184 - Elbows Out - Christian Rasmussen Reflects on His Best IndyCar Season to Date

The elbows were out this past weekend as the IndyCar Series did battle at Laguna Seca, and our favorite open wheeler Conor Daly brought home his best road course result of the season. He joins co-host Chase Holden to unpack his team’s weekend, and how struggles with the primary tire and a lap one collision had them battling uphill all day. Despite this, Conor was able to survive some “argy-barginess” and found himself in position for a 14th place finish. He and Chase weigh in on opening lap contact between Kyffin Simpson and Felix Rosenqvist, as well as the new beef between Kyle Kirkwood and Rinus Veekay which has spilled onto social media. Ed Carpenter Racing driver Christian Rasmussen joins the show to discuss his strongest IndyCar season to date, which includes his recent first career podium at Gateway and a series of top 10s finishes. Christian recounts his strong showing at Laguna Seca and how he was on track to have a 7th-place day before dropping his tires off course and losing a couple of positions. He and Conor discuss their love for the highline at the short ovals this year, and how the IndyCar paddock has adopted an aggressive mentality as the season winds to a close. The guys also discuss their recent golf outing at Pebble Beach and other hobbies away from the track.

The IndyCar Series made its annual pilgrimage north of the border, and our resident open wheeler Conor Daly held on for a 15th place finish. He joins co-host Chase Holden this week on Speed Street to discuss the challenges that street courses like Detroit and Toronto bring to the Juncos Hollinger Racing team. Conor explains that the slick surfaces that are found throughout the courses make it difficult to generate mechanical grip, and Toronto is especially tricky with its mixture of tarmac and concrete. He fills listeners in on what his team’s strategy was and ultimately how the late race caution helped salvage a 15th place finish. The guys also look ahead to Laguna Seca where Conor expects to have more competitive pace.Friend of the show Rinus Veekay returns to celebrate his second place finish and return to the IndyCar podium. Rinus dives into the recent engineering hires that Dale Coyne Racing has made, mainly Michael Cannon and Mike Ciccarelli, and how they are boosting the team’s performance week in week out. Rinus feels his stock as an IndyCar racer is at an all time high, and Conor makes the argument for him being deserving of a high-profile ride in the series. Rinus has elevated the team to an 11th place position in the points standings, far above several of the top runners in the series. The guys look ahead to the final four races of the season and Rinus lays out his expectations of how he’d like to finish out the year.

Race fans got double the IndyCar short oval action this past weekend in Iowa, and our resident open wheeler Conor Daly was putting on a high line clinic. He joins co-host Chase Holden to unpack the action from Iowa Speedway and how he delivered Juncos Hollinger Racing’s best qualifying effort on a short oval to date. Conor explains that he was combating right front temperature issues in the first race but a late caution put him in position to bring home a seventh-place finish. In race two, an untimely caution for Colton Herta ended up ruining his team’s strategy, which trapped him two laps down late in the running. Conor expresses his heartbreak from the situation, as had the race run green he would have been in contention for a top-five finish and great points effort.Winner of the first race and the first driver to park a Chevy in victory lane this season Pato O’Ward joins the show to debrief with Conor about their time together in Iowa. The guys chat about the strategy in race one and how moving to the high line as soon as possible was key for making up track position. Pato talks about struggling to get around lapped traffic but how overall the racing product was twice as better this year as last season’s doubleheader. Despite this, the guys discuss the low attendance and television ratings and try to come up with solutions for bringing fan interest back to the Iowa short oval. The guys also take a look at the rest of the season and Pato’s championship hopes. 

It was quite an eventful day at Mid-Ohio for Conor Daly, and he's back on Speed Street to give us the lowdown. He joins co-host Chase Holden to recap his on-track incident with Santino Ferrucci and the rest of his weekend with the Juncos Hollinger Race Team. Conor reports that he had his best road course qualifying effort of the year and felt incredibly optimistic about the team’s progress before the contact with Ferrucci caused him to lose 11-seconds in track position and took him out of contention for a good finish. Conor also gives listeners some insight to his recent test at Iowa and what can be expected at this weekend’s double header.Mid-Ohio race winner Scott Dixon joins the show to chat about his ability to capitalize on Alex Palou’s late race mistake, which parked him in victory lane for the 59th time in his IndyCar career. Scott explains he was struggling with tire wear at different points in the race and wasn’t sure how the two main strategies would play out before he saw a dust cloud from Palou running off the track. From there, he deployed his hybrid boost and push to pass to gain a major run on the 10-car, which ended up being the winning move of the race. Scott also talks about celebrating with his son Kit at the track for the first time, his takeaways from the recent Iowa test and his expectations for the rest of the 2025 season.

The IndyCar Series took on legendary Road America this past weekend, and our resident open wheeler Conor Daly was once again in action. He joins co-host Chase Holden this week on Speed Street to discuss his struggles throughout the weekend and how a penalty sunk his efforts at a decent finish. Conor explains that the new hybrid continues to be difficult for his team, as the added weight has caused everyone in the paddock to go back to the drawing board for setups and balance. Ultimately, a design difficulty in the aero screen caused Conor to misread an IndyCar official’s hand gestures, which led to him receiving a stop-and-go penalty, effectively taking him out of contention.Road America pole sitter Louis Foster joins the race to celebrate his first ever series P1 start and how he and his team were shocked to have found so much speed throughout the qualifying session. He and Conor share thoughts on the search for consistency throughout a season, and how it can be frustrating competing against the better funded teams who seem to have things together week in week out. Louis speaks on the viral clip of his mustache shaving from the past weekend and how out of the car storylines are good for IndyCar fans to get to know the drivers better. The guys also touch on Louis’ major crash in St. Louis, changing team culture and the upcoming test at Iowa.

It was an exhilarating weekend in St. Louis for the IndyCar Series, and our resident open wheeler Conor Daly entertained the masses with a thrilling drive to the front. He joins co-host Chase Holden to discuss taking his number-76 Juncos Hollinger Chevy high, wide and handsome to battle from 15th place to the lead throughout the evening. Conor gives listeners great insight to his side-by-side battle with Pato O’Ward and how some missteps on pit road ultimately put him behind, causing him to settle for a sixth place finish. Pato O’Ward joins the show and the two stars of the night relive their battle in detail. Pato compares the fight for the lead to his race with Josef Newgarden at Texas in 2023. He also discusses his start to the 2025 season and how despite not having a victory on the year he finds himself second in the championship points standings. Pato reveals that he feels very at peace with how the races have been unfolding and despite not always having qualifying speed, he’s been able to capitalize every weekend and salvage good finishes. Conor and Pato also rehash the 2025 Indianapolis 500 and Pato unpacks some of his heated, post-race comments about how the race fell short of what he expects from the Greatest Spectacle in Racing.

IndyCar may have had the week off, but Speed Street is still reporting for duty covering all the latest news in the open wheel scene. Conor Daly and Chase Holden reflect on the television ratings for the Detroit race and the public response to Conor’s critiques of the course layout. They also react to the news that Formula One will be directly competing with the 2026 running of the Indianapolis 500 by moving the Canadian Grand Prix to the same day. Conor expresses that the move from the FIA appears to be a blatant show of disrespect for the history of the 500, and feels motorsports fans are being cheated out of a celebrated tradition of the Greatest Day in Motorsports.Chip Ganassi Racing pilot Kyffin Simpson joins the show to discuss his recent first career top-five finish in Detroit and what his time has been like with the CGR team. Kyffin breaks down the pit strategy that helped bring him to the front of the pack and what he had to do to remain in the top five for the duration of the race. He also speaks on the steep learning curve and sheer amount of information he has been absorbing at CGR from having experienced teammates like Scott Dixon and Alex Palou. The guys chat about what areas Kyffin would like to improve in and what his goals are for the rest of the season. Kyffin also gives listeners some insight to who he is outside of the car, as he chats about island life and his love for water sports.

IndyCar took over the streets of Detroit, and for the second time this season Kyle Kirkwood was able to stop the Alex Palou freight train. Our resident open wheeler Conor Daly battled grip issues and muscled his Juncos Hollinger Chevy to a 17th place finish on the day. He joins co-host Chase Holden to discuss the difficulties that the Detroit Grand Prix circuit layout causes and why there has been so much calamity the last couple of seasons since the race left Belle Isle. They also break down some of the different strategies that drivers tried throughout the day, but ultimately the high number of caution periods disrupted everyone’s game plans.Race winner Kyle Kirkwood joins the show to unpack Andretti Global’s continued excellence on street courses. Despite having trouble in qualifying, Kyle found his way to the front when it mattered most and was able to capitalize on points leader Alex Palou’s misfortune. Speaking of which, Conor and Kyle trade battle stories of the firsthand mishaps they witnessed and why low grip in the braking zones seems to be leading to so many on-track incidents. Finally, Kyle breaks down his day at the Indianapolis 500 and what he needs to do to catch Alex Palou in the points chase.

The Greatest Spectacle in Racing is officially in the books, and our resident open wheeler Conor Daly showed moments of brilliance before bringing home a hard fought 8th place finish. He joins co-host Chase Holden to recap his race and how a vibration caused by a loss of wheel weights caused him to fade late in the running. Conor explains that his car became wrecking loose, but an early pit stop would cause him to fall out of the top-10, so he was forced to hold on for dear life and save more fuel than expected. The guys chat about the attrition during the race, the rain delays and how several contenders’ days were impacted. At the end of the day, the driver of the year so far Alex Palou was able to use lapped cars to stay ahead of Marcus Ericsson, bringing home his first career oval victory on the biggest stage in auto racing.The now regarded as “third host of Speed Street” Alex Palou stops by the show during his 500-winner media tour to unpack the biggest win in his storied career. He recalls that as the race hit the halfway mark and the various strategies began to take place, he realized he was going to have a shot at winning. Alex and Conor experienced opposite balance issues due to cold temperatures and rainy conditions, and Alex explains that he was dealing with a major push that the team chased with adjustments throughout the entire event. At the end of the day, Alex implemented a strategy that he learned while chasing Helio Castroneves to the finish during the 2021 running of the race, only this time he came out on top.

It is finally time for the Greatest Spectacle in Racing, and our resident open wheeler Conor Daly will be rolling off P11 this coming Sunday. He joins co-host Chase Holden to break down all of the action from practice week and qualifying, which saw many surprises and breath-taking crashes. No surprise of course was bigger than rookie Robert Shwartzman putting his Prema entry on the pole. But, the news that Josef Newgarden and Will Power had failed tech and were being penalized also rocked the paddock. Conor gives listeners a detailed look at how his final qualifying attempt unfolded, which originally placed him in 13th, just a few tenths away from locking into the Fast 12. He also explains how on edge the cars are this year, and the major differences between being in qualifying trim and race trim.Pole winner Robert Shwartman joins the show to reflect on his historic feat of becoming the first rookie to capture P1 since 1983. He talks listeners through making the Fast 12 and the feeling he had laying down a perfect lap that held up for the top speed of the day. Robert explains that after the hardship he’s faced in the Formula One ranks, it was incredible to feel the support from the crowd at Indianapolis. Conor and Chase also get to know Robert, the person outside of the race car, as they discuss his interest in hip hop music and how he is an aspiring musician himself. The guys chat about Prema team members like Ryan Briscoe being an asset and how Robert’s car is feeling going into the big race on Sunday.