The Return of Rasmussen

This is Off-Track.

Hello and welcome guys to Off-Track with Hinge and Rossi on a Tuesday.

And remember last week we said, you know what, we're just going to switch it up

and we're going to just do race reports on Tuesdays now.

Well, we're not doing that anymore.

We're back to having an interview on a Tuesday.

And I mean, we could.

He was the race.

That's true, actually.

This could just kind of be a twofer.

We, of course, are talking about Christian Rasmussen who joins us on the show.

Welcome back, buddy.

Thank you.

Thanks for having me.

You keep doing what you're doing.

You're going to have to come on this thing and replace James is like the other host.

I don't know about that.

I don't think I can live up to that.

But you're right.

You replace Alex.

Um, I feel like we should just, I feel like we should just prebook you for the Monday

after Gateway, after Milwaukee, you know, probably this is.

A little bit of a little bit of a trend we see happen in here.

Um, yeah, man.

I mean, first of all, I mean, how you, how you feeling?

It's, we're filming this on, what is it?

Monday, filming this on Monday.

Uh, we'll get into the race, but you've had a couple of days to digest the race.

How you feeling about it all?

It's, I mean, obviously it's, uh, it sucks, right?

I mean, it's when you're that quick and don't end up having a, getting a result out of it.

Um, and kind of in, in my eyes anyway, it gets kind of taken out of your hands, right?

And so, yeah, it sucks.

But at the end of the day, that's, that's racing sometimes.

And then we're just onto the next one, focusing on Arlington this weekend.

I have to say, like, I don't think I've worked with you now for a year and a bit.

And I've certainly never seen you as upset, um, as you were on, on Saturday, rightfully.

So might I add.

Um, was that really kind of in, in your mind, in your career, like the, the biggest one

that got away?

I think so, uh, especially just because of the, the level we're racing at, right?

You know, it's, it's not very often you have the opportunity to, to go win an Indy car race.

And then when you are that strong, it definitely hurts a bit more when it then slips away.

Um, so yeah, for sure, I was, uh, I was very disappointed, um, especially when, when stuff

that's more out of your control than in your control, um, kind of takes you out of it.

So I think, I think that was the big one for me.

It was, it was just, yeah, it was just, yeah, not, not how you want it to end for sure.

Okay.

Well, we'll, we'll get up to that, but let's, let's start from the beginning.

Um, you know, you, qualifying seemed pretty tough this weekend.

It seemed like, especially the earlier you went out, it seemed like guys were really struggling.

Um, you guys were quick in the test here, felt pretty good in practice.

How'd you feel about your qualifying run?

Cause it was probably a little bit, you know, maybe a little bit under expectations, I would think.

Yeah, definitely under expectations because we, I mean, we had quick cars from, from the very

beginning, like you say, through the test, uh, through practice one, um, we were always quite strong.

So the, the hope for qualifying were obviously set very high.

Um, and it's, it was partly a car that was very loose.

Um, so it wasn't very easy to drive and partly, um, me going a bit low, flirting with the, with

the apron, um, so once I kind of got the car tuned in on the, um, on all the tools that we have,

um, it was actually decent, uh, on that second lap on, um, on the qualifying run, but obviously

that first lap was just not good enough.

So we ended pretty far down.

So yeah, it was definitely a disappointment.

Um, but from a very, from a very small, small miss, uh, we still felt like we could do something

in the race like we've shown before.

So I want to get into that a little bit.

You know, obviously the, the oval weekends come very quick, right?

They're two day weekends, you're practice qualified practice.

And so it, it all is just snowballs, right?

Like if you don't start super strong, or even if you do like one wrong step and the

day can kind of be a right off.

We saw this kind of exact situation play out for you in gateway.

Um, and that was kind of the debut, I think to the world of, of what you could do on short ovals.

Fast forward to Milwaukee.

We obviously know what happened there.

It was a smoother weekend from a, from a qualifying standpoint, right?

But I think, you know, the big one there was ultimately you were the best car that took

tires.

You know, I think that the 10 car was still probably the benchmark in that race.

Um, Nashville, we don't know what happened, uh, cause of, cause of lap one turn one.

Um, and then we get to, we get to Phoenix, uh, a track that you've never seen before.

And it was, it was gateway 2.0 from, from my eyes, right?

You know, you, you struggled in, in qualifying for whatever reason, right?

Practice to, you know, there was, there was some improvements, but it was never like, wow.

And then you get into the race and all of a sudden this, this thing engages, right?

And you are so far above the rest of the field.

Is that something that you at this point just rely upon or is it still kind of surprising

you when you get into the race and you're just driving around everybody?

No, I think it's, it's still slightly surprising sometimes.

Um, cause I go into the race and, and like, like yourself, we, we didn't really know

what to expect.

Some drivers thought that it was going to race pretty well.

Uh, some drivers didn't think that it was going to race at all.

I was kind of middle of the way.

I didn't really know what to expect either.

Um, so I was actually quite, uh, disappointed with my first three laps of the race

because I tried to roll the high line.

It did not work for me at all.

I went backwards at the start.

Um, and was like, well, that sucks.

It's not going to race very well, but, um, then I kind of started seeing cars move

up the lanes and making it work.

So I was like, Oh, okay, I'll give it another try.

Um, and then it started to work.

So I think at the start, I kind of put that down as I was just in, in a lot

of dirty air, a lot of cars in front of me and therefore it didn't quite work.

Um, but, um, you know, I go into the race every time, just trying to get the best

out of it.

Uh, and on a wheels, it seems like there's just more opportunities to, to be

ahead.

Um, so yeah, I just want to, I want to capitalize on, on those opportunities

and try to move forward.

So very early on, I felt like we did have a very strong package and I was able

to, to move forward quite quickly.

Um, that first stint was pretty fun to, to say the least, you know, it was, uh,

from the, not from the very beginning for the, because the first, first couple

laps were tough, but after that first safety car was where we really started

to move forward.

And I just felt, I just felt like I could place the car where I wanted to.

And, and I had the, the support in, in the car to, to do kind of what I wanted

to.

So it was just a matter of, of getting into the situations of, and of more

getting into, to the role of things and just kind of start to see where cars

are placing themselves and just doing the opposite of whoever is in front of

you.

I got to, I got to ask, like, it's such a spectacular thing to witness, right?

Like we're watching on TV and we're on your on boards and like, you know,

down sometimes I've kind of run out of words, you know, like Milwaukee was one

thing and we, we didn't get to see what Nashville is going to be like, but now

we're two of the last three you've gone out there and had this very similar

style is similar kind of looks like balance in the car.

Like in your mind, was that the balance that you wanted?

Cause your car, your car's loose as hell.

Like it looks terrifying to drive, right?

But you make it work.

You don't seem bothered by it.

Is that now what you're aiming for?

Or did you get out there?

You're like, yes, loose, but I'm just going to, I'm just going to make it work.

I would say a little bit of both.

Uh, I think my first and I was a little bit looser than I wanted to be.

So we took a turn of front wing out, which put me in a spot where I was fairly

happy and then kind of as the race progressed, I was wanting like more and

more front.

Um, the thing was a little, that was a little bit limiting for me was the

interest to the corner, especially into three, um, which was, I think pretty

common throughout the whole weekend where the car was, was fairly loose and you

had to be very smooth with your hands on the way in, but then once you kind of

once I kind of got more comfortable and was able to kind of go through that

moment of the real wanting to step out, um, then I just needed the front.

Uh, and especially when you're, when you're in traffic and, and trying to

run high and, and whatever, like, I always needed the front, uh, to, to dig in.

So I could stay close, stay on the line that I wanted to, so I could actually

like make these passes.

So yeah, started a little bit free, took a bit out and then started to add

neck in as the race progressed.

So let's, let's get into it, um, with, with kind of the, the last third of the

race, right?

So it was pretty clear, um, really from the first stint that, that you were the

car to beat and, you know, as the admin flow of the race went, you know, that

performance didn't really degrade at all.

And, and even as the track got hotter and, and you know, firestone rubber was

going down on top of the Goodyear rubber and everything.

Like you were still able to do pretty much what, what no one else could do.

Um, where, where, what was your thought process like when you were racing will?

Cause I think, you know, he, he obviously was on a similar strategy, but a

little off cycle, just cause he was starting in the back and that sort of

thing.

So what, what was your mindset there?

And, um, yeah, just walk us through that battle.

And then ultimately, uh, the unfortunate instant.

Yeah.

Well, my strategy was to get by him, try to get by him.

And, and then like, I'll give it to Will.

Like he, he raises super well.

And I think what he did very well, uh, in this particular thing was always placing

the car where I wanted to be.

Um, and like a lot of the times, even if he would start low and then I would go

high, he would fade up and take the arrow of my wing, which is, which was just,

it made it very, very tough to pass.

And so it, it kind of became a little bit of a, of a chess game of kind of

trying to figure out where he's going to place himself and then commit to the

opposite before that.

So like kind of looking into, trying to look into the future, um, of, of trying

to figure out what's going to happen.

And then for me, it was a little bit of just, if you get two of those, right,

two decisions, right for me, where if he goes low, you go high, you get a good run.

And then let's say it's the opposite down, down in the other end, and he would

go high and I would go low.

And if you just get those two decisions right for me, then that would be enough

for a run.

Um, and that's exactly what, that's exactly what happened, uh, leading up to the incident.

I made those two decisions, right?

Which then gave me a run around the outside, um, in, in one and two.

And because he was that tough to, to get by and placing his car so well, uh,

I kind of had a feeling that I had to jump on, on the opportunity to do one.

So you had more urgency for this one.

Yeah.

There was definitely some urgency.

Um, but on the flip side, you know, early in the race, I was watching the, my

onboard back yesterday, I had multiple locations where it was the exact same

situation with when I passed McLaughlin early in the race, I passed, I think

Kirkwood, very similar.

Um, the only difference is we'll fade it up and the other guys stayed down.

Um, and the two others, they were sold at impasses.

And obviously we all know how, how, uh, the last situation ended.

So first of all, when it, when it, you know, you saw him coming up, he was coming

up and looked like, okay, he should have stopped by now.

He's still coming up.

Did you at any point try to back out of it?

Or were you kind of committed either way?

No, I, I, when it's, when you see the door closing that fast, you're obviously

trying to get out of it.

Um, because you're, you can see that he keeps coming.

Um, but at that point, it was just, it was too late for, for me to, to do much.

Um, or at least my, my reaction to it was, was too late.

Um, but the thing is to get those run runs, you have to be so committed on, on,

on the power and around the outside that it's hard to that point to, to, to

pull out of it, because then you lose so much momentum and then there's a,

there's a car behind you and, and whatever.

And you kind of lose all of that progress that you've built for the last couple

laps of getting close and all this and that, but yeah, I mean, when you see

the door shot, you try to pull out of it, but just too late.

So, so walk us through now your, your, your mindset, right?

This is one, one oval of one, two, three, four left, right?

Does, does the incident that happened on Saturday change your methodology

and approach at all or what?

Where, where are you at?

I think, I think what I didn't take into account enough was who you're

racing and the spots you're racing for.

Um, it is always going to be different when you're racing for delete.

People are going to be more aggressive because there's more in the line.

And then in the last 40 laps versus the first 40 laps.

Yeah.

Exactly.

Um, so, so yeah, I think, I guess in the, in the later stages of the race,

um, we could probably, because had I, had I just pulled out a little bit

earlier of the throttle, I would probably have gotten the run down the, the,

the straight and, and pass them into, to turn three.

But it's so easy to say in hindsight, right?

It's, it's these situations, they happen so quick.

Um, and it's easy to say what you could have done differently to, to

change the result, but matter of fact, this, that's not what happened.

Um, but I guess, again, I'm learning more and more all the time.

I haven't been around will that much on an oval yet.

Um, and it's just one of those notes where you, you, you put it behind the ear

and okay, that's how he races.

Then you, you, you move forward with that knowledge and hopefully

you can make a better decision next time.

You know, to kind of going back a little bit to my earlier question

about, you know, your, your preferred balance in the car, right?

So you said, oh, you're a little loose at the start.

I took out one turn of front wing.

And then as the race went on, I was cranking it in as the race went on

from the onboard, you look just as terrifying as it did at the beginning.

Look just as terrifying as it did at Milwaukee.

So this tells me that this is how you like the car, or at least this is how

you're okay driving the car.

It's clear that this is fast on this type of track.

I, I feel like, and this is, you know, I want Alex to chime in on this a

little bit too, because you've always got a unique perspective being on

the inside of the team and kind of seeing it from the inside.

But to me, this is a little bit of like a Carlos Munoz circa 2014 moment

where, you know, James, I get what you're saying, but I got to stop you.

This is for those that don't.

Should I finish the thought and then you can review it?

So the thought, the thought being that in 2014, I think Carlos Munoz

redefined how you race at the speedway by just living below the white line,

which every veteran told you never to do.

And now that's you exclusively drive below the white line

on, on short oval and big oval, on any oval, right?

If you have that many corrections in a lap, if your own sense of self

preservation doesn't pull you in, normally the engineers on the stand

be like, OK, we're going to pick this lap, we're going to take care of this.

Like, obviously, you don't do that a race, but in a practice, if you

have those kind of corrections, they don't tolerate it, they bring you in.

That's kind of what you're trying to do.

I feel like, Christian, you've exposed that this car, this tire,

this combination on this type of race track is maybe a little more tolerant

of a bit of yaw and some catches than people previously have thought.

And it apparently helps you be really quick, especially late in a stint.

So Alex Chippin, has he kind of redefined now how you have to race

these cars on these tracks?

Yes and no. OK.

So I didn't listen to your question, but he's got an answer for it.

But no, no, because, because.

I can't, I can't give too much away, but let me just tell you,

he's not looking for this balance.

OK. Right.

This is not something that he is that he is aiming for throughout the weekend.

And what happens is he has redefined it himself.

I can guarantee you, it does not matter which of the 25 cars that he gets in,

he would do the same thing.

It's irrelevant because it only shows up this is Sunday or Saturday,

usually after a penalty of some sort.

And he becomes honestly untouchable in there, untouchable.

And it's not.

It has nothing to do with car balance.

He could have added six turns of throwing, taken six turns of throwing out.

It doesn't matter. Excuse my language.

He will just make it happen.

So yes, he's redefined it, but not because of the front spring or a.

No, no, no, no, like it's no, it's just like it's doing what no one else can do.

But OK, is, but is everyone now going to have to try to drive the car

with a looser balance because clearly it helps with your life?

No, we can talk about this on the Thursday episode.

But again, it doesn't.

I don't, my opinion, it has nothing to do with the balance.

He is doing what Palo is doing on road courses.

We now have to figure out what Christian's doing on short vehicles.

That is OK. The level we're trying to do.

Do you want to just have our own conversation down here?

Sure. They go begging for it.

Tell me if I'm wrong.

Tell me. No, I very much agree with that,

like because it is it is a balance that we're trying to fix throughout the weekend.

But we just. But do you want to fix it now?

There's two, there's two data points that are like maybe we shouldn't fix it.

No, I still, I mean, I still think it can.

Like I don't think there's no such thing as a perfect race car.

They're never will be.

And but that being said, you can always be better.

And I think maybe my my tolerance is higher than other drivers.

But like Alex said, it's not a it's not a balance

that I'm I'm searching for necessarily.

I think in the in the races, yes, I do like having some front

to to get that car in the middle of the corner to to to stay close and whatever.

But I like the SNPs are never fun.

They're not fun for other drivers.

They're not fun for me either.

So that doesn't really change.

So it's good to know that makes you feel better on the flip side.

We I usually catch them and I can still stay fairly committed

and still make passes happen.

So maybe maybe it's a tolerance thing more so than James James.

Let me put it to you. Let me put it to you this way.

This is why the setup doesn't matter. OK.

He hit the out of the wall and bent like both right rear

wishbones, OK, and retook the and did a restart in the lead of the race

and led the race for like 18 laps with a car that was completely bent.

And it wasn't until I think I was there.

It wasn't until I think he hit the wall again that like finally

it was like so bad you couldn't do anything.

And he's still finished 14th.

So it my point, my case being that the setup doesn't matter.

He's just Superman on his day.

Well, I know it's it's so hard.

I mean, you kind of mentioned it off the top Christian.

It's so hard to win these races and it's so hard to be in a position.

It's so rare you get a car where you were just like so clearly

heads and tails above the the field that I know it on days like that.

It sucks to not get the result that you want.

Is it something you try to just kind of put behind you and think, hey,

we we did a great job, 99 percent of things we could control.

We executed on on to the next one.

Or is it really like, does it like burn to the point where it's fuel now

for you going into Arlington or Barbara or Long Beach or Indy?

He was fine until you said that.

Yeah, I mean, the way I look at it is that to out of the last three races,

we have been the card to beat in the oval races,

which I think tells you that that that's something that we're doing pretty well.

So I don't want to change too much because I think whatever recipe we're on,

it's working and that being said, yeah, I mean, yeah, of course it sucks.

What I want my to have my my second Indy car winning trophy

right next to me right now.

Yeah, of course I do.

At the end of the day, as a race car driver,

you got to have pretty short memory because we're racing again this weekend.

And now it's full focus on that.

So I mean, I'm not looking back.

Obviously, you can look back on the weekend and say in hindsight

that I should have done this different and then that would have changed the result.

But like I said earlier, that that's not the case.

What happened happened and.

Yeah, on to the next thing.

Listen, listen, I think the majority.

No, I would say all of the people in the paddock would agree with that.

Forget whatever opinions that fans have,

because I think you you didn't do anything wrong there.

You know, you talk about hindsight and all that sort of thing,

but that doesn't obviously exist in the moment.

So as I told you on Saturday, keep doing what you're doing.

It's working. It's super annoying, but like it's cool.

I mean, it's great for us, man.

We love it. Keep going.

Yeah, yeah, it's great for us.

As annoyed and sad I was after the race, man,

the comment Alex was coming with after the race still, like,

made me laugh to almost tears.

So yeah, it was that was pretty funny.

What was that?

Wait, what was the what was the comment?

Well, with how Alex was running, I think you were running P3 at the time.

Oh, and what felt like he was having a great race running up in control,

you know, just doing his thing.

And then he sees me knowing that I started P18 and went by him.

You know, so yeah, that that that still made me laugh.

No, like let's end on this.

Let me let me walk you through how annoying this is.

So you start six, you get a good start, right?

You're in P3.

The two cars in front of you who you know are kind of the benchmark, right?

On short ovals, you have a better balance in them.

They're walking the dog through one and two.

You know, you're in a super lean map.

You're saving tires.

You're like on their gearbox, all this sort of thing.

You're thinking I am in control of this race.

Everyone else sucks, right?

And then and then in my mirror, I start to see like six cars back this

like neon green car and I'm like, no, no way.

Right. And then I hear my spotter just being like, Christian's

making lane two work.

And I'm like, yeah, I'm sure I'm sure he is good for him.

Don't care.

Like I'm fine in the position I'm in.

Like no one's behind me.

Like I'm good and then three laps later.

It's like, all right, Christians in fifth, next lap Christians in fourth,

next lap Christians on the outside.

And I'm like, OK, I, all right, I get sweet.

That's awesome.

And then to the point where like I knew where his car set up was that.

So despite my balance, I actually came into the pits and was like,

take some wing out, like let's not unlock it.

Terrible idea.

And it was like put that straight back in.

So anyways, I'm proud of you because I see how hard you work at it.

And you'll get another one unless someone else has something to do about it.

But that's unlikely at this point.

So thanks for coming on and we'll see you in a couple of days.

This has been off track with Hinch and Rossi.

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The Return of Rasmussen

About this episode

qualifying

practice

loose (car handling)

apron (racing track)

oval weekends

front wing

throttle

car balance

racing line

setup

wishbones

restart

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