From fire to podium: Rasmussen’s stunning career-best IndyCar day

Credit: Karl Zemlin

Both figuratively and literally, IndyCar sophomore Christian Rasmussen was on fire under the lights at World Wide Technology Raceway on Sunday.

For the first time in over three years - dating back to Rinus VeeKay’s podium at Barber Motorsports Park in 2022 - Ed Carpenter Racing (ECR) stood on an IndyCar rostrum. And it was Danish youngster Rasmussen who produced a spectacular drive to secure third place on his first IndyCar visit to the 1.25-mile oval better known as Gateway.

The same track was the scene of the team’s last oval podium when Ed Carpenter finished second in August 2019. And after fresh investment in the team across the off-season provided something of a reset, Sunday was a big day for the ECR revolution.

After a somewhat testing start to his second season in the series, Rasmussen has undergone a renaissance since the Indianapolis 500. He finished sixth at the Speedway and qualified 10th in Detroit, running in the top 10 until he was sidelined by an engine failure.

Continuing that momentum with a maiden career podium at Gateway in his 22nd career race was a significant milestone in the 2023 Indy NXT champion’s young career. 

“Way to turn this weekend around,” Rasmussen said. “We really, really struggled in Practice 1 as well as qualifying but knew what we needed out of the car and obviously hit some good changes for the race. 

“As soon as I found out how well my car worked on the high side, it was game on. I was able to pass cars.”

Rasmussen started 25th after a disappointing qualifying but it proved a weekend of turnarounds for the 24-year-old. Not only was he the race’s biggest mover as he drove from 25th to the podium, he charged from back to front once and then was forced to repeat the feat.

Credit: Karl Zemlin

After finding himself fourth under the Lap 130 caution for Josef Newgarden and Louis Foster’s dramatic crash, Rasmussen was forced to pit for fuel in a closed pit lane. This emergency service meant he was dropped to the back of the field as a penalty, falling to 18th position

He was able to complete his regular stop later under that caution to remain on the lead strategy, but the majority of his hard work from the first half of the race was undone.

“We got hosed with having to take emergency service because we were out of fuel,” Rasmussen said. “So I had to restart at the tail end and that was right at the point where I had driven through most of the field and was up front. But had to go to the back, drove through again and, man, we were just coming. It was awesome.”

The reason for Rasmussen running out of fuel was a short-fill on his previous stop, with the left side of his No.21 machine having dramatically burst into flames. Nobody was harmed and Rasmussen actually continued without even realising until he was altered of the issue.

“They were yelling in my ear: ‘You’re on fire! You’re on fire!’” Rasmussen said. “But I was looking at the fuel probe… I didn’t see anything. So I don’t know how bad it was.”

He could have become downbeat after his surge on merit to the front of the field had been undone by the unfortunate penalty for a helpless infringement. But instead he took confidence from the manner in which he had already raced forward from 25th.

“I definitely got a little frustrated with just having to do it all over again,” he said. “But on the flip side of that, I knew that I could do it. I knew that I had been moving forward and I was the car probably in the field that was moving the most forward. 

“I just kept my head down and kept passing cars. There was no other way around it.”

Credit: James Black

Rasmussen executed a field-high 62 on-track passes as he bravely excelled on the high line, with no other driver even exceeding the 40-pass mark across the 260 laps. 

“I had a good feeling,” he said. “There were a couple cars that were making passes but I don’t think there was anyone that was passing as much as I did. My car worked better on the high side than it did on the low side so I was just going to use it. Then just full commitment.”

Rasmussen has become renowned for his aggressive style on ovals - something that was key to his career-best drive on Sunday night. He is clearly not afraid of pulling off bold moves and possibly ruffling some feathers.

“I would say it’s calculated aggression,” he said. “But I think on an oval, decisive moves definitely propel you forward. And that was a good showcase of that for me tonight, having to be aggressive to move forward.”

Rasmussen now sits 14th in the standings and only six points behind his more experienced teammate, eight-time race winner Alexander Rossi. For his long-term status in IndyCar, this is the sort of result that will stand Rasmussen in good stead.

“It’s definitely important,” he said. “But I think it’s been coming. I’ve been good around really all my career since I’ve started doing ovals. It just comes very natural to me. For a first podium, I’m not surprised it’s on an oval.”