5th: CONOR DALY No. 20 BitNile Chevrolet 23rd: RINUS VEEKAY No. 21 Building Tomorrow Chevrolet NEXT RACE: 106th Running of the Indianapolis 500, May 29 (NBC, 11 a.m. ET)

CONOR DALY, NO. 20 BITNILE CHEVROLET

CONOR DALY, No. 20 BitNile Chevrolet, Finished 5th: “I truly don’t think I’ve ever been through anything like that! It was raining, then it was sunny, then it was raining again and then you couldn’t see anything! Once we got off the wet tires at the start and onto the reds, we lost so much grip. It felt like something got on the tire, it was like they had gone off immediately. As soon as we put on the next set of reds, we were flying again. I didn’t forget how to drive in the first stint and remember in the second, it was so weird! I really wanted a trophy from here, but this is a great way to start the month. We wanted to rebound here, we knew we had a fast car, had a great qualifying, we executed all weekend, which is exactly what we wanted.”

RACE RESULTS: START: 4th FINISH: 5th STATUS: Running LAPS COMPLETED: 75/75

OF NOTE: * Prior to the beginning of today’s GMR Grand Prix, the race was declared a wet start after rain had moved through the area. Conor Daly, who had a career-best qualifying effort at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway yesterday, started 4th on a set of wet Firestone Firehawks. The track surface quickly dried and he stopped for a set of sticker reds on Lap 3.  * In addition to being tasked with the challenge of saving fuel, Daly struggled to find grip on his set of red tires. He slid from 5th to 17th and made his second pit stop for another set of reds on Lap 28. From there, he began his charge back to the front and had re-entered the Top 10 in just 20 laps.  * The closing laps of the race were marred with cautions as intermittent rain moved through the area. On Lap 59, the No. 20 BitNile Chevrolet crew switched Daly to another set of red Firehawks. Conditions quickly deteriorated and two laps later, he came back in for wet tires. Daly managed the conditions and continued to move forward. By the checkered flag of what became a timed race, Daly finished 5th, his best finish with Ed Carpenter Racing to date.

RINUS VEEKAY, NO. 21 BUILDING TOMORROW CHEVROLET

RINUS VEEKAY, No. 21 Building Tomorrow Chevrolet, Finished 23rd: “Not the result we needed! The start was the first time ever in the rain with an Indy car for me, second ever car race in the rain. It started out pretty well, we got a few spots at the start. Then we had a great pit stop and got a few more people. On the slicks, it was pretty good and I was very happy. Then people got to shoving each other a lot, into the grass, which I was a victim of a few times. One time I got all the way off and got hit, which broke the undertray of my car. We basically finished the race just to finish and get what points we could. It was a bummer, I think we could have really challenged, every call we made on the radio was the right call. I think we could have really powered to the front, but, on to the next one!”

RACE RESULTS: START: 15th FINISH: 23rd STATUS: Running LAPS COMPLETED: 73/75

OF NOTE: * Rinus VeeKay qualified 15th for today’s GMR Grand Prix, but knew he had a much faster car. After starting his first-ever NTT INDYCAR SERIES race on wet Firestone Firehawk tires, he also stopped on the third lap for a set of red slicks. A solid stop by the No. 21 Building Tomorrow Chevrolet crew gained him three positions and he had worked his way into the Top 10 by Lap 12. * Just after a restart on Lap 21, VeeKay was pushed off track by another competitor into the rain-slickened grass. He slid back onto the track, where the rear of the No. 21 was struck. The car sustained heavy damage to the undertray, but quick work by the crew got him back out on track. A lap down to the field, it became about perseverance for VeeKay from that point onward. * VeeKay had become the recipient of a late-race wave around, but the rain had already picked back up by that point and he spun before he had a change to take a second set of wet tires. He was able to continue and would eventually finish in the 23rd position, two laps down to the field.