Rinus VeeKay

In this Dutch name, the surname is van Kalmthout, not Kalmthout.

Rinus VeeKay
VeeKay at the 2021 Indianapolis 500
Nationality	Dutch
Born	Rinus van Kalmthout (2000-09-11) 11 September 2000 Hoofddorp, Netherlands
IndyCar Series career
80 races run over 5 years
Team(s)	No. 21 (Ed Carpenter Racing)
Best finish	12th (2021, 2022)
First race	2020 Genesys 300 (Texas)
Last race	2024 Music City Grand Prix (Nashville Superspeedway)
First win	2021 GMR Grand Prix (Indianapolis)
Wins Podiums Poles 1 4 2
Previous series
2019 2019 2018 2017 2016-17 2016 2009-2016	Indy Lights F3 Asian Winter Series Pro Mazda Championship USF2000 MRF Challenge Formula 2000 V de V Challenge Monoplace Karting
Championship titles
2019 2018	F3 Asian Winter Series Pro Mazda Championship
Awards
2014 2020	KNAF Talent First IndyCar Rookie of the Year

Rinus van Kalmthout (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈrinʏs fɑŋ ˈkɑl(ə)mtɦʌut]; born 11 September 2000), known professionally as Rinus VeeKay, is a Dutch racing driver. He is best known for driving in the IndyCar Series for Ed Carpenter Racing from 2019 through 2024, winning one race at the Grand Prix of Indianapolis.

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

After winning the 2018 Pro Mazda Championship with Juncos Racing, VeeKay stepped up to the Indy Lights championship for 2019 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.

VeeKay during the 2023 Indianapolis 500

In his first IndyCar race in the Genesys 300 at Texas Motor Speedway 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 Alex Palou. 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 Detroit 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.

Shortly after the 2024 season, in which VeeKay placed 13th in the championship with a best race finish of 5th, it was reported by Racer that Ed Carpenter Racing had cut ties with VeeKay. Reportedly, the decision came as a "surprise" to VeeKay, who was actively negotiating a contract extention with the team.

Racing record

Career summary

Season	Series	Team	Races	Wins	Poles	FLaps	Podiums	Points	Position
2016	V de V Challenge Monoplace	MP Motorsport	6	0	1	1	4	0	NC†
2016–17	MRF Challenge Formula 2000	MRF Racing	12	0	0	0	0	58	10th
2017	U.S. F2000 National Championship	Pabst Racing Services	14	3	1	3	12	344	2nd
	BOSS GP Series – Open Class	Mansell Motorsport	6	2	1	1	5	116	2nd
2017–18	MRF Challenge Formula 2000	MRF Racing	16	3	2	7	11	245	3rd
2018	Pro Mazda Championship	Juncos Racing	16	7	6	3	10	412	1st
	BOSS GP Series – Open Class	Mansell Motorsport	2	0	0	0	1	22	5th
2019	Indy Lights	Juncos Racing	18	6	7	6	14	465	2nd
	F3 Asian Winter Series	Dragon Hitech GP	9	4	2	4	8	184	1st
2020	IndyCar Series	Ed Carpenter Racing	14	0	1	1	1	289	14th
2021	IndyCar Series	Ed Carpenter Racing	15	1	0	1	2	308	12th
	IMSA SportsCar Championship – LMP2	DragonSpeed USA	1	0	0	0	0	0	NC‡
2022	IndyCar Series	Ed Carpenter Racing	17	0	1	0	1	331	12th
	IMSA SportsCar Championship – LMP2	Racing Team Nederland	1	0	0	0	1	0	NC‡
2023	IndyCar Series	Ed Carpenter Racing	17	0	0	0	0	277	14th
	IMSA SportsCar Championship – LMP2	TDS Racing	1	0	0	0	0	0	NC‡
2024	IndyCar Series	Ed Carpenter Racing

^† 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

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	Rank	Points
2017	Pabst Racing Services	STP 3	STP 2	BAR 3	BAR 4	IMS 6	IMS 2	ROA 1	ROA 1	IOW 2	TOR 3	TOR 2	MDO 3	MDO 2	WGL 1	2nd	344

Pro Mazda Championship

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	Rank	Points
2018	Juncos Racing	STP 1	STP 1	BAR 5	BAR 4	IMS 3	IMS 14	LOR 4	ROA 5	ROA 5	TOR 1	TOR 1	MDO 1	MDO 1	GMP 1	POR 2	POR 2	1st	412

Indy Lights

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	Rank	Points
2019	Juncos Racing	STP 5	STP 1	COA 2	COA 4	IMS 3	IMS 1	INDY 3	ROA 7	ROA 1	TOR 3	TOR 9	MDO 3	MDO 3	GTW 2	POR 1	POR 2	LAG 1	LAG 1	2nd	465

IndyCar Series

(key)

Year	Team	Chassis	No.	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	Rank	Points	Ref
2020	Ed Carpenter Racing	Dallara DW12	21	Chevrolet	TXS 22	IMS 5	ROA 13	ROA 14	IOW 20	IOW 17	INDY 20	GTW 6	GTW 4	MDO 8	MDO 11	IMS 3	IMS 17	STP 15					14th	289
2021					ALA 6	STP 9	TXS 20	TXS 9	IMS 1	INDY 8	DET 2	DET 18	ROA	MDO 16	NSH 24	IMS 24	GTW 21	POR 17	LAG 18	LBH 25			12th	308
2022					STP 6	TXS 10	LBH 13	ALA 3*	IMS 23	INDY 33	DET 16	ROA 17	MDO 4	TOR 13	IOW 4	IOW 19	IMS 6	NSH 12	GTW 26	POR 20	LAG 14		12th	331
2023					STP 21	TXS 11	LBH 26	ALA 16	IMS 13	INDY 10	DET 18	ROA 12	MDO 15	TOR 13	IOW 17	IOW 18	NSH 14	IMS 11	GTW 11	POR 6	LAG 18		14th	277
2024					STP 8	THE DNQ	LBH 14	ALA 17	IMS 26	INDY 9	DET 14	ROA 24	LAG 26	MDO 19	IOW 5	IOW 9	TOR 8	GTW 10	POR 11	MIL 14	MIL 7	NSH 12	13th	300

Indianapolis 500

Year	Chassis	Engine	Start	Finish	Team
2020	Dallara	Chevrolet	4	20	Ed Carpenter Racing
2021			3	8
2022			3	33
2023			2	10
2024			7	9

Complete IMSA SportsCar Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Entrant	Class	Make	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	Rank	Points
2021	DragonSpeed USA	LMP2	Oreca 07	Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8	DAY 10†	SEB	WGL	WGL	ELK	LGA	PET	NC†	0†
2022	Racing Team Nederland	LMP2	Oreca 07	Gibson GK428 V8	DAY 2†	SEB	LGA	MDO	WGL	ELK	PET	NC†	0†
2023	TDS Racing	LMP2	Oreca 07	Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8	DAY 10†	SEB	LGA	WGL	ELK	IMS	PET	NC†	0†

^† Points only counted towards the Michelin Endurance Cup, and not the overall LMP2 Championship. ^* Season still in progress.

External links

• Official website