Rinus ‘Veekay’ Van Kalmthout continues to impress in the IndyCar Series. The 23-year-old Dutchman, racing for Dale Coyne Racing, finished ninth in the race at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on Sunday night, after starting from the 26th position. This made him the driver who managed to gain the most positions: +17. As a result, he was awarded the Jostens Biggest Mover Award.
Van Kalmthout had a challenging start to the weekend due to a mistake in the qualification, which meant he had to start second to last. However, he did not let this discourage him. “Of course, I am extremely satisfied,” he admitted afterwards. “To be honest, I did not entirely expect this from starting position 26. The execution was almost perfect.”
The Dutchman drove aggressively, but with utmost control. During the opening round, he skillfully navigated around incidents, and with a daring two-stopper, he managed to position himself at the front. “I did not expect beforehand that it would be possible to succeed with a two-stopper in this long race, but we managed to do it anyway.”
This is the third race in a row in which Van Kalmthout has finished in the top 10. For Dale Coyne Racing, this is the first time since 2020. The Dutchman is already looking forward to the next race weekend: a double-header at the Iowa Speedway. “If our car works as well there as it did at Gateway last year, it could be a very good weekend.”
The race in Lexington was won by Scott Dixon.
