VeeKay third fastest in Indianapolis 500 hybrid test
He popped up like a jack in the box – Rinus 'VeeKay' van Kalmthout surprisingly joined Dale Coyne Racing for the open test at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Friday, when The NTT IndyCar Series allowed its teams to test the new hybrid systems at the legendary oval.
The story is well known by now – the 24-year-old Dutchman was told shortly after the end of the 2024 NTT IndyCar Series that there was no room for him with his former employer. A hard sell, as the testing schedule had already been formalised. The former IndyCar race winner decided not to throw in the towel and flew to Indianapolis on his own to take part in the hybrid test. At least, that's what he thought.
Twenty-four hours before the cars entered the famous two-and-a-half mile oval, the Dutchman received a phone call from IndyCar team owner Dale Coyne, who has run the eponynous team for years, with Coyne asking VeeKay to step into his #18 Honda to help him gather some data. VeeKay, who has qualified in the top seven five times in five appearances at the famous Indianapolis 500, is known in the IndyCar paddock as one of the oval specialists.
After hastily picking up some of his old employer's gear, including his race overalls, last season’s no.13 in the final IndyCar standings then climbed into a Honda-powered IndyCar for the first time in his racing career, since VeeKay has always driven with a Chevrolet behind his back in the past five years. The Dutch talent's bright orange helmet protruded proudly from the white and black Coyne cockpit.
VeeKay was quick to find his rhythm and set fast lap times, with only IndyCar champion Alex Palou and reigning two-time Indy 500 winner Josef Newgarden managing to beat the Dutchman's lap times. What makes VeeKay's performance even more impressive is the fact that the chassis he used did not qualify for the Indy 500 five months ago. At that time, the car was driven by Nolan Siegel, who was the 34th and final driver to fail to qualify for the Indianapolis 500. This time around, the car skimmed the intimidating concrete walls of Indianapolis so hard that it kept up with the Ganassi and Penske rivals in terms of times.
"I really had a great day," VeeKay said from Indianapolis on Saturday. "The call came at the last minute. After Dale Coyne asked me to get in his car, I quickly picked up a few things from my old team. Coyne's mechanics and engineers were incredibly friendly and we finished a very satisfying day of testing. We got into the desired window quickly and the times were very decent.”
"It took some getting used to," admitted the 24-year-old, who had never used a Honda engine before. "From my first test in the late summer of 2019 until the last race, I was in the car with the starting number 21, a car with a Chevrolet engine. In addition, I have been working continuously with the same team for more than five years. So everything was reset for a while, but the team knew how to deal with it.”
"Because it soon felt familiar, I was able to push hard - especially at the end of the test. I am happy with the result. We set third fastest time, which was nice. I look back on this day with a big smile. I hope to be able to tell you more about my 2025 NTT IndyCar Series season soon. For now, I would like to thank Dale Coyne and his team for this opportunity to test!”
The 2025 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season kicks off on Sunday, March 2 with the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.