Rasmussen Stuns Palou for First IndyCar Victory in Milwaukee

Christian Rasmussen delivered the race of his career at the Milwaukee Mile 250, snatching his first-ever IndyCar win with a daring late push that denied newly crowned champion Alex Palou another place in the record books.

Palou, who had already secured his third straight championship — and his fourth title in five seasons — entered the penultimate round of the calendar chasing a slice of history. With eight victories this year, including the Indianapolis 500, the Spaniard was eyeing the all-time season record of 10 wins held by legends A.J. Foyt (1964) and Al Unser Sr. (1970).

But Rasmussen had other plans. The 25-year-old Dane, racing for Ed Carpenter Racing, took fresh tires during a late caution brought on by light rain. Restarting from sixth, he charged forward with aggressive intent, eventually pulling alongside Palou — who had stayed out on worn tires — and muscling past him on the front straight with just 15 laps to go.

From there, Rasmussen held his nerve, crossing the line 1.9 seconds clear to seal a breakthrough victory. It marked Ed Carpenter Racing’s first trip to victory lane since Rinus VeeKay’s win at Indianapolis in 2021.

Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin completed the podium in third, while Rasmussen’s teammate Alexander Rossi came home fourth.

Despite falling short of the single-season wins milestone, Palou’s dominance this year has been historic. He joins Ted Horn, Sebastien Bourdais, and Dario Franchitti as only the fourth driver to secure three straight IndyCar championships. With four total crowns, he now sits behind only Dixon’s six and Foyt’s unmatched 10 on the all-time list.