15th: RINUS VEEKAY 106.211 mph 18th: CONOR DALY 106.620 mph LOCATION: Long Beach, Calif. TRACK LAYOUT: 1.968-mile, 11-turn temporary street circuit RACE LENGTH: 85 Laps/167.28 Miles BROADCAST: Sunday – 3:45 p.m. ET (NBC, 3 p.m. ET)

CONOR DALY, NO. 20 BITNILE CHEVROLET

CONOR DALY, No. 20 BitNile Chevrolet, Qualified 18th: “We definitely made step forward today. We’re starting a bit higher up than we did last year with both cars. It is a bit of a shame that our time would have transferred us into the Fast 12 if we were in Group 1 instead of Group 2. That’s a good sign and shows how competitive our group was. We still need to take a step forward in grip, which we understand and will work on. We’re definitely in a better place than last year and we’ll see what we can put together for the race tomorrow.”

LONG BEACH STATS BEST START: 13th (2016) BEST FINISH: 13th (2016) NUMBER OF STARTS: 3 CAREER STATS SEASON: 9th STARTS: 82 POLES: 1 BEST FINISH: 2nd, Detroit 2016

OF NOTE:

• Conor Daly will start 18th in the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, the third race of the 2022 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season. He was assigned to Group 2 of Round 1 and had ten minutes to set a quick time. He brushed the wall on his final lap and was unable to improve his time, finishing 9th in the segment. 

• Though last year’s Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach was Daly’s first time racing the scenic street circuit in several years, he returned with plenty of experience. In 2015, Daly received a last-minute call to fill in as a replacement driver in the marquee NTT INDYCAR SERIES event. Two more starts followed as part of his full-time seasons in 2016 and 2017. Daly, who also competed in the Road to Indy, won the 2011 Indy Lights event in the streets of Long Beach.

• Starting at the season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, BitNile Holdings, Inc. is the primary partner of the No. 20 Chevrolet as part of a multi-year deal. The diversified holding company specializes in disruptive technologies, including cryptocurrencies and innovations in the field of Decentralized Finance (“DeFi”). BitNile focuses on large-scale crypto mining with energy-efficient, powerful operations strategically located in North America.

RINUS VEEKAY, NO. 21 SONAX CHEVROLET

RINUS VEEKAY, No. 21 Alzamend Neuro Chevrolet, Qualified 15th: “I am not really satisfied with qualifying, though we have improved a lot from last year! There was definitely a Top 12 in there, unfortunately we just missed the balance. We will analyze everything and work to get better tomorrow. We are a lot more competitive than last year and we did have a great race last year, until the car broke down! Mike Conway won for ECR from 17th, I can in from 15th!”

LONG BEACH STATS BEST START: 15th (2022) BEST FINISH: 25th (2021) NUMBER OF STARTS: 1 CAREER STATS SEASON: 3rd STARTS: 31 WINS: 1 POLES: 1

OF NOTE:

• Rinus VeeKay will start 15th in tomorrow’s Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. He was assigned to Group 1 of Round 1 and set the 8th-fastest lap, giving him the 15th starting position.
• The 2021 Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach was VeeKay’s first-ever race on the historic street circuit. VeeKay reached the NTT INDYCAR SERIES after a successful three-year ascent of the Road to Indy ladder, but the Long Beach course was not a part of those schedules. In 2020, his rookie NTT INDYCAR SERIES year, the race was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• The No. 21 Chevrolet is carrying the striking purple and aqua colors of Alzamend Neuro. Earlier this week, it was announced that Alzamend Neuro will be featured on team owner Ed Carpenter’s No. 33 for the remaining oval events this year, as well as VeeKay’s Long Beach car. Alzamend is focused on developing novel products for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases and psychiatric disorders with a primary target of Alzheimer’s disease. Alzamend is committed to “Making Alzheimer’s Just a Memory.”