VeeKay adds another top ten finish in chaotic race at Gateway
For the fourth time in as many races Rinus ‘VeeKay’ van Kalmthout has managed to finish in the top ten, as the 23-year-old Dutchman ended up tenth at Gateway, having already finished fifth and ninth at Iowa and eighth in Toronto.
Gateway and VeeKay – not only do they rhyme, they form a particularly potent combination. In his very first races at the World Wide Technology Raceway, as the 1.25-mile oval is officially known, the Dutchman driving for Ed Carpenter Racing took fourth and sixth in a doubleheader weekend. Ever since, VeeKay has been competitive at Gateway, so he was hoping to continue his strong streak of results dating back from before the Olympic summer break.
VeeKay was a happy man after a 14th time in qualifying turned into a promising 12th spot on the grid due to grid penalties for some of his rivals. In 2024, the IndyCar field is more divided than ever, with the top four teams having a clear advantage over the rest, while the midfield is a section of the grid that VeeKay’s team Ed Carpenter Racing has struggled to reach until recently. Despite that, VeeKay, back in his familiar black and green #21 Chevrolet at Gateway, had his sights set on another top-ten finish.
He had his work cut out for him, as no less than 260 laps were on the programme, covering a total of just over 500 kilometres – after all, the event was called the Bommarito Automotive Group 500. As usual, VeeKay showed his muscle as soon as the green flag was waved. At the start of the race, the Dutchman took three rivals by the scruff of the neck, allowing him up into seventh only a few laps later. After that, the Dutchman was able to maintain a good position at the front all through his first stint.
Following the second of four scheduled pit stops, however, problems began to surface. Ed Carpenter Racing’s #21 Chevrolet began to feel unbalanced – the car’s anti-roll bar had decided on a life of its own, making things particularly difficult for its driver. While VeeKay needed to use all his skills to keep his beast in a straight line, his rivals were able to make progress. In his reluctant car, VeeKay gradually dropped back during his third stint.
In the end, the all too familiar chaos at Gateway provided a lifeline for VeeKay, as a string of incidents forced contenders such as Will Power, who had been on course for victory for much of the race, to put a DNF behind their names. In a crazy final stage of the race, VeeKay kept his cool, sneaking his way up left, right and centre, with the result that during a red-flag situation with eight laps to go, VeeKay found himself back up in P6. However, he was not allowed to keep this position as ECR had to make an emergency repair that pushed him back to P10. In the end, this proved to be his final position.
“A great race”, commented VeeKay from Madison, Illinois. “There was a moment during the race when I didn’t think a top-ten finish was possible because the car was really unbalanced. During the race, we took off a lot of downforce, just like eventual winner Josef Newgarden, but his wing ended up a little flatter than ours – probably because his car can handle it a little easier.”
“I lacked grip and at certain moments it was a handful to keep the car on the track at all. The red flag was very bad for me. I was sixth, but the IndyCar officials saw that my brake light was broken, so I had to get it fixed. As you are officially not allowed to repair during a red-flag situation, I was put back – my luck was that the drivers from P11 downwards were a lap down on me. The strategy was good and we worked hard, so I am happy to reward everyone at Ed Carpenter Racing with our fourth top-ten finish in a row,” VeeKay concluded.
The drivers of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES will not have to sit and wait for long as five races will be contested at a fast pace following the Olympic summer break. Next up is the BitNile.com Grand Prix of Portland, the final road race of the season. The race will take place on Sunday 25 August, with the start at 21:30 Dutch time.
