Rinus van Kalmthout (born 11 September 2000), known professionally as Rinus VeeKay is a Dutch racing driver. He drives the No. 21 Dallara-Chevrolet for Ed Carpenter Racing in the

IndyCar Series The IndyCar Series, currently known as the NTT IndyCar Series under sponsorship, is the highest class of regional North American open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars in the United States, which has been conducted under the auspices o ...

Career

Karting

van Kalmthout started karting in 2009. The eight-year-old won races in the 4-stroke cadet championship with a DR chassis. He finished second in the championship. During the 2009-2010 winter season van Kalmthout won the 4-stroke cadet series. The following season the young driver graduated into the Briggs & Stratton World Formula 4-stroke class winning the Dutch and Benelux championships. He also focused on the Rotax Max Minimax class winning the Dutch championship in 2012 and Junior championship in 2013. Throughout 2014 and 2015 van Kalmthout raced in various Rotax Max racing series. He finished second in the Rotax Max Euro Challenge Senior class, behind Australian driver Pierce Lehane.

Junior open-wheel formulae

Introduced as Rinus VeeKay, van Kalmthout signed with Pabst Racing to race in the American-based USF2000. VeeKay tested the Tatuus USF-17 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The young Dutch driver ran constant top-ten times for the new driver, new team entry. To further prepare for the 2017 season VeeKay raced in the final two rounds of the French V de V Challenge Monoplace. In an MP Motorsport entered 2013 Tatuus Formula Renault 2.0 car VeeKay scored five podium finishes in six races. In the

2017 U.S. F2000 Championship Seventeen or 17 may refer to: *17 (number), the natural number following 16 and preceding 18 * one of the years 17 BC, AD 17, 1917, 2017 Literature Magazines * ''Seventeen'' (American magazine), an American magazine * ''Seventeen'' (Japanese m ...

, VeeKay won six races and finished second in the championship to Oliver Askew. After winning the

2018 Pro Mazda Championship The 2018 Pro Mazda Championship was the 20th season in series history. It was the final season using the Pro Mazda name, as the series was re-branded as "Indy Pro 2000" for the 2019 season. A 16-race schedule was announced on 17 October 2017. This ...

with Juncos Racing, VeeKay stepped up to the Indy Lights championship for

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again with Juncos Racing. He finished second in the championship, again behind Askew.

IndyCar Series

In July 2019 it was announced that VeeKay would join the IndyCar test at Portland with Ed Carpenter Racing. On 20 November the team officially signed him as the replacement for Spencer Pigot. In his first IndyCar race in the Genesys 300 at

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he crashed in practice. He missed qualifying as the team couldn't fix the car in time. In the race, he crashed out on lap 38 and collected

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. At Iowa Speedway, confusion over a postponed restart led Colton Herta to launch over VeeKay's car from the rear; both drivers were unharmed due to a new laminate aeroscreen introduced for 2020. VeeKay achieved his first top 5 finish in IndyCar at the IndyGP and his first podium in the Harvest GP. He was confirmed for a return to ECR in 2021 on October 25, 2020. He won the Indy GP, scoring his first win, 5 seconds ahead of second-placed Romain Grosjean. VeeKay ran as high as fourth place in the championship after back to back top ten finishes including a second-place finish in

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before he fractured his clavicle during a cycling accident, forcing him to miss the following race at Road America. After the season VeeKay and ECR announced he had re-signed with the team for another season.

Racing record

Career summary

^† As van Kalmthout was a guest driver, he was ineligible for points.
^‡ Points only counted towards the Michelin Endurance Cup, and not the overall LMP2 Championship. ^* Season still in progress.

American open-wheel racing results

U.S. F2000 National Championship

Pro Mazda Championship

Indy Lights

IndyCar Series

( key)

Indianapolis 500

Complete IMSA SportsCar Championship results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap) ^† Points only counted towards the Michelin Endurance Cup, and not the overall LMP2 Championship. ^* Season still in progress.

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:VeeKay, Rinus 2000 births Sportspeople from North Holland Dutch racing drivers MRF Challenge Formula 2000 Championship drivers U.S. F2000 National Championship drivers Indy Pro 2000 Championship drivers Indy Lights drivers IndyCar Series drivers Indianapolis 500 drivers People from Haarlemmermeer Living people F3 Asian Championship drivers 24 Hours of Daytona drivers MP Motorsport drivers Juncos Hollinger Racing drivers Hitech Grand Prix drivers Ed Carpenter Racing drivers DragonSpeed drivers Racing Team Nederland drivers