A historic oval track continues making history as Christian Rasmussen finds his first career win at the Snap-on Milwaukee Mile 250. Rasmussen’s win comes after previous success on oval tracks and gutsy moves. His win marks the first, first-time winner in the NTT INDYCAR series since 2023.
Leading up to the race, the second-year driver from Copenhagen, Denmark, struggled in the first round of practice. However, he found his footing and “qualified better” than he anticipated. Rasmussen qualified to start in ninth position.
Rasmussen and the Ed Carpenter Racing team took the challenge of the Milwaukee Mile. “We do best [on ovals] running whatever line the car in front [of us] is not,” Rasmussen said.
The key to Rasmussen’s victory was a late caution, resulting from a few Wisconsin rain sprinkles. He and a handful of drivers decided to pit for fresh rubber. The top three drivers–Alex Palou, Scott McLaughlin, and Josef Newgarden–stayed on the track, fearful of losing their positioning. Rasmussen said that his team had discussed this possibility before the race, “We set the margin of ‘if you can have a 20 lap advantage on the other cars, that’s going to make a big difference,’ and that’s what we did.”
In the last 15 laps of the race, Rasmussen used his confidence with passing on fresh tires to make a comeback and pass Palou, securing the lead.
He was able to hang on to his position and put lapped cars between him and Palou, Rasmussen secured the win with a total of 48 on-track passes. Palou finished the race in second, marking his 12th podium of the season. Consequently, Palou’s second-place finish robbed him of tying the series records of 10 victories in a season. McLaughlin, a previous Milwaukee Mile 250 champion, secured the third-place podium.
“[Rasmussen] always races hard,” said Palou, recounting Rasmussen’s late-race pass. “He always races hard, and [I knew] that he was going to go either past me or into the fence.”
McLaughlin added, saying, “He’s very fast, he’s very brave, and he makes some really nice split-second decisions.”
The Winner’s Circle celebration was exciting for Rasmussen, his team, and his fellow podium winners. Alexander Rossi, Rasmussen’s racing partner. Who finished fourth in the race, was the first person to greet him and congratulate him in the circle. In true Milwaukee Mile and Wisconsin State Fair Park fashion, the winners celebrated with an original cream puff and spraying champagne.
While next season’s schedule has yet to be announced, a lively sold-out crowd makes an excellent case for INDYCAR to return to Milwaukee in late 2026. The 2025 INDYCAR season concludes on August 31 at Nashville Superspeedway.