Rinus ‘VeeKay’ van Kalmthout has achieved his first podium finish in three years in the IndyCar Series on Sunday. The Dutchman finished second at the Grand Prix of Toronto.
The 24-year-old Van Kalmthout, who started ninth, led for a while and even had a chance to win. After his last pit stop, he was unable to catch the eventual winner, Patricio O’Ward, in the final phase. ‘VeeKay’ stayed well ahead of number three Kyffin Simpson.
For Van Kalmthout, it was his fifth IndyCar podium of his career and his first since 2022. Prior to this season, the Hoofddorp native was forced to switch to Daly Coyne Racing.
That is a team with significantly fewer resources than the team he drove for in previous years. The second place of Van Kalmthout was also the best result in three years for Dayle Coyne Racing.
“This was a very good day for us,” said Van Kalmthout shortly after he finished. “It often goes well in the races this year, but this time we also had a nice starting position with the ninth place. Hopefully this is the first of many more podiums with this team.”
Van Kalmthout succeeded in winning an IndyCar race once. That was in 2021, his second season in the American racing class. His best ranking in the World Championship standings is a twelfth place (in 2021 and 2022).