The NTT INDYCAR SERIES tested on a road course last week, and the first race of 2026 will be staged on a street circuit. But it’s not too early to start thinking about what might happen this season on oval tracks.

As a refresher, series champion Alex Palou won last year’s Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge, and he added a second oval victory at Iowa Speedway. Handily, Palou led all drivers in points scored on ovals. He had 252. Pato O’Ward, who finished second in the standings, won the other race held at Iowa, and he totaled 208 oval points.

Today’s trivia question is, which driver finished third in oval points scored last year? The answer might be of surprise.

It wasn’t oval masters Scott Dixon, Will Power or Josef Newgarden.

And, it wasn’t Kyle Kirkwood, who won the race at World Wide Technology Raceway.

Wait for it …

It was Christian Rasmussen.

2023 INDY NXT by Firestone champion Rasmussen compiled 173 points in last year’s six oval races, and it could have been an even higher total had he not crashed on the opening lap in the season-ending race at Nashville Superspeedway and netted just five points. Rasmussen finished in the top eight in the other oval races, highlighted by his first series win coming at the Milwaukee Mile.

Rasmussen also excelled on ovals despite poor qualifying performances. He drove ECR’s No. 21 Splenda Chevrolet from 18th to finish sixth at Indy, motored from 25th to finish third at World Wide Technology Raceway, drove from 19th to finish sixth in the first race at Iowa Speedway and jumped from 17th to eighth in the second Iowa race. Even at Milwaukee, he only qualified in the ninth position.

Christian Rasmussen

ECR has experience a host of upgrades since Ted Gelov joined as a partner, bringing his Heartland Food Group and brands Java House and Splenda along with him. Rasmussen (photo, above), who finished 13th overall in last year’s standings, said there’s a sense within the organization that something big is brewing for the future, and that could include more race wins of all kinds.

“I think everyone got a taste of it last year where the team is going, and I think there’s more of that coming here in the near future,” the 25-year-old driver said.

Rasmussen said the team that also fields a full-season car for Alexander Rossi and an Indy-only ride for team co-owner Ed Carpenter is “honing, getting better all the time,” and the timing of that appears advantageous.

This week, the series heads to Phoenix Raceway for an Open Test on Tuesday, Feb. 17 and Wednesday, Feb. 18. A return visit to the Arizona desert is scheduled for March 6-7 with the Good Ranchers 250, the first of this year’s six oval races.

“For whatever reason (ovals) just kind of click with me,” said Rasmussen, who won two such races in INDY NXT and now has one in the big series. “I love oval racing.”