Rinus van Kalmthout will start Sunday from 31st place in the Indy 500. The Dutchman had to qualify via an extra qualifying session and sees his outsider position as an advantage: “If you start at the front, you *have* to win. Not now.”
A week ago, it was still quite exciting whether ‘VeeKay’ would be allowed to participate in the Indy 500 at all. In the regular qualification, he failed to finish in the top thirty, after which he had to qualify via the Last Chance Qualifying – a battle between the last four drivers. Van Kalmthout narrowly succeeded in this: only his teammate Jacob Abel was slower.
Van Kalmthout made a striking transfer in IndyCar this year. After five seasons with Ed Carpenter Racing, he now drives for Dale Coyne Racing, a team with considerably fewer resources and experience.
The forced transition – his contract was not extended – meant a fresh start, but also brought sporting challenges. For the first time, he did not qualify directly for the Indy 500 and therefore had to drive into the field via an extra session.
“We had a short training session on Sunday morning, but the adjustments we made to the car worked in exactly the wrong direction,” says Van Kalmthout in podcast The on -board radio from NU.nl. “That was bad for my confidence. Fortunately, we were able to fix it before the qualification.”
‘Realistically, winning is not an option, but I don’t give up’
His mental resilience was thus put to the test again. “On a circuit like this you have to be resilient. You have to keep pushing, even when things go wrong. Look at Marcus Armstrong: he crashed on Saturday morning and didn’t dare to go full throttle later in the day. Fortunately, I didn’t suffer from that.”
Where Van Kalmthout invariably started in the top ten in his earlier starts, this time he has to do it from 31st place. That changes his mindset. “If you start at the front, you actually have to win the race immediately. Now that pressure is not there. Realistically, a victory is not an option, but I never give up. And anything is possible here, I’ve seen that often enough.”
The Indy 500 is held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, one of the oldest and most famous circuits in the world. The race is known for its unpredictability – something Van Kalmthout bases his strategy on. “What I’ve learned here: the most important thing is that you’re still in the race in the last fifty laps. Only then can you take risks. Sometimes you finish 33rd, sometimes you’re suddenly in the top ten.”
Indy 500 Feels Like A Movie for Veekay
The atmosphere at the circuit is extra special this year. For the first time since 2016, the race is completely sold out. “400,000 people, a parade on Saturday, a zeppelin in the sky – it’s like a movie,” says Van Kalmthout, who now lives near Indianapolis.
Van Kalmthout is now considered an oval specialist and knows better than anyone how volatile the Indy 500 can be. “They don’t call me a veteran here for nothing. This circuit just suits me well. And if you stay in the race long enough, anything can happen.”
The Indianapolis 500, ‘The Greatest Spectacle in Racing ‘, starts on Sunday at 6:45 PM Dutch time.