Ed Carpenter Racing announced Aug. 28 that Christian Rasmussen will finish the 2024 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season behind the wheel of the No. 20 GuyCare Chevrolet.
Rasmussen, 24, from Denmark, will compete in this weekend’s Hy-Vee Milwaukee Mile 250s doubleheader at the Milwaukee Mile and the season-ending Big Machine Music City Grand Prix on Sunday, Sept. 15 at Nashville Superspeedway.
Team owner Ed Carpenter was scheduled to drive the No. 20 entry in the last three oval races of the year. But Carpenter instead decided to provide the opportunity to Rasmussen, who has made one oval start in his rookie season with ECR, a 12th-place finish in the 108th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge. That was the highest finish by a rookie this year in “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.”
Carpenter has made four starts this season for his team, all on ovals, with a best finish of 17th.
“First off, this was a very difficult decision for me to make,” Carpenter said. “I want to make it clear that this is not a retirement announcement. However, the reality is, I have not performed to the level that I expect of myself for the team.
“Christian tested at Gateway (World Wide Technology Raceway) prior to the race, and he showed me that he deserves this expanded opportunity. He also had such a strong performance during the Month of May and has earned the chance to continue his development. I am excited to watch him finish the season out strong for the No. 20 crew and the entire ECR team.”
The doubleheader this Saturday evening and Sunday afternoon at Milwaukee will mark the first short oval starts of Rasmussen’s young NTT INDYCAR SERIES career. But he won both short-oval races in INDY NXT by Firestone last season en route to the championship in the INDYCAR development series.
“First and foremost, I am incredibly thankful to Ed for providing me this opportunity,” Rasmussen said. “I am excited to drive the No. 20 in the remaining three races, and I am fully committed to giving the team my absolute best. While I haven’t raced at Milwaukee or Nashville before, my past performances on ovals have been strong, and I’m eager to add these tracks to the list.”
Live coverage of the first race of the Hy-Vee Milwaukee Mile 250s starts at 5:40 p.m. ET Saturday on Peacock and the INDYCAR Radio Network. The second race will be covered live starting at 2:30 p.m. ET Sunday on USA Network, Peacock and the INDYCAR Radio Network.