The patience of Rinus ‘VeeKay’ van Kalmthout has finally been rewarded. His strong performance at the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto, the thirteenth round of the 2025 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season, resulted in a podium finish: VeeKay finished handsomely second.
“Next week we get to race again and I think we have a chance for a good result. We are going for it!”
Rinus ‘Veekay’ van Kalmthout – IndyCar driver at Dale Coyne Racing
The street circuit around Exhibition Place in Toronto, which annually hosts the only IndyCar race outside the United States, is one of the craftiest tracks of the season. The track is extremely bumpy, outrageously fast and also unforgiving. Every mistake is immediately punished. Rinus VeeKay, who is in a good flow after six top-ten finishes in the first 12 IndyCar races, traveled confidently to Toronto, in his opinion one of the most beautiful tracks on the calendar.
Where VeeKay’s employer Dale Coyne Racing sometimes has trouble finding the right set-up, this time the Dutch/American combination really took off. From the first free practice session, it was clear that VeeKay, driver of the #18 askROI.com Dale Coyne Racing Honda, was aiming for a place at the front. VeeKay confirmed his strong form with a neat ninth-place finish in qualifying.
Because five laps have been added to the race length of the Indy Toronto, so this year’s race is not 85, but 90 laps, the bright minds bent over strategy prior to the race. Was it a two-stop or a three-stop? VeeKay and his engineer Michael Cannon chose the first option. It was decided to have the Dutchman start on the fast, but quickly wearing soft tire, and then change to the hard Firestones twice.
To say, however, that the soft tire wore out quickly was an understatement. VeeKay reported after only a handful of laps that the rubber was slipping under him. With difficulty, the thirteenth lap was reached – actually aiming for lap fifteen for the first stop, but the situation proved untenable. The many neutralizations that followed played beautifully into VeeKay’s hands. His second stint lasted a whopping 42(!) laps, where the average stint length was 35 laps. At the time of his second pit stop, the DCR driver was in first place.
After the neutralization chaos, VeeKay and opponent Pato O’Ward appeared to be the biggest contenders for victory. For thirteen laps, VeeKay was allowed to lead until he came in for his second stop. Because O’Ward was able to come in later and needed to fill up with less fuel, the Mexican managed to push his car just ahead of his Dutch competitor as he exited the pits. For VeeKay, it then became a race of getting fuel numbers and saving tires.
The Dutchman did exactly what was expected of him and after 90 leaden laps on the Canadian
street circuit, he crossed the line in second place. A glorious moment for both VeeKay and the team – DCR also scored its first podium in a long time. Thanks to his second place, VeeKay picked up a big ditch of points for the championship and is now knocking on the door of the top-10: the Dutchman already occupies the 11th position.
“Finally on the podium again,” cheered VeeKay from Toronto. “I’m obviously extremely happy with this second place finish. It’s my first visit to the podium in three years and Dale Coyne Racing had to wait a while as well. I honestly have to admit that I wanted to go for the win after the neutralizations, but Pato O’Ward simply had to stop for fuel for a little less time and he just won those few seconds with that. Fuel flows at a certain speed and you can’t change that.”
“Above all, second place is obviously a fantastic result when you see where we came from. Six months ago it was not sure if I would race this year, and now we can all celebrate this result. The year is already going very well, but this is a crowning achievement so far. A seventh top ten finish and a first podium in the service of DCR. The team did super well, we had a great strategy and the fuel mileage was exactly right for this two-stroke race. I also want to thank Honda for allowing me to run so economically with this engine.”
“A great second place here in the streets of Toronto, my seventh top ten of the season – that equals my own best season 2024, when I also finished in the top ten seven times – and four races to go. Next week we get to race again and I think we have a chance for a good result. We are going for it!”, VeeKay concludes combatively.
There have already been four IndyCar races in the month of July, but there is even a fifth one coming up. This Sunday, the Java House Grand Prix of Monterey is on the schedule. It will be held at the iconic WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca circuit in California and starts at 9:15 p.m. Dutch time.
