Christian Rasmussen looked set to take his second IndyCar victory Saturday afternoon, but his run was cut short after a late race incident.
The 25-year-old had spent a majority of the race from Phoenix demonstrating that he had the best-handling car in the field.
He started near the back, overcame a pit lane penalty, and still was able to slice and dice his way to the front to lead 69 of the race’s 250 laps.
With less than 50 laps remaining, Rasmussen was working to find his way past Will Power to retake the lead when the veteran moved high and squeezed him into the wall.
The contact with the SAFER barrier bent his suspension and caused him to fall down the order in the final laps.
The Dane was very upset with how the day ended, and vented his frustration on the broadcast once he climbed from the car.
“I mean, I think it’s very clear what happened,” Rasmussen told Fox Sports after the race. “We were the class of the field today. The best car out there. So happy with the car.
‘You can’t just run people into the wall, which is what happened today. He [Power] ran me straight into the wall, and after that I had damage. Lower wishbone on the front, upper and lower wishbone on the rear, and the toe link.
“Obviously some of that was from after. But the car was impossible to drive after that.
“I just did what I could to salvage the day and not crash the car. It’s frustrating. So frustrating. Because we should have won the race today, and obviously didn’t.”
Rasmussen completed 61 on track passes in his #21 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevy, more than anyone in the field. He finished the day in 13th.
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