- Christian Rasmussen, Ed Carpenter Racing’s full time IndyCar driver, has entered the 85th Turkey Night Grand Prix in a USAC National Midget on November 28.
- The 25 year old Dane calls it “completely out of my wheelhouse” after a 2026 season he describes as tough, including a win he felt was taken from him at Phoenix.
- His girlfriend, Maria Cofer, has raced the very same car, which carries a livery honoring Troy Ruttman’s 1952 Indianapolis 500 winning entry.
Something Completely Out of His Wheelhouse
Christian Rasmussen spent 2026 strapped into a 700 horsepower Dallara on ovals, road courses and street circuits across North America. On November 28, he will climb into something with roughly half the power, four wheels of dirt beneath it, and almost none of his experience behind him. “I’m excited to try something that is completely out of my wheelhouse,” Rasmussen said of his entry into the 85th Annual Turkey Night Grand Prix, the USAC National Midget Championship’s season finale at Ventura Raceway.
He will drive the No. 98 Agajanian Special, a Cofer and Esslinger built Spike short arm chassis powered by a roughly 350 horsepower SR 11 four cylinder engine, loaned out by car owners Johnny Cofer and Dan Esslinger for the one off. The livery pays tribute to Troy Ruttman, who won the 1952 Indianapolis 500 at 22 years old and remains the youngest winner in that race’s history. For a current IndyCar driver to climb into a tribute car built around a 74 year old Indy 500 victory, on dirt, with almost no practice time, is the kind of detour that says more about why drivers race than any points table could.
A Tough Year, By His Own Description
Rasmussen’s 2026 IndyCar season had already ended by the time the Turkey Night entry was announced. Alex Palou wrapped up his fifth championship at Laguna Seca in early September, and Scott McLaughlin won the season finale, closing a year in which Rasmussen, ECR’s 25 year old Danish driver, spent long stretches searching for the result he felt his early season pace deserved. “We’ve had a tough year,” he said mid season. “Feeling like we kind of had a win robbed from us back in Phoenix.” He had led 69 laps there in March before late race contact with Will Power ended his chance. “I couldn’t hang with those guys there at the end,” he said of that finish. “Whenever we were all on kind of newer ish tyres, I couldn’t hang.”
A third place run at World Wide Technology Raceway in Gateway, his second straight podium finish at that track, pulled him up to 22nd in points from 24th, five points clear of Romain Grosjean. Asked whether he had made a mistake losing the lead there late to Josef Newgarden, Rasmussen did not look for an excuse. “No. I mean, he was faster than me. I just didn’t have that pace.” He called the result “a good way to start building some momentum,” while admitting the team still had work to do on short ovals specifically. “We’ve always been very strong on the short ovals. We need to do some work to try and improve that so we don’t have to make it that hard on ourselves.”
From Copenhagen to a Full Time Deal
Rasmussen was born in Copenhagen and moved to the United States in 2018 to climb the Road to Indy ladder, eventually becoming one of only two drivers to sweep USF2000, USF Pro 2000 and INDY NXT championships across three consecutive rungs, clinching the 2023 INDY NXT title with a lap still to spare and five wins that season. He joined Ed Carpenter Racing part time in 2024, including a third Indy 500 entry for the team where he finished as the highest placed rookie, then moved into the No. 21 full time in 2025 and won his first career IndyCar race at Milwaukee that year.
In June, ECR signed him through at least 2027. “I’m excited to extend my partnership with ECR for 2027 and beyond,” Rasmussen said at the time. “I’ve enjoyed my time with the team so far and believe in the future of ECR. I’m confident that together we will continue to take ECR to its fullest potential.” Team owner Ed Carpenter framed the deal as a statement of intent as much as a contract. “Maintaining continuity with our driver lineup is something we feel is an important element for ECR,” he said. “We have watched Christian develop over the past two seasons and firmly believe that the future is bright.”
A Car His Own Girlfriend Has Raced
The Turkey Night ride carries a detail that makes it more than a novelty booking. Rasmussen’s girlfriend, Maria Cofer, has raced the exact car he will climb into at Ventura Raceway, connecting his dirt detour to someone close to him rather than a stunt built purely for attention. Johnny Cofer, who co owns and builds the car, called Rasmussen “an incredibly special talent” and thanked ECR for making him available for the loan. Dan Esslinger, who built the engine, called it “a one race deal” while adding a line that hints at how little margin Rasmussen will have to learn the car before raceday: “This could get interesting.” Rasmussen will get minimal practice time and almost no dirt mileage before the green flag, a sharp contrast to the engineering support and data he is used to inside an IndyCar paddock.
He is not the first IndyCar name to try it. Conor Daly and Santino Ferrucci have both taken brief midget outings in recent years, usually with similarly thin preparation, part of a tradition that runs back through American open wheel racing’s dirt track roots long before anyone raced on a purpose built road course. For Rasmussen, after a year defined by near misses and a win he still feels belonged to him, the appeal is less about the result than the kind of racing it is. There is no points system riding on Ventura Raceway in late November, no championship math, no late race contact to second guess. Just a borrowed car with a 74 year old name on its nose, a girlfriend who already knows what it drives like, and a driver who wanted to feel something different behind the wheel before the 2027 IndyCar season asks him to be serious again.
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