VeeKay Battles to P17 After Early Contact; Abel Gains Four Spots in Portland

Rinus VeeKay – No. 18 askROI, Dale Coyne Racing Honda

Starting the race in P23, VeeKay made multiple passes on the opening lap to put the Dutchman in P20 after Lap 1.

After an early yellow, VeeKay stayed out, and when the green flag flew, he spun in Turn 2 after contact with another driver.

After a yellow flag flew for debris from the contact, VeeKay pitted so the Dale Coyne crew could change his tires and check for damage. Unfortunately, none of the damage could be fixed on pit lane.

This pit stop forced VeeKay onto an alternate strategy, having the veteran stay out when a majority of the field pitted on Lap 15, putting VeeKay into P8.

Holding position while fuel saving, VeeKay came in on Lap 41 for full fuel and alternate tires, pitting from P6.

Getting clean air, VeeKay pushed hard; however, the car balance felt off due to the early damage.

Once again working his way up to P6, this time on a full push, VeeKay pitted on Lap 66 for alternate tires and full fuel.

Having to pit early for the damage check meant VeeKay had to make another stop to make it to the end on fuel, putting him down to P21 on Lap 83 with fresh alternate tires and fuel to push as hard as he could.

Cutting up the field, VeeKay finished in P17, a six-place improvement on his starting position.

Post-Race Quote:
"Tough race, we started 23rd and moved my way up to 20th on the start. On the first restart we got hit from behind and got a bit of damage. We had to pit and actually we were on a good strategy pitting early around lap 10, we were sitting in 8th and had diffuser damage. Unfortunately we didn’t get our tire pressures in the right window on the second and third stint, that messed with my pace and ultimately hurt my race, we just didn’t have the pace and had to do 4 pit stops because of that. It’s a bummer, we were pretty decent at the end but overall a hard day in general. I think we still maximized , it’s nothing great, it’s one of our worst finishing results of the season, but as long as we can maximize and get decent results we can be proud of our season. No more right turns, only going left for this season, so hopefully we can get some more top 10s on the ovals. Huge thanks to askROI for everything they do for me, they even sponsored this race so it’s always fun to see the whole askROI and BITNILE group out and having fun."

Jacob Abel – No. 51 Abel Construction, Dale Coyne Racing Honda

Starting from P27, Abel focused on having a clean start, trying not to be caught up in any Lap 1 incidents.

Staying clean on the opening laps and moving up the field, Abel ended Lap 1 in P25.

Pitting on the Lap 3 yellow, Abel filled up on fuel and put on Firestone alternate tires.

With this early pit stop, when the Lap 15 yellow flew, the Dale Coyne team decided to stay out and take a chance on fuel, putting the No. 51 into P11.

Using this track position, Abel worked into 10th before showcasing masterful defensive driving to hold off the fresh tires behind him for 20 laps, before coming into pit on Lap 39 from P10.

On this pit stop, Abel’s team put on Firestone alternate tires and full fuel.

Working all the way back up to P11, Abel came in once again on Lap 70, once again putting on alternate tires and full fuel.

Abel’s gamble on more caution laps to help make it to the end on fuel unfortunately fell short. This forced Abel to pit with 10 laps to go, dropping the rookie driver to P23, where he would eventually finish, a four-place improvement on his starting position.

Post-Race Quote:
"This weekend hasn't gone the way we wanted it to, after starting in the back we took a gamble to get track position, we had good pace, we held off the leaders on the primary strategy for like 20 laps and we had the pace to stay in the top 10. We needed some yellows to help us with our fuel number that never came which is unfortunate, but that's racing sometimes. We learned a lot this weekend and I think we have some good momentum for our last 2 races of this season. We have a week off to regroup before we make one last push to finish off the season."