Strong final race lifts VeeKay to 13th at Nashville
Rinus ‘VeeKay’ van Kalmthout has rounded off his 2025 NTT Indycar Series season with a 13th-place finish in the final race in Nashville, the 24-year-old Dutchman driving a strong comeback race following a disappointing qualifying session.
The Nashville Superspeedway in Lebanon, Tennessee, had the honour of closing the IndyCar season for the second consecutive year. While the championship was decided and the runner-up position also a certainty, Rinus VeeKay still had plenty to fight for – his final ranking in the upper part of the midfield standings, for example, and of course the honour of putting down a strong performance in the final race.
VeeKay had to start that final race from a disappointing 26th on the grid, since both Dale Coyne Racing cars struggled to get up to speed during qualifying, leaving VeeKay and teammate Jacob Abel to languish at the bottom of the timesheets. However, VeeKay refused to give up and on Sunday afternoon (local time), he started the final 225-lap race of 2025 in his characteristic attacking style.
Due to an early caution, the team decided to slightly adjust his strategy, allowing VeeKay to go a little longer than his direct rivals, especially in the middle stints. Combined with his attacking spirit, this yielded steady gains, allowing the Dutch Coyne driver to overtake no less than ten rivals as they reached the halfway point of the race. Towards the end, the top ten came into view – after the final caution, with the green flag waved 11 laps before the end, VeeKay was running ninth.
However, a strategic miscalculation cost him a few positions at the last minute. While other drivers were called in for a late pit stop to have soft tyres fitted, VeeKay was ordered to stay out on his used hard Firestones. In the final laps, the Dutchman was unable to compete with his faster rivals, leaving hi mto drop out of the top ten and cross the finish line in 13th.
Nevertheless, VeeKay once again ranked among the drivers with the most successful overtaking moves. Thanks to his 13th-place finish in Nashville, the Coyne driver has ended the 2025 IndyCar season in 14th place in the final standings. In 17 races, VeeKay scored seven top-ten finishes, including two top-five finishes and, as a highlight, a podium finish at Toronto.
“The last race is over,” VeeKay said afterwards from Nashville. “It was a tough weekend, similar to the month at Indianapolis. Once again, we lacked speed on the straights, which of course hurts a lot on an oval. As a result, I couldn’t get past 26th in qualifying, which was second-to-last place.”
“In the race, I fought my way up to 13th place, but unfortunately, a top-ten finish was not on the cards – that would have been great, of course. Actually, this past year has gone really well. Seven top-ten finishes, two top-five finishes, a podium at Toronto – all of that is fantastic, especially considering the late timing of our deal. I’m proud of what we’ve achieved with the small team at Dale Coyne Racing.”
The 2025 NTT IndyCar Series is over now. Next month, Rinus VeeKay expects to be able to provide more clarity about his plans for next season.