Source: Team PR

TRACK: Streets of Long Beach

LOCATION: Long Beach, California, USA

TRACK LAYOUT: 1.968-mile, 11-turn temporary street circuit

RACE LENGTH: 85 Laps

PRACTICE: Friday – 3-4:15 p.m. PT (Peacock Premium)

Saturday – 8:45-9:45 a.m. PT (Peacock Premium)

Sunday – 9-9:30 a.m. PT (Peacock Premium)

QUALIFYING: Saturday – 12:05-1:20 p.m. PT (Peacock Premium)

RACE: Sunday – 12:45 p.m. PT (NBC, 12 p.m. PT)

Two BITNILE.COM Chevrolets are prepped to take on the downtown streets of Long Beach this weekend, the No. 20 of Conor Daly and the No. 21 of Rinus VeeKay. Daly will reach a career milestone as the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach will mark his 100th NTT INDYCAR SERIES start. This weekend’s event is the home of Ed Carpenter Racing’s first street course win as the No. 20 came away victorious in 2014 with Mike Conway behind the wheel. 

CONOR DALY, No. 20 BITNILE.COM Chevrolet: “I am obviously super excited to get to Long Beach and make my 100th NTT INDYCAR SERIES start! It is a track that I have many great memories at, from going to the race as a kid to winning in Indy Lights to racing there in an Indy car. Last year, we had a very strong race and made some great improvements. We were challenging for a Top 10 before I had to make a massive save near the end of the race. This year, we are in a position to make race number 100 be a great one!”

OF NOTE:

• The Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach will be the home to a career milestone for Conor Daly as he makes his 100th NTT INDYCAR SERIES start on Sunday. Daly is in his tenth season as an NTT INDYCAR SERIES driver and fourth with Ed Carpenter Racing, currently driving the No. 20 BITNILE.COM Chevrolet. Next month, he will compete in his 10th Indianapolis 500. 

• Daly has competed in five NTT INDYCAR SERIES events in the streets of Long Beach, earning his highest finish to date last year with a 12th place result. Daly, who competed in the Road to Indy, won the 2011 Indy Lights event in Long Beach.

• Second-generation racer Daly climbed into a kart for the first time at the age of 10; within five years, he was competing in both United States and international open-wheel ladder systems. He found success in each before concentrating solely on American motorsports in 2015. Born and raised in nearby Noblesville, Ind., Daly has grown to be a hometown favorite in the Indianapolis 500. The 2021 edition saw him lead the most laps of all drivers; in 2022, he finished a career-best 6th.

RINUS VEEKAY, No. 21 BITNILE.COM Chevrolet: “I am very ready to go to Long Beach and excited for the West Coast, always! Such a cool event, lots of celebrities, just a really special race for the NTT INDYCAR SERIES. I haven’t had the results I was looking for at Long Beach yet, I am looking to make it happen on this one! I know the team is working very hard to get every bit of speed out of the BITNILE.COM cars. I am ready to race in the sunshine!”

OF NOTE:

• Rinus VeeKay remains ECR’s longest-tenured full-time driver, now in his fourth season behind the wheel the No. 21 BITNILE.COM Chevrolet. The 22-year-old has spent his entire NTT INDYCAR SERIES career with ECR and will make his 50th start at the end of the month at Barber Motorsports Park. 

• In last year’s Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, VeeKay’s No. 21 was involved in two separate incidents. Damage to the car was minimal and he was able to continue, but passing opportunities were limited. A late-race pit stop for sticker tires enabled VeeKay to pass three cars in four laps. He earned a 13th place finish, the best of his two Long Beach starts. 

• Raised in Hoofddorp, Netherlands, VeeKay began karting in 2009 at the age of 8. Just four years into his career in the United States, he not only reached the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, but earned 2020 Rookie of the Year honors. He became an NTT INDYCAR SERIES race winner in May of 2021 with a victory at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course and earned his most recent pole position at Barber this past season.