Christian Rasmussen takes Indy NXT victory in Alabama rough and tumble
Christian Rasmussen completed his dominance of the Indy NXT weekend at Barber Motorsports Park with victory from pole on Sunday.
Christian Rasmussen in victory lane at Barber Motorsports Park. (Karl Zemlin / Penske Entertainment)
The Danish driver took his #6 HMD Motorsports with Dale Coyne Racing entry off pole and survived multiple restarts to lead every lap and take the chequered flag ahead of Nolan Siegel and Toby Sowery.
“The HMD boys have just given us an amazing car all weekend,” said Rasmussen.
“Right from the get-go in first practice, we were on top, and we just continued that the whole weekend."
"It was pure HMD domination this weekend. I can’t thank them enough. They make me look good out there.”
Christian Rasmussen leads the Indy NXT fields through the rolling hills of Barber Motorsports Park. (James Black / Penske Entertainment)
The race was first suspended on lap 26 when Louis Foster suffered a struck throttle and hit the barrier at turn nine, eliminated Rasmussen's three-second lead. The red flag fell as a recovery vehicle became bogged on the outside of the track, with the race halted for over ten minutes.
Rasmussen confidently held his lead at the restart and had built a gap of 2.7 seconds when Jacob Abel and Matteo Nannini came together at turn 17. The second restart was once again no issue for the Dane, who ran away with the race victory.
Siegel and Sowery completed the podium in the #39 and #14 HMD Motorsports cars, locking out the podium for the team. It could have been a top-five lockout save for a final lap collision between teammates Josh Green and Danial Frost, who collided heavily after Frost hit the kerbs while battling for fourth.
Green and Frost recovered to ninth and tenth, with Frost receiving a 30-second post-race penalty.
Kiwi Hunter McElrea suffered a similar fate on the opening lap, tagged from behind by Kyffin Simpson while running in fourth. McElrea was able to return to the track after repairs, finishing 13th and five laps down on the leaders.
The 2023 Indy NXT season resumes at the INDY NXT by Firestone Grand Prix on 13 May on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.
2023 Indy NXT by Firestone - Round 2 Grand Prix of Alabama Race Result
- Christian Rasmussen
- Nolan Siegel
- Toby Sowery
- Enaam Ahmed
- James Roe
- Colin Kaminsky
- Christian Bogle
- Ernie Francis Jr
- Josh Green
- Danial Frost
- Jamie Chadwick
- Jagger Jones
- Hunter McElrea (NZ)
- Louis Foster
- Matteo Nannini
- Jacob Abel
- Reece Gold - DNF
- Kyffin Simpson - DSQ
