GMR GRAND PRIX PREVIEW
FRIDAY, MAY 13 – SATURDAY, MAY 14, 2022 TRACK: Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course LOCATION: Speedway, Indiana, USA TRACK LAYOUT: 2.439-mile, 14-turn road course RACE LENGTH: 85 Laps/207.315 Miles PRACTICE: Friday – 9:30-10:30 a.m. ET (Peacock Premium), 12:45 – 1:45 p.m. ET (Peacock Premium)Saturday – 10:30-11 a.m. ET (Peacock Premium) QUALIFYING: Friday – 4-5:15 p.m. ET (Peacock Premium) RACE: Saturday – 3:45 p.m. ET (NBC, 3 p.m. ET) |
ED CARPENTER RACING
The Month of May at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway kicks off with the GMR Grand Prix, the road course race which winds through the infield and incorporates portions of the famous oval. Conor Daly and Rinus VeeKay will begin the month of on-track activity on the road course before Ed Carpenter joins them to prepare for the Indianapolis 500. ECR and VeeKay are the defending race winners of the GMR Grand Prix as VeeKay earned his first career victory last May.
CONOR DALY, NO. 20 BITNILE CHEVROLET
CONOR DALY, No. 20 BitNile Chevrolet: “The GMR Grand Prix of one of my favorite events in the schedule. I love getting into the Month of May and starting it off on the road course. We were obviously very, very fast there this time last year. We made it into the Fast 6 so we definitely want to do that again, but not be taken out in the first corner this time! I can’t wait to get May started off right, we already had a strong oval test a few weeks ago. All signs point to us being able to have a great weekend and start the Month of May strong!” |
BIRTHDAY: December 11, 1990 HOMETOWN: Noblesville, IN RESIDENCE: Indianapolis, IN IMS ROAD COURSE STATS BEST START: 6th (May 2021) BEST FINISH: 6th (2016) NUMBER OF STARTS: 7 CAREER STATS SEASON: 9th STARTS: 84 POLES: 1 BEST FINISH: 2nd, Detroit 2016 | OF NOTE: * Conor Daly is entering his third Month of May with Ed Carpenter Racing. Though he competed in both the GMR Grand Prix and the Indianapolis 500 the previous two years, 2022 is his first season as one of ECR’s full-time drivers. Daly will not change car numbers this May and will drive the No. 20 BitNile Holdings Chevrolet in both events. * The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is truly Daly’s home track as he was born and raised in nearby Noblesville, Ind. Last May, Daly advanced through each round of qualifying for the GMR Grand Prix and made his first career Firestone Fast 6 appearance. After being taken out in Lap 1 incident, Daly looked for redemption on the IMS oval the following week. He was consistently one of the fastest drivers as he turned Top 5 lap times in five of six practice sessions prior to the Indianapolis 500. On race day, Daly took the lead of the 500-mile race for the first time in his career and led 40 laps, the most of all drivers. * 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 BUILDING TOMORROW CHEVROLET
RINUS VEEKAY, No. 21 Building Tomorrow Chevrolet: “Going back to the Racing Capital of the World is always awesome and starting the Month of May is always a very exciting time. I have a very good feeling! The Indy road course a place where I have had a lot of success. I had my first pole position, first-ever podium and eventually first-ever NTT INDYCAR SERIES win! I am very happy with how the season is progressing, we are only improving and we’re heading into the Indy GP stronger than ever. ECR has been putting in a lot of work and it’s really paying off. It makes me even more eager to defend my race win in the GMR Grand Prix!” |
BIRTHDAY: September 11, 2000 HOMETOWN: Hoofddorp, Netherlands RESIDENCE: Fort Lauderdale, FL IMS ROAD COURSE STATS BEST START: 1st (October 2020) BEST FINISH: 1st (May 2021) NUMBER OF STARTS: 5 CAREER STATS SEASON: 3rd STARTS: 33 WINS: 1 POLES: 2 | OF NOTE: * Rinus VeeKay will compete in the No. 21 Building Tomorrow Chevrolet in this weekend’s GMR Grand Prix. Building Tomorrow is an international not-for-profit organization supporting literacy and numeracy in Uganda. Building Tomorrow and ECR launched “Ride With Rinus,” where any contributor who donated $75 had their name added to VeeKay’s car. * Through donations, nearly 4,000 Ugandan school children will be enrolled in Building Tomorrow’s Roots to Rise program, a foundational learning initiative teaching basic skills based on students’ learning level, not age. While “Ride With Rinus” has concluded, fans can continue to donate at BT.Team. * The IMS Road Course is home to many of VeeKay’s career milestones. In just the second race of his rookie season in 2020, VeeKay recorded his first Top 5 finish on the road course. When the NTT INDYCAR SERIES returned in October of that year, VeeKay earned his first pole position, led the first laps of his career and earned his first podium finish. In May 2021, he joined the ranks of race winners when he scored his first victory. * VeeKay enters May carrying the momentum from his first pole position and his first podium finish of the season. Two weeks ago, VeeKay led the field to the green at Barber Motorsports Park and stayed at the front for 57 laps. With his third place finish at Barber, VeeKay has three Top 10 finishes and has led three of four races this season. He currently sits 7th in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES season standings. |