Rinus Veekay makes his feelings known on driving for Dale Coyne Racing, the ‘smallest team’ in IndyCar

Dale Coyne Racing driver Rinus VeeKay recently spoke about the progress he has made with the team. The Dutchman also talked about how driving for the 'smallest team' in IndyCar feels.

The 24-year-old drives for the #18 Dale Coyne Racing car powered by Honda. VeeKay previously drove for the Ed Carpenter Racing team, but despite the assurance by the team, he was axed and left with no seat available. He had no choice but to jump on board Dale Coyne Racing with a few days left for the season testing to begin, where he currently drives and has been producing decent results.

During an interview with The Race, the Dutchman spoke about his experience of driving for the team.

"I would say there's definitely a lot of chatter around me now in the season. This team really allows me to show my capabilities. Without a question, Dale Coyne Racing is the smallest team in the paddock with the least resources, but whatever other teams are spending we are beating them.I think this just shows that the right approach goes above anything else.I'm doing well, that's the most important thing, but also for Dale everybody's happy that results are coming," he said (via The Race).

Rinus VeeKay debuted in IndyCar in 2020, and he built the hype around him in 2021 after he won the race at the GMR Grand Prix held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. However, a cycling incident that shattered his collarbone prematurely ended his second year at IndyCar.

Rinus VeeKay's 2025 season is off to a decent start. At the maiden race of the season, the Firestone Grand Prix of St Petersburg, held on March 2, he qualified in 12th place and finished the race in ninth place. At the Children's of Alabama Indy Grand Prix held on May 4, the #18 driver qualified in fifth and finished the race in fourth, making it his highest finish in all seven races.

At the recently held Detroit Grand Prix, he qualified in sixth spot but could not finish the race after he had engine issues. Rinus VeeKay will be looking forward to bouncing back at the upcoming Bommarito Automotive Group 500, which will take place on June 15.

Rinus VeeKay dubs the new lead engineer as Adrian Newey

The #18 Dale Coyne Racing driver, Rinus VeeKay, recently spoke about his new lead engineer, Michael Cannon. The 24-year-old commended Cannon for his efforts and also went on to compare him with the legendary Formula One aerodynamicist Adrian Newey.

While speaking to The Race, VeeKay explained:

"It's like he invented this car. So he's like, 'no, we shouldn't do this because if we go too far this way, that doesn't work, we should do this'. And he's right, exactly that. When I'm on the track, that translates and it makes sense."

"I would say 90% of our changes are positives, barely a negative in there. He reminds me of Adrian Newey, that everybody wants to work with him because whatever he does is right. That's kind of similar with Michael Cannon," he added.

Rinus VeeKay currently sits in 16th position in the driver's championship with 110 points.