Mother Nature helped, but Christian Rasmussen was the key to victory in Milwaukee showdown

When opportunities arise in life, the key is knowing how to react. That’s exactly what Christian Rasmussen and Ed Carpenter Racing did on Sunday, when light sprinkles brought out a yellow flag on lap 209 of the Snap-on Milwaukee Mile 250.

During that caution, the top three – Alex Palou, Scott McLaughlin and Josef Newgarden, who had pitted about 15 laps earlier – stayed out to protect track position. Rasmussen, his teammate Alexander Rossi, and others opted to pit for fresh tires.

A heroic drive

Christian Rasmussen, Ed Carpenter Racing

Photo by: Michael L. Levitt / Lumen via Getty Images

When the green flag waved again on lap 222, Rasmussen charged from seventh, quickly passing both Arrow McLaren drivers Christian Lundgaard and Pato O’Ward, along with Rossi, to move into fourth.

Switching seamlessly between low and high lines, Rasmussen then overtook Newgarden and McLaughlin before setting his sights on Palou, who held a two-second lead. The 25-year-old kept closing the gap and was soon on the back of the No. 10 car from Chip Ganassi Racing. Going into Turn 3 on lap 235, he swept around the outside, resisted Palou’s fightback, and pulled clear on his way to Victory Lane.

“Great job by the team this weekend. We started pretty rough, really struggling in practice one. Got it turned around for qualifying. Qualified better than I thought we would, to be honest, which was really good,” Rasmussen said after taking his first win in his 30th IndyCar start.

“The race went our way. We did what we do best on ovals: running whatever line the car in front isn’t (smiling). Again, we were amazing in traffic, which I think made the main difference today. Then with a good call at the end to go onto new tires, we had something to fight with.”

Prepared for the opportunity 

Christian Rasmussen, Ed Carpenter Racing

Photo by: Michael L. Levitt / Lumen via Getty Images

Rasmussen explained that he and ECR had already envisioned how fresh tires could prove decisive if a late caution emerged — a scenario that presented itself thanks to that brief shower on an otherwise sunny afternoon.

“We talked about this before the race, knowing if there was going to be a late yellow. We kind of set 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 new tires.

“I’ve been very comfortable, especially on new tires, even when passing other cars. We were doing that pretty well early in the stints. Yeah, I was feeling good.”

“I knew I was going to go for it”

Facing off with Palou

Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing, Christian Rasmussen, Ed Carpenter Racing, Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske

Photo by: Michael L. Levitt / Lumen via Getty Images

Rasmussen also detailed how he approached the battle with Palou, the already-crowned 2025 IndyCar champion who has dominated the season — including wins in the Indy 500 and at Iowa, both on ovals — and who had been in control of Sunday’s race until the late caution.

“I know you don’t put it all in one lap. Just seeing the gap get smaller and smaller, I kept doing my thing.

“I didn’t really know how it was going to go once I got up to him. The tire deg was obviously huge here this weekend. I knew I had a tire advantage, but once the peak of your tire goes off, it can drop you to a point where overtaking becomes tough. I didn’t know how it was going to go. I knew I was going to go for it (smiling), try to get my first win.”

Although Rasmussen completed the decisive pass on lap 235, he admitted he wasn’t fully convinced until he managed to put some traffic between himself and Palou.

“From there, it’s still not won at that point. There were still more laps to go. We all know how well he saves his tires. You don’t know how that tire advantage might fade.

“I wanted a couple of cars in between us to feel safe, so that’s what I did. Once I had a two-car gap, I thought, okay, we can calm down here and just ride it to the finish.”