Rasmussen “not going to change” style over IndyCar peers’ concerns
- Archie O’Reilly
- 1 hour ago
- 3 min read
Christian Rasmussen has insisted he will not alter his aggressive driving style, despite 13 of his IndyCar competitors voting him the driver they trust the least when racing side-by-side -the highest tally of votes for any driver in the pre-season FOX Sports piece.
Owing to his trademark style, which took him to a first IndyCar victory at the Milwaukee Mile last year, the Ed Carpenter Racing (ECR) driver drove from an 18th-place start to lead 69 of the 250 laps at Phoenix Raceway on Sunday. He had climbed into the podium spots as early as Lap 72 and led the race legitimately before the halfway mark on Lap 108.
Given its efficiency, Rasmussen gives little consideration to what his peers may think of his on-the-edge, all-out style. On this occasion, the Dane feels the reputation he has gained may even have helped the latest exhilarating charge through the field on a short oval.
“Some like it; some don’t. It’s very mixed reviews,” Rasmussen said. “It doesn’t change anything, no. People can think what they’re going to think. I’m not going to change that. What we’re doing is working, especially on the ovals, so we’ll continue down that road.
“I noticed a lot this weekend that some of the passes were made easier. If people are going to pull up because of what they think I’m going to do, hey, let them do that. Just makes it an easier job for me.”
This caution from drivers was a sentiment shared by Phoenix pole-sitter David Malukas, who also credited Rasmussen’s execution, after finishing third on Saturday.
“He’s just all attack,” said the Team Penske driver. “When he was behind me for a few laps, I came to the point that I’m going to stop defending this because I feel like we’re going to crash. He is all or nothing. It’s into the wall or I’m making that move.
“Obviously that strategy works very well. Fair play to him. That tyre deg doesn’t seem to affect him. He can still keep attacking and keep making passes.”
Rasmussen’s heroic performance at Phoenix ended in heartbreak as he tumbled from the race lead to a 14th-place finish inside the final eight laps.
Even after a collision with Will Power as he attempted an outside pass on Lap 207, resulting in a puncture for the Andretti Global man and a heavy blow against the wall for Rasmussen himself, he had continued to lead after the restart until being passed by Kyle Kirkwood on Lap 242. Another glance of the wall once in the dirty air saw him fade into the mid-teens.
Rasmussen cut a dejected figure post-race, knowing he likely should have had a second career win. Compounding an unfortunate start to 2026, having finished 19th in the St. Petersburg season-opener, he sits an unrepresentative 18th in the standings.
“I think we had a chance to win pretty much being on any strategies,” Rasmussen said of Phoenix. “We were just really fast. As long as we didn’t mess anything crazy up strategy-wise, I think we definitely would have had a shot at winning the race.
“It stings, especially when you have such a strong package and you’re so strong throughout the whole race. At the end of the day, that’s racing. That’s how it is sometimes. Racing is 95 percent losses, then you live for the last five perc.
“We’re looking forward to the next weekend, seeing we were the car to beat, we had the package, we did everything right. The way I’m looking at it, we have been the car to beat in two out of the last three oval races. There’s no reason that we can’t make that three for four or four for five, et cetera, going forward.”
The Grand Prix of Arlington is up next for IndyCar, with the inaugural edition title-sponsored by ECR primary sponsor Java House. It is an ideal weekend for Rasmussen to rebound as he looks to translate his oval form to road and street courses.
“We’re looking forward, taking the positives, leaving the negatives,” he said. “We haven’t quite had the start to the season that we wanted to. I said it after St. Pete, I’ll say it again: we’re ready to bounce back on a big and exciting weekend for the team.”
