Christian Lundgaard left Detroit in early June sitting 13th in points. All that momentum from the Indy Road Course had now long evaporated into a plum of morose. They team found themselves looking in the mirror to find out what they could do better and unfortunately, they didn’t like what they were seeing back.

The second-year Danish driver had finished 14th or worse in 4 of the first 7 races. Jack Harvey had finished 13th or worse in literally all 7 races. Graham Rahal was bumped out of the Indy 500 in the final seconds by Harvey and no top 5’s, 2 top 10’s and finishes of 12th or worse in 5 of the 7 including 3 results of 22nd or worse.

The team had enough. Changes were made.

Now, 7 races later, Lundgaard not only has another pole and netting his first career race win (Toronto), but he also has scored 5 top 10 finishes including 3 of which in the top four at that.

His average finishing spot in the first 7 races?

12.42.

The last 7 races?

8.28.

Qualifying is a big part of that. He started 11th, 27th, 17th, 6th, 1st, 31st, 18th in those first 7 races. Over the next 7, it’s been 7th, 5th, 1st, 20th, 21st, 13th, 2nd.

He went from an average starting spot of 14.28 to 9.85.

That’s propelled him up to 8th in points with three races remaining. How much further can he go?

Lundgaard is 58 points from fifth. He’s also 28 points from 11th.

“Going into the last stretch of the season, it definitely feels like the season has flown by,” he said. “I know that we will be strong (on the road courses) in Portland and Laguna Seca but coming to Gateway (short oval), it will be more challenging.

“I believe that as a team we have improved on this type of track though. I don’t think we’ve gone from our previous form to being a guaranteed contender for the win, but I do believe we have made progress.

“It is a challenging track; it’s one of those short ovals where the racing is fun. Last year was an extremely long race with the rain delay in the middle of it but I’m excited to see what we are capable of this year there and on top of that, I’m very excited to see what we can do at the end of the season.”

Sunday’s race at the World Wide Technology Raceway could be a determining factor on which way this goes. It’s no secret, ovals are the weak link at RLL.

Lundgaard’s worst results in this span are on ovals. The only two starts and finishes not in the top 10 over the last 7 races?

Iowa.

WWTR is a racing package like Iowa.

That’s why Sunday is key because we know what he can do over the final two races of the season on natural road courses. Lundgaard has scored the third most points (281) on road and street courses this season trailing only Alex Palou (398) and Scott Dixon (315).

On ovals? He’s 20th with 49 points scored.

See the difference?

It’s ovals holding him back.

Portland and Laguna Seca could be potential landing spots for another win. On natural road courses this season, he’s qualified 6th, 1st, 7th, 5th, 2nd. He’s finished 6th, 4th, 7th, 4th, 4th.

Average start is 4.2 with an average finish of 5th.