The INDY NXT Grand Prix of Alabama at Barber Motorsports Park did not disappoint as Christian Rasmussen put on a dominant performance, leading every lap to take home the victory from the pole position. Rasmussen, driving for HMD Motorsports with Dale Coyne Racing, finished 1.9983 seconds ahead of his teammate Nolan Siegel, who finished second.
It was a weekend of complete domination by HMD Motorsports, as Rasmussen’s victory was complemented by Toby Sowery, who filled in for Josh Pierson, taking third place on the podium. Unfortunately, HMD’s Josh Green and Danial Frost collided on the final lap, which resulted in Frost being assessed a 30-second post-race penalty, causing both drivers to finish outside of the top five.
The race had two full-course caution periods and a red flag after Louis Foster’s No. 26 Copart/USF Pro Championship car ran off course and hit the barrier in Turn 9, while running third. Foster’s crash caused a red flag to provide track cleanup and a pause in the race for 11 minutes.
Rasmussen was able to maintain his lead after each caution period and red flag, stretching his lead to 1.3 seconds on the restart on Lap 18. From there, he gradually increased his lead, ultimately winning the race by almost two seconds.
With the win, Rasmussen takes the lead in the INDYCAR development series’ championship standings, five points ahead of teammate Nolan Siegel. The next race is the INDY NXT by Firestone Grand Prix on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course on Saturday, May 13th. It will be interesting to see if Rasmussen can continue his dominant form and extend his lead in the championship standings.
