INDY NXT: Christian Rasmussen tops Iowa test

The rising stars of INDYCAR took to the Iowa Speedway short oval track on Thursday in preparation for next month’s Hy-Vee INDYCAR Race Weekend, July 21-23. During today’s INDY NXT by Firestone open test, 17 cars turned laps on the 7/8 of a mile track in Newton, Iowa as series teams gear up for the first oval race of the 2023 season.

The test was a valuable one for INDY NXT competitors as they got their first opportunity to run the new Firestone tire compound for oval tracks, which will see its first race action during Hy-Vee INDYCAR Race Weekend. On Thursday, teams logged 1,353 combined laps over the course of the day at Iowa Speedway.

Series championship leader Christian Rasmussen of HMD Motorsports topped the testing speed chart with a fast lap of 20.4319 (157.518 mph).

“It’s always good when we roll off the gate this strong,” said Rasmussen, who finished second in last year’s series race at Iowa Speedway. “Obviously, it’s going to be quite a bit different race weekend with temperatures and all this and that, but it’s definitely confidence inducing. We want to be quick every time we’re on track and we seem to be. Whether we’re on street circuits, when we’re on road courses and even on the ovals now, so it was a good day. I’m very happy. P1 in both sessions today and we gained a lot of experience. We’ll come back for the race and try to do the same thing.”

For the second consecutive year, INDY NXT by Firestone will compete alongside the NTT INDYCAR SERIES during Hy-Vee INDYCAR Race Weekend. The next generation of INDYCAR stars will qualify on Friday, July 21 before hosting Round 8 of the 2023 INDY NXT by Firestone season on Saturday, July 22 (11 am ET on Peacock).

Test Results