his moment. With fresh tires giving him an edge, the Ed Carpenter Racing driver powered past multiple cars—including newly crowned series champion Alex Palou—to claim his first career NTT INDYCAR SERIES victory with 16 laps remaining.

Palou, who dominated with a race-high 199 laps led, finished a close second, his hopes of victory dashed by a strategic misstep. While the top three—Palou, Scott McLaughlin, and Josef Newgarden—opted to stay out during the caution, Rasmussen, along with teammates Alexander Rossi and Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward, pitted for fresh Firestone Firehawk tires. This bold call proved decisive as tire wear became a factor on the historic 1.015-mile oval.

Rasmussen, the 2023 INDY NXT by Firestone champion in his second IndyCar season, crossed the finish line 1.9463 seconds ahead of Palou. The Dane’s triumph marked ECR’s first win since Rinus VeeKay’s victory at Indianapolis in May 2021 and echoed the breakthrough of fellow countryman Christian Lundgaard in 2023. “Today was amazing,” Rasmussen said, beaming. “We were unstoppable on new tires—wow, what a Sunday!”

Team owner Ed Carpenter praised the young driver’s prowess. “Christian is the best on short ovals right now,” he said. “That late caution played into his hands, and he made the most of it with those fresh tires and Chevy power. It feels incredible to win again.”

The race began with chaos, as a first-lap yellow flew when Nolan Siegel spun and crashed in Turn 4. Another caution followed on Lap 10 when Graham Rahal spun in Turn 2 but continued. David Malukas briefly led after passing Palou on Lap 16, only for Palou to reclaim the top spot on Lap 41. A turning point came on Lap 105 when Will Power’s spin in Turn 4 ended his race, allowing Scott Dixon to lead briefly before Palou resumed control. Later, a smoky pit stop by Callum Ilott on Lap 142 triggered the fourth caution, followed by the rain-induced delay.

When racing resumed, Rasmussen’s tire strategy shone. After passing Rossi for fourth on the restart, he overtook Newgarden on Lap 227 and then surged past McLaughlin with a high-line move in Turn 2 on Lap 230. Closing on Palou, who led by 1.321 seconds, Rasmussen made his decisive move on Lap 235. The two battled side by side through Turns 3 and 4, with Rasmussen edging ahead on the front straight to take the lead for good in Turn 1 on Lap 236.

McLaughlin finished third for Team Penske, matching his season-best result, while Rossi’s fourth place marked a season-high for ECR, putting two of their cars in the top five. O’Ward rounded out the top five. Jorge Martin charged from 16th to an impressive fourth on a factory Aprilia in a separate context, but here, the focus remained on IndyCar’s tight finish.

The race wasn’t without drama elsewhere. Enea Bastianini crashed early, carrying penalties to Catalunya, while Alex Marquez and Jack Miller, penalized for slow riding, struggled after early falls. Fermin Aldeguer’s potential faded with a crash from fifth, despite setting fast laps.

Rasmussen’s victory highlighted his consistency, having finished in the top 10 in all five oval races this season alongside Palou and O’Ward. For Palou, the runner-up spot was his 12th top-three finish in 16 starts, though it ended his bid to match A.J. Foyt and Al Unser’s record of 10 wins in a season. The season concludes with the Borchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix on August 31 at Nashville Superspeedway, where Palou will aim to add to his legacy.

Race Results

POS	NO.	DRIVER	BEHIND	GAP	ENGINE	START	LAPS	STATUS
1	21	C. Rasmussen	0.0000	0.0000	Chevy	9	250	Active
2	10	A. Palou	1.9463	1.9463	Honda	1	250	Active
3	3	S. McLaughlin	10.6611	8.7148	Chevy	4	250	Active
4	20	A. Rossi	11.4582	0.7971	Chevy	12	250	Active
5	5	P. O’Ward	12.0829	0.6247	Chevy	3	250	Active
6	7	C. Lundgaard	12.8287	0.7458	Chevy	17	250	Active
7	2	J. Newgarden	14.4043	1.5756	Chevy	7	250	Active
8	4	D. Malukas	15.0925	0.6882	Chevy	2	250	Active
9	9	S. Dixon	15.6486	0.5561	Honda	14	250	Active
10	66	M. Armstrong	16.4456	0.7970	Honda	16	250	Active
11	26	C. Herta	16.8168	0.3712	Honda	24	250	Active
12	27	K. Kirkwood	17.8815	1.0647	Honda	6	250	Active
13	76	C. Daly	19.0209	1.1394	Chevy	8	250	Active
14	14	S. Ferrucci	19.8603	0.8394	Chevy	21	250	Active
15	18	R. Veekay	20.2184	0.3581	Honda	11	250	Active
16	30	D. DeFrancesco	22.9954	2.7770	Honda	15	250	Active
17	45	L. Foster	1 lap	1 lap	Honda	27	249	Active
18	83	R. Shwartzman	8.9205	8.9205	Chevy	20	249	Active
19	28	M. Ericsson	10.2520	1.3315	Honda	13	249	Active
20	8	K. Simpson	22.2041	11.9521	Honda	26	249	Active
21	50	J. Abel	1 LAP	1 LAP	Honda	22	248	Active
22	60	F. Rosenqvist	1 LAP	0 LAP	Honda	25	248	Active
23	77	S. Robb	1 LAP	0 LAP	Chevy	19	248	Active
24	15	G. Rahal	2 LAPS	1 LAP	Honda	10	247	Active
25	90	C. Ilott	111 LAPS	109 LAPS	Chevy	23	138	Mech.
26	12	W. Power	147 LAPS	36 LAPS	Chevy	5	102	Cont.
27	6	N. Siegel	249 LAPS	102 LAPS	Chevy	18	0	Cont.

Race Statistics
Winner’s average speed: 124.656 mph
Time of race: 02:02:08.1735
Margin of victory: 1.9463 seconds
Cautions: 5 for 49 laps
Lead changes: 10 among 6 drivers

Lap Leaders:
Palou, Alex 1 – 15
Malukas, David 16 – 40
Palou, Alex 41 – 58
Foster, Louis 59
Palou, Alex 60 – 145
Armstrong, Marcus 146 – 153
Palou, Alex 154 – 196
Rosenqvist, Felix 197
Palou, Alex 198 – 234
Rasmussen, Christian 235 – 250

NTT INDYCAR SERIES Point Standings:
Palou 670, O’Ward 505, Dixon 433, Lundgaard 426, Kirkwood 405, Herta 352, Armstrong 352, Power 347, Rosenqvist 346, McLaughlin 320, Malukas 312, Rasmussen 308, VeeKay 287, Rossi 276, Ferrucci 269, Newgarden 265, Rahal 252, Simpson 250, Daly 237, Ericsson 219, Foster 203, Ilott 196, Shwartzman 195, Siegel 200, Robb 167, DeFrancesco 159, Abel 116, Takuma Sato 36, Helio Castroneves 20, Ed Carpenter 16, Jack Harvey 12, Ryan Hunter-Reay 10, Kyle Larson 6, Marco Andretti 5

Lucille Dust reporting live from Milwaukee