While Josef Newgarden won Saturday’s (March 7) Good Ranchers 250 at Phoenix Raceway, it was clear to all who watched the first oval race of the 2026 NTT IndyCar Series season that Christian Rasmussen was the star of the race.
A brief glance at the results shows that the Dane finished 14th after starting 18th, but watching the race on Fox gave IndyCar fans a whole different appreciation for Rasmussen.
The No. 21 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet pitted under the race’s first caution for Dennis Hauger‘s spin and Mater impersonation on the backstretch on the race’s 11th lap.
A Cruel Day in Phoenix for Will Power & Christian Rasmussen
Yeah, Rasmussen dodged a bullet there, too.
By pitting early, Rasmussen was on newer tires than the rest of the field in front of him, and the difference was easy to see early on in the green flag run following Alex Palou and Rinus VeeKay‘s collision.
The No. 21 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet restarted 16th on the race’s 30th lap and was up to ninth place 10 laps later. The rest of the top 10 wouldn’t be as easy to get through.
Rasmussen was up to eighth on lap 43, seventh on lap 48, sixth on lap 58, fifth on lap 62, fourth on lap 67, third on lap 71, and then took the lead two laps later.
Newer tires work wonders on short ovals, and Rasmussen used them to full effect. However, Rasmussen stopped on lap 77 while the majority of the field stopped on laps 70-73.
After falling back to 14th on lap 78, it was time to do it all again. Just 30 laps later, Rasmussen was back in the lead.
The next pit stop sequence put Rasmussen back to 13th on lap 127. It only took Rasmussen nine laps to get the lead back.
Yeah, the 2023 Indy NXT champion was a solo highlight reel, but business was still picking up.
When Louis Foster hit the wall with just over 100 laps to go, nearly all of the lead lap cars pitted under the caution period. Kyle Kirkwood and Will Power stopped just over a dozen laps before the caution and were the top two when the race went back to green.
However, with almost everybody on the same strategy, there wasn’t a lot of movement in the top part of the field until, slowly but surely, Rasmussen worked his way around Scott Dixon for third with just over 75 laps to go in the race.
Within 20 laps, Rasmussen was back in the race lead, but that’s when the fun started.
Rasmussen made his final scheduled pit stop on lap 193 and cycled out behind Power, Pato O’Ward and Kirkwood. History repeated itself for the most part, and then the battle became serious because the checkered flag was within sight.
Drivers earlier in the race were willing to give Rasmussen space. After all, in a secret ballot during IndyCar Content Days in February, Rasmussen was voted the driver that most drivers trust the least when racing side-by-side.
Maybe that’s why Rasmussen worked his way through the field so quickly.
Anyway, Power had the lead with Rasmussen in second place. A driver trying to get his first win with his new team was leading ahead of a young charger who has shown a pattern of laying everything on the line to gain a position.
There was only one way this battle was going to end.
Will Power Apologizes to Ed Carpenter After Wreck With Christian Rasmussen
Blame could go either way. The rule in racing has always been that it’s up to the overtaking car to make a clean pass, but the car being overtaken has to give space. A lot of blame could be pointed at the spotters, but the spotters aren’t the ones driving the cars. The spotters aren’t the ones hitting the wall. That’s the drivers.
If Power didn’t know Rasmussen wasn’t to his outside, that’s an issue. Being aware of your surroundings is a crucial skill to have as a racing driver and you have to expect the unexpected, especially with a young charger like Rasmussen trying to get his second IndyCar win.
Power’s car had a flat right rear tire, while Rasmussen’s car had damaged suspension on the right side of the car. Race control threw the caution while Rasmussen had the lead and seven lead lap cars pitted for tires.
After the race went back to green for the final 32-lap run to the checkered flag, Rasmussen was doing everything he could to hold onto the race lead. It wasn’t until nine laps to go that Kirkwood got by Rasmussen.
The car’s suspension was clearly damaged and Rasmussen was a sitting duck on the race track. His lap times shortly before being overtaken in the final stint were hovering around the mid 23-second range. Rasmussen’s final three lap times in order were 25.8039 seconds, 26.1705 seconds and 26.7335 seconds.
As a comparison, Rasmussen’s fastest lap in the final green flag run was 22.3928 seconds on lap 221.
Rasmussen fell like a stone, dealing with a damaged car that would not handle. The fact that he kept it off the wall is remarkable, as most drivers would have crashed.
However, it’s a shame that after passing so many cars in the race and leading so many laps, Rasmussen’s efforts were not properly rewarded after the race.
That’s racing.
Rasmussen is an interesting case, and I can’t really decide if he’s too aggressive, or if he’s a needed agent of chaos because Indycar drivers may be a little too polite on the track. I’m currently leaning that he’s a bit of both. He has some Paul Tracy in him. CART days Paul Tracy, not SRX days Paul Tracy, where he was a one man mobile demolition crew.
The wreck was caused by Rasmussen attempting a pass in a way that possibly no one else in the field other than Ferrucci would have tried, without deciding to lift and fight another corner. But, Rasmussen was just beside Power, and therefore it was on Power to give room and avoid contact.
Yet, were I Power, unless it occurred to me in that moment I had a bit of a wild card stalking me, not sure I would have thought to leave room in a situation where the trailing driver is so unlikely to force the issue in the manner Rasmussen did. Either way, was a good race.
I was thinking of Ferrucci too, watching it unfold. Truth be told, he got away with a lot of high risk moves during that race. This incident could just as easily happened about 10 times before it did. When you’re pushing margins of error that thin, it’s only a matter of time. I will admit, he made the race more interesting than it would have been. Feel bad for him, he ran a helluva race.
Yeah, actually feel bad for he and Power, though it’s weird to be cheering for Power, after all those years of cheering against him at Penske.
I honestly think Power tried to shut the door in time, but miscalculated the run Rasmussen had on him. He admitted he was trying to hold him up for a bit, hoping Rasmussen’s fresher tires would equalize in performance so he (Power) might have a chance in the end. I don’t think it would have mattered, Rasmussen was just that strong all day, but that’s how Power described it. That he went and apologized supports my theory (I think) he simply miscalculated the move.