Rinus VeeKay’s chances of continuing his front-row qualifying streak at the Indianapolis 500 took a hit Saturday morning when the young Dutchman spun and crashed in Turn 3 during his four-lap run.
VeeKay’s No. 21 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevy incurred significant damage, and while he emerged from the car without assistance, he did have a noticeable limp while walking to the AMR Safety vehicles.
The ECR team swept into action and had a spare chassis waiting to be built up for the 23-year-old who was seen by the IndyCar Medical staff and released to continue competing once the backup is ready.
“Went through Turn 3 at speed once, and then I had some understeer, made an adjustment, and somehow, I had a huge moment,” VeeKay said. “I don’t really understand how that happened. It was unusual. We took a huge step backwards (with the crash).
“I think we’ll be fine getting into the field, but we should have been able to do one run and be done. It was two hard hits. We shouldn’t have to go through this.”
AROUND GOES THE NO. 21!
Big incident for @rinusveekay in Turn 3.
📺: #Indy500 qualifying on Peacock pic.twitter.com/S1j203kUSz
— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) May 18, 2024