Rinus VeeKay Gains 9 Spots at Iowa as Abel’s Race Ends Early

Rinus VeeKay – No. 18 askROI, Dale Coyne Racing Honda
Starting the race in P25, VeeKay focused on keeping his nose clean and worked his way up the field methodically.

After a Lap 1 yellow, VeeKay had moved up to P24.

He then stayed out, focusing on maintaining track position and ran until the yellow came out again for teammate Jacob Abel on Lap 74, at which point he was running P25.

During this yellow, the Dale Coyne Racing crew gained him one spot on pit road, putting the Dutch driver into P24.

On his next stint, VeeKay began his pursuit up the field, working masterfully to P19 when the yellow fell again on Lap 153.

Once again pitting with the field, VeeKay came out up two positions in P17.

Holding onto this position, VeeKay pitted one final time on Lap 242 from P4 and came out in P16.

Running hard until the end including setting his fastest lap on the final lap VeeKay held onto P16, a strong points day that keeps the veteran driver in P13 in the overall championship standings.

Post-Race Quote:
"Today has been interesting. We had decent balance in practice, but when we went into qualifying, it seemed to go away. We hit the wall and had to lift, which put us starting at the back. We made a swing going into the race and ended up in a decent spot. It was hard to pass, but we moved up the field with pit stops and, honestly, just having a mistake-free day.

I’m not happy with P16, as I do think we could have picked up a few more spots, but I am happy that even our bad days are still decent points days. We get one more opportunity to grab those spots and another opportunity to improve the car. Thanks to askROI and Honda for their continued support I'm looking forward to getting back out there tomorrow."

Jacob Abel – No. 51 Abel Construction, Dale Coyne Racing Honda
Starting from P26, Abel ran consistent lap times in the early portion of the race.

While fuel-saving, Abel was lapped by the leader but managed to hold off the remaining leaders for a number of laps.

When the remaining cars began to pass, the rookie pushed up into the marbles and into the wall, causing race-ending damage.

With the early contact, Abel finished P27 on the day.

Post-Race Quote:
"Well, I think I can officially say that was my first real INDYCAR crash. Seriously, I'm sorry to the guys these doubleheaders are already tough on the crew, and giving them more work is the last thing I wanted to do. While I was getting lapped, I got pushed up into the marbles and went straight into the wall. It’s definitely a learning experience for me, and if there’s a positive to take from it, it’s that I learned. Looking ahead to tomorrow, I think we can find some more speed overnight and really show what this No. 51 crew is capable of."