How VeeKay went from an unexpected ECR exit to surprise debut with Coyne

The news came somewhat as a shock late September: After five years Rinus VeeKay had to leave Ed Carpenter Racing — the team he made his IndyCar debut with back in 2020. “I didn’t see it coming. I was in the gym and got a few calls from my manager”, VeeKay recalls during an exclusive interview with Motorsport.com.

“I thought ‘I’ll call him back in a minute’, but normally if I don’t answer my phone, he doesn’t keep calling me three more times. Finally, I picked up and he told me ‘you won’t believe this, but Ed doesn’t want to continue and is going in a different direction with the line-up’. It came as a complete surprise to me, because in Nashville I sat down with Ed and told my crew ‘guys don’t worry, I’ll be back next year’.”

VeeKay felt he deserved a bit more credit with his former employer. “I am the only driver who has been with Ed Carpenter Racing for so long. I think I can say that if you take away my results over the last five years, the team would have looked a lot worse than that it actually did. Of course there were mistakes here and there, but as a racing driver you keep learning. I felt they were happy with me and I have always been very loyal. But at the first opportunity that came up, they decided to go into a different direction.”

Tough first week: “We looked at all scenarios”

Apart from the way in which it was communicated, the timing was unfortunate. Most teams had already finalised their driver line-ups for 2025, leaving VeeKay with few options.

“For a while I couldn’t assess what was going to happen. The first week after the news I really struggled, mentally I wasn’t quite there. But exactly one week later that phone call, I was able to put it behind me, to turn the page and to move forward again.”

During those early days, many thoughts flashed through his mind. The 24-year-old looked at all the options, including the worst case scenario. “We even thought of the idea, if it didn’t work out, to sit on the sidelines for a year and basically wait for the Connor Daly scenario, where you can come in as a super sub.” 

“We thought about that, but it’s not what you prefer of course, as you are so dependent on others. We looked at all scenarios, but thankfully my test with Dale Coyne Racing came along very quickly. On 11 October, three weeks after the news, I was in a Dale Coyne car at Indianapolis. Honestly, that gave me so much peace of mind.”

Rinus Veekay, Dale Coyne Racing at St. Petersburg

Photo by: Penske Entertainment

Last-minute call: ‘Can you test in Indianapolis?’

When it came to the test, VeeKay thought he was travelling to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for different reasons. “I went to Indianapolis because I knew the test was there, everyone was at Indy. We scheduled meetings with different teams, but the day before I suddenly got a call from Dale asking if I wanted to test. It was very last minute, but it felt like some kind of gift from above.”

VeeKay says he wasn’t nervous, just motivated to the bone. “It’s hard to explain, but you have a very special motivation when you come out of a situation like that. I think I was extremely sharp and focussed. In a way it also took the pressure off.” It may sound strange when your IndyCar future depends on it, but VeeKay explains: “If it was some kind of exam that I had to study for…, but I know exactly what I need in Indy. And don’t forget: the car I was in was the only car that didn’t qualify for the 2024 Indy 500. In that respect, I didn’t feel too much pressure.”

After the test at Indianapolis both parties were hungry for more. “We went from a car that needed quite a bit of work to a very stable car at Indy. I was able to lead the team that day and the team let me take the lead as well, which is very important. Dale [Coyne] heard how I got to work and not long after the test we agreed that we wanted to continue into the 2025 season together. At that point it was just a matter of waiting to see which investor would come to the team, and when they would sign.”

Putting the pen to paper: A new challenge awaiting

Noting that for the outside world it took a particularly long time before the deal was announced, VeeKay smiles: “Not only for the outside world — also for myself! We had a spoken agreement and both of us wanted to continue, but it’s only official when the signatures are there. I definitely learned that lesson this off-season.”

With that experience in mind, VeeKay tried to cement his position as much as he could. “I kept visiting the Dale Coyne shop near Chicago, saying ‘I’d like my steering wheel like this, I’d like the brake setup like that and more things like that’. The team went ahead and made adjustments for me even though I hadn’t signed yet! It was great to see that they made me a part of all those processes and at the same time I tried to work my way into that seat.”

It worked out in the end: with signatures on paper, VeeKay is assured of another IndyCar season. “That was a very nice moment and a bit funny as well. When the contract arrived in my mailbox, I just stepped off the plane in Indianapolis. I was going to Dale Coyne Racing the next day to get my seat ready for our test at Sebring, so I could immediately sign the contract in person!” 

After a tumultuous winter, VeeKay is secured of another year in the series, which has started surprisingly well for both the Dutchman and his new team. In St. Petersburg, VeeKay took ninth place, securing the first top-ten finish for Dale Coyne Racing in over a year. More on that and on the IndyCar season ahead can be found in part 2 of the interview.