Christian Rasmussen’s first oval race of the 2026 IndyCar season came to a bitter conclusion in Phoenix. The Danish driver finished the race in P14 after making contact with Andretti driver Will Power as they battled for P1.
Team Penske driver Josef Newgarden took home the win ahead of Andretti’s Kyle Kirkwood and teammate David Malukas. Additionally, reigning IndyCar champion Alex Palou suffered from an early retirement after making contact with Rinus VeeKay.
Rasmussen is known to be a specialist on oval tracks, scoring his first IndyCar win with Ed Carpenter Racing at the 2025 Milwaukee Mile. In Phoenix, he started the race from P18 and managed to take the lead by Lap 73. Unfortunately, his chances of winning ended the moment he made contact with Power, damaging his car.
Until then, he had delivered a masterclass in overtaking and entertainment. In fact, he passed 61 cars during his charge from P18 to P1, before trouble hit.
Rasmussen frustrated following P14 in 2026 Phoenix IndyCar race
Attempting to overtake Power on the outside, both cars touched. Rasmussen tapped the wall and rebounded into the No. 26 Andretti, cutting Power’s tyre. While Rasmussen continued to race, holding the lead, he reported something wrong with the car. By the last laps of the race, he was limping, dropping from P1 to P14.
Speaking to the FOX broadcast following his P14 at the 2026 Phoenix race, Rasmussen expressed his frustrations. The Ed Carpenter Racing driver claimed Power ran him into the wall.
“We were the class of the field today. The No. 21 Splenda Stevia Chevrolet was the best car out there. I was so happy. But I was run into the wall and the car was damaged. It looked like the lower wishbone on the front, the upper and lower wishbones on the rear and the toe link. The car was impossible to drive after that.
“I did what I could to salvage the day and not crash the car, but it’s just so frustrating. We should have won this race today, and we didn’t.”
Following the race in Phoenix, Rasmussen sits P19 in the 2026 IndyCar standings.
