VeeKay off to a strong start with ninth place at St. Pete
The 2025 NTT IndyCar Series got off to a promising start for Rinus 'VeeKay' van Kalmthout when the 24-year-old Dutchman guided his Dale Coyne Racing car to a ninth-place finish at St. Petersburg, handing his new team its first top-ten finish in 18 months.
Having been with the same IndyCar outfit for five consecutive years, VeeKay was forced to look for a new team at the end of the 2024 season, as all the seats at Ed Carpenter Racing seemed to be taken. Fortunately for VeeKay, the Dale Coyne Racing team welcomed the Dutchman with open arms by offering him the askROI.com #18 Honda. Despite a minimum amount of preparation, the combination of Coyne and VeeKay proved to be particularly strong in the season opener at St Petersburg.
On Friday, it took some time to become familiar with each other, as Coyne has started the new season with an almost completely new team – new drivers, new mechanics and some new faces on the pit wall as well. It took a few practice laps to get to know each other and the car, but after some overnight changes things started to look up on Saturday, with VeeKay posting a very encouraging second fastest time in second practice and following that up with a top-twelve qualifying result – an excellent performance in a very competitive field of no less than 27 drivers.
Starting from 12th on the grid, VeeKay was told to watch his back in the first combination of corners, which are notoriously tricky on the Florida street circuit. Once again, several drivers were fighting for the same piece of tarmac, and once again chunks of bodywork were flying around, resulting in an early full yellow. However, VeeKay kept his cool to guide the blue and white Coyne Honda around the mayhem. The early caution also meant that tyre regulations could be complied with immediately.
Indeed, before the first race of the new IndyCar season, many were eagerly awaiting what kind of longevity the soft tyre that VeeKay started on had in store. As the race progressed, what many had feared soon became reality – the soft rubber was wearing out at a rapid rate. Thanks to his early stop, though, VeeKay was able to complete 99 laps of the 100-lap race on the longer-lasting hard tyres, making a total of three pit stops to match the strategies of his rivals.
Maintaining a strong pace throughout the race – and even posting fastest lap of the entire field for a number of laps – VeeKay proved to be a contender for a coveted top-ten finish throughout the race. Taking care of his hard tyres as best he could, the Dutch Coyne driver eventually brought the #18 askROI.com Honda home in a respectable ninth place. It is the fourth time in six appearances that VeeKay has finished in the top ten on the St Petersburg street circuit. VeeKay’s rookie team-mate Jacob Abel finished the race in 23rd place.
“A great weekend,” said VeeKay from Florida. “It started a bit rough in first free practice, we really had to put the car through its paces, but after the adjustments we came out well. As for qualifying, my goal was to get into the Fast Twelve and I managed that, so we were very happy with that result. Then to make up another three places in the race and be responsible for Dale Coyne Racing’s first top-ten finish in over a year, that’s just great.”
VeeKay’s analysis of the 100-lap race was that it was not an easy one. “It was extremely tough! During the race I learned a lot. This was my first IndyCar race with a Honda engine and it requires a completely different approach to what I was used to, for example in terms of fuel consumption. The tyre wear is also characterised by different factors. So it’s really great to start with a ninth in this very competitive field. I think there are very few IndyCar followers who would have thought this result was possible.”
“I would like to thank Dale Coyne and his entire team as they have shown their confidence in me by giving me the seat of the askROI.com Honda #18 and I hope to repay them in this way. At the very least, it takes a considerable weight off my shoulders. I would also like to mention Todd Ault, the owner of askROI.com. It is a great honour to be driving ‘his’ car again. Honda have given me a very warm welcome and I can’t wait for the next race. Hopefully we can build on this great start at Thermal,” VeeKay concluded.
The 2025 NTT IndyCar Series season continues in three weeks’ time with a race at The Thermal Club in California, the site of an exhibition race last year. This year, the Thermal Club IndyCar Grand Prix will be a true championship race. The race starts at 20:30 Dutch time and can be followed live on Ziggo Sport.