Rinus VeeKay’s boss Dale Coyne speaks his mind on his IndyCar driver’s ‘feedback’ after the St. Pete debut

Dale Coyne Racing driver Rinus VeeKay had an incredible start to his 2025 Indycar season at the Firestone Grand Prix of St Petersburg. Veekay was signed by Dale Coyne Racing on February 14 and ended up with a top-10 finish in his debut race for the team.

During the main event on Sunday, Rinus VeeKay finished 9th, scoring the team's highest. This was the first time in two years that the Illinois-based team found their car in the top 10. Before this, David Malukas crossed the line at P8 at Portland International Raceway in 2023.

Following the race, team boss Dale Coyne heaped praise on the Dutchman for his professionalism and input, saying (via IndyCar.com)

“His input is valuable, I believe his feedback aligns well with our engineering.”

Before moving to DCR, VeeKay raced with Ed Carpenter Racing for five seasons. He opened up about his experience driving the Honda-powered Dale Coyne Racing car and said:

“It still feels like an Indy car, It’s not a completely different experience. One issue we often faced with Chevy at Ed Carpenter Racing was getting off the corners. I felt that I had that capability with Honda."

The Plainfield-based team and the car # 18 driver displayed a smooth transition and good communication over the weekend, despite the fact that Veekay was signed only 16 days before the season began.

“We clearly understood our target numbers and calculations, especially with the Honda engines, I got my first solid experience with it. We did an incredible job as a team this weekend, and I want to thank Dale (Coyne) and everyone on the team, as well as everyone at Honda, for welcoming me and giving me this opportunity," Veekay said.

Veekay finished the highest among the two cars of DCR, while his rookie teammate Jacob Abel placed 23rd on the time charts. The former started his debut weekend in 25th place at the Friday practice session but improved on Saturday where he qualified in the 12th spot.

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Rinus VeeKay explains his feelings before signing for DCR

Rinus VeeKay at NTT IndyCar Series XPEL 375 - Source: Getty

Before signing with Dale Coyne Racing, VeeKay was left without a seat for the 2025 season. While speaking to Bob Pockrass ahead of the race at St. Petersburg, VeeKay spoke about his nervousness before Dale Coyne Racing made their move, mentioning that he remained patient.

“I wasn't freaking out. At times I had my waves of freak outs, but it was more of a just sitting tight, just helpless feeling...So I just had to sit tight and trust Dale's word. And that's what we did and we got it done in the end. Dale always announces drivers late and there's always a car at every race,” he explained (0:30)

Rinus VeeKay and Dale Coyne Racing are off to a good start to the season and will look forward to improving during the Thermal Club Grand Prix taking place on Sunday, March 23.