Christian Rasmussen Earns First INDYCAR Win, Spoils Alex Palou Quest For 10

It took a spectacular drive to end a potential historical finish to a sensational season.

Oh, Alex Palou is still the INDYCAR champion for 2025. But his quest to tie the series record of 10 victories in a season came to an end Sunday at The Milwaukee Mile when Christian Rasmussen, on fresher tires, passed him with 16 laps remaining to capture his first career victory in the series.

"Good on Christian," Palou said. "He was really fast. It's great to see him win."

Christian Rasmussen scores his first INDYCAR win at 2025 Milwaukee Mile.

It not only was the first career win for the 2023 Indy NXT Series champion (INDYCAR’s version of AAA-baseball), but it was also the first win for Ed Carpenter Racing since 2021.

"He's shown, on ovals especially, but everywhere really all year, he's pretty relentless when he's feeling it and is confident in the car," team co-owner Ed Carpenter said.

"I think he wanted it more today than anyone else. That's what it looked like to me."

Palou had led 199 laps of the 250-lap race and appeared in control when a stray cloud came over the track, producing enough drizzle for the caution to come out and bunch up the field with 42 laps remaining.

The top three drivers — Palou, Scott McLaughlin and Josef Newgarden — stayed out while the rest of the field pitted for fresh tires. 

Christian Rasmussen (center), Alex Palou (left) and Scott McLaughlin in victory circle on the podium during the NTT INDYCAR Series Snap-On Milwaukee Mile 250.

Rasmussen, a Denmark native known for his bold moves that can be a blessing or a curse, restarted seventh and ripped through the field, taking the lead and never looking back, crossing the finish line ahead of Palou and McLaughlin.

The 25-year-old Rasmussen said he knew