The courtship of Christian Lundgaard already had begun before the Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing star entered the final year of his contract.
Which NTT IndyCar Series teams were interested?
“All of them,” Lundgaard said with a smile hours before the first practice session of the 2024 season. “All of them. Obviously, there’s interest, but at the same time, I’m here to work with the team. My trust is in the team. We have unfinished business at a lot of circuits and a lot of events, so I trust the team.”
His team will need to have faith in being able to convince Lundgaard to stay at his only home in IndyCar.
Once on a track toward Formula One as a two-time winner in F2, Lundgaard switched career paths three years ago and enjoyed a memorable IndyCar debut at Indianapolis Motor Speedway by qualifying fourth and finishing 12th on the fabled track’s road course.
After winning IndyCar rookie of the year in 2022, he enjoyed a breakout season last year with his first career victory and an eighth-place finish in the points.
That’s put the Dane in the crosshairs of some powerhouse teams in an IndyCar driver market that could be supercharged by the revelation of Pato O’Ward’s new multimillion-dollar extension.
Graham Rahal said the opportunity is there for Lundgaard “to chase dollar bills and that’s his choice,” and Rahal also listed many reasons beyond the cash why his teammate would re-sign at Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing.
“We’re never going to be the highest payer in the series,” Graham Rahal said. “But the good thing for Christian going forward is I’m not going to be here long. So the (team) is definitely more designed to be built around him than maybe most others.
“This guy’s got to make his own decisions. I’m not going to be involved in that. But I also don’t think he’s going to go find a place that’s more suitable and built around him but also with a better sponsor. When I look at things, I look at 15 years from now, where are you going to be? And, you know, Hy-Vee’s been a great partner, and that should carry a lot of weight.”
In a team swap with Jack Harvey before last season, Lundgaard was moved into the No. 45 Dallara-Honda affiliated with Hy-Vee (which has become an anchor sponsor for the team and series) in a clear sign that he was regarded as the future for RLL.
Lundgaard reaffirmed that by winning from the pole position at Toronto (his second of two poles) while posting an average finish of 10.5 for the season.
But those results came almost exclusively at road and street courses.
Lundgaard said the “biggest disappointment has obviously been the ovals,” where he managed only one top 15 (a 13th in the second race at Iowa Speedway) in five starts.
“That’s where we need to improve the most, and that’s where I want to see the most improvement,” Lundgaard, 22, said. “So it’s going to be an interesting season, but at the moment, my focus is where it needs to be.”
That means there is no imminent timeframe for signing his next contract, though Lundgaard was reticent on specifics.
“I think the conversations behind the scenes need to stay behind the scenes because that’s between us,” he said. “But at the same time, I do think it all ultimately comes down to results. That’s what we’re here for; we’re here to win. We’re not here just to compete, but they’re showing the improvements to me already.”
Though a Lap 1 tire puncture contributed to a 20th in the St. Petersburg season opener, Lundgaard was encouraged by his speed in a preseason test at Sebring last month.
He will enter this weekend’s $1 Million Challenge at The Thermal Club with the confidence of being among the fastest in a 2003 test at the 17-turn, 3.0-mile road course. And another strong performance could pique the advances of opposing teams.
Unlike many deals that have a period of exclusivity with the incumbent team, Lundgaard said he was free to negotiate across the paddock at his leisure.
“But at the same time, I don’t have any interest in upsetting anybody or creating any drama,” he said. “I’m here to just focus on what I have to do, and I know everything will fall into place when it needs to.”
And while conceding that “everybody has a shot” at signing him, Lundgaard hinted he’ll give preference to RLL.
“Obviously, they have the first pick,” he said. “It’s where I am. It’s the people that gave me the opportunity to come into IndyCar. So I obviously want to show them that appreciation as well.
“If we improved the oval performance, I don’t think there’s many other teams that’s better to be at because I think they have the potential off the track as an organization to improve and be one of the absolute top teams.”
