Dale Coyne Racings Rinus VeeKay Battles for a podium spot in closing laps of Children’s Of Alabama Indy Grand Prix
Leeds, Alabama (Sunday, May 4, 2025) – Dale Coyne Racing’s Rinus VeeKay (No. 18 askROI Honda) battled for a podium in the closing laps of the Children’s of Alabama Grand Prix, ultimately finishing P4. His teammate, Jacob Abel (No. 51 Abel Construction Honda), continues to grow as a driver, going wheel-to-wheel with the competition early in the Grand Prix.
Rinus VeeKay – No. 18 askROI, Dale Coyne Racing Honda
• Starting the race on primary tires, VeeKay managed to hold onto his starting position of P5 as the opening laps came to an end.
• VeeKay then focused on preserving his set of Firestone primary tires before pitting on lap 18 while still holding onto a top-five position going as high a P3.
• On his second stint of the day, the Dale Coyne Racing team elected to stay out longer to take advantage of clean track ahead, allowing VeeKay to lay down blistering lap times in clear air.
• Pitting again on lap 44, VeeKay switched to scuffed alternate tires and continued to push, finding himself in P4 thanks to the pace in the previous stint.
• Pitting a final time on lap 65, the Dale Coyne crew fitted VeeKay with another set of fresh alternate tires, allowing the veteran to chase down Scott McLaughlin in P3 coming within three-tenths of the podium, ultimately finishing P4.
Post-Race Quote
“That was a great day started 5th, finished 4th. We were battling some pretty big hitters out there. That was a great day. I think we had a really good call staying out long on the second stint; we had some really good laps at the end of that stint. The reds hung on really well for us. I got really close to 3rd place only three tenths of a second off at the end. So close, but we did a really good job as a team this weekend to regroup after Practice One. With the threat of rain, we kept everything clean and clear and had a great qualifying, and it translated to a great race. Super grateful for Dale Coyne Racing and askROI for making everything possible for me to be in the car. Also, huge thanks to Honda for giving me the great drivability. Now driving a Honda, I see why everyone loves the drivability of the Honda cars. Looking forward to keeping this up into the Indy GP and the Indianapolis 500.”
Jacob Abel – No. 51 Abel Construction, Dale Coyne Racing Honda
- After starting the race on alternate tires, Abel found himself moving up the grid to P21 at the end of lap 1.
- Abel put in consistent lap times finding himself in P9 before making his first pitstop on lap 21.
- The young rookie used this stint to continue to learn around the fast high commitment corners of Barber Motorsports park..
- Pitting on lap 41 from P22 The DCR team fitted Abel with a fresh set of tires.
- After struggling on this set of tires the 51 crew elected to pit again on lap 55 to try an alternative strategy.
- After this Abel would continue on eventually finishing the day in P 27 in yet another caution free NTT INDYCAR Series race.
Post race quote
“It’s fun to be driving an INDYCAR in May for the first time in my career. This weekend was tough we never had the pace on the reds and that hurt us as the weekend progressed. We never seemed to find the sweet spot that I know we can. Looking forward to Indy, it’s a track I have a lot of experience at on the road course, so I think we can have a pretty productive race there and continue to learn.”
