“I have no words for the course of the race.”
Rinus ‘Veekay’ van Kalmthout – IndyCar driver at Ed Carpenter Racing
After a challenging 2023 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season, VeeKay can look further ahead this year with his #21 Chevrolet of Ed Carpenter Racing. An eighth-place finish at St. Petersburg was followed up by a third-place starting position at The Thermal Club and the Dutchman also showed strong pace at Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama. Now just that one push from Vrouw Fortuna – who doesn’t seem to have found him yet.
At the fourth showdown of the IndyCar season, which took place Saturday night (Dutch time) at the Road Course of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, VeeKay was able to turn his 12th position into a 10th place finish during the opening laps despite fierce scrambling in the first turn combination. The twenty-year-old’s green-and-black car easily raced along at the front, and after a good first stint, VeeKay traded his soft tires for the harder rubber. That that first stint went so well was actually a miracle: VeeKay’s car had been damaged in the starting frenzy after a tap from Fittipaldi. Among other things, the floor and front wing were no longer functioning properly.
The race went from bad to worse when VeeKay came in for his second service on lap thirty of the 85. A misfitting of the new rubber led to the Dutchman being sent out with the wrong tires. The next pit stop saw VeeKay idle for as much as twenty-five seconds. The chance for a nice result was already on the horizon at that point.
Single IndyCar race winner VeeKay, who exactly three years ago had his finest IndyCar moment to date by taking his race victory at the exact same track, could do nothing but record tight lap times and hope for a bizarre race sequence. The latter did not materialize. Thus, the Dutchman finished the Sonsio Grand Prix on character and crossed the line in 26th place. The race was won by Ganassi driver Alex Palou.
“I have no words for the course of the race,” a disappointed VeeKay said. “Everything went from bad to worse. All I could do was finish the race. I am shifting my focus to the upcoming Indianapolis 500 and hope we will be able to score a nice result there. In any case, it will not be down to my own commitment, because I am completely ready for it,” the Dutchman concludes combatively.
The 2024 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season continues with the capstone event: the Indianapolis 500. Practice sessions for the most important race of the year begin next week, with qualifying over the weekend. The 108th Running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge is scheduled for Sunday, May 26, and will get underway around 6:30 p.m. Dutch time.
