WEST ALLIS, Wis. — Christian Rasmussen won his first NTT IndyCar Series race Sunday The Milwaukee Mile.
The Ed Carpenter Racing driver did it with strategy and aggressive driving through traffic. Rasmussen took fresh rubber on lap 222 and restarted seventh, while the top three drivers led by series champion Alex Palou remained on the track with older Firestone tires.
“The race went our way,” Rasmussen said. “We did what we do best on ovals: running whatever line the car in front is not (smiling). Again, 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.”
Rasmussen said the strategy was something his team talked about before the race.
“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,” he said. “That’s what we did. We went to the new tires.”
Once Rasmussen got to second, he had to chase down Palou, who led a race-high 199 laps.
“I didn’t really now he know how it was going go to whenever I got up to him,” Rasmussen said. “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 (smiling), try to get my first win. (Indiscernible) but 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.”
Rasmussen, who won the 2023 Indy NXT championship, and won his first Indy car race in his 30th start, acknowledged he’s an aggressive driver.
“I’m aggressive on track. I feel like I learned a lot of lessons last year of how people drive in the series,” Rasmussen said. “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 (indiscernible). 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.
“We’ve finished every race this year.”
