Rinus VeeKay’s IndyCar future appeared to be in turmoil after being dropped from Ed Carpenter Racing in September.
Alexander Rossi has taken his place in the #21 car for the 2025 season, leaving him scrambling to find a last-minute seat.
There aren’t many openings left, let alone ones that are willing to take on a driver who doesn’t have any sponsorship.
However, the upside of his talent, skills and experience should deter any negative thoughts from entering the minds of team owners looking for a solid, dependable driver.
Rinus VeeKay has a ‘natural connection’ with Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Seen as a bit of an ‘oval specialist’, VeeKay particularly excels around the longer oval tracks like the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
His best finish at the track in five visits, is eighth, but he does have two other top-10 finishes to add to his record.
Speaking on the Speed Street Podcast, he mentioned how he feels at home when he is driving around Indianapolis.
“I feel like that’s a natural connection I had with the Speedway. It bit me a few times. If you look at 2024 qualifying in Indy, it was quite a crazy story.
“Still, I was at the bad side of things at one point of the day and the other side of the day I was on the good side of things. Things can change so quickly.”
VeeKay forces his foot through the door at Dale Coyne
IndyCar hosted its usual autumn test at Indianapolis last week, with 11 drivers featuring in the timed session, as well as a rookie initiation for Nolan Siegel.
Having no seat didn’t prevent VeeKay from showing up to the event, where Dale Coyne decided to let him run in their car.
He impressed, and it may have been the exact catalyst he needed to spark contract negotiations with an IndyCar team – a polite reminder that he still exists.
He finished third behind Alex Palou and Josef Newgarden which is an accolade in itself, and four places ahead of Rossi, the man who took his seat.
At the very least, you would have to imagine that VeeKay will have a seat for the Indy 500, but his recent performance warrants more than that.