Rinus ‘VeeKay’ van Kalmthout cannot be missed at the upcoming edition of the Indianapolis 500. During the 106th performance of that legendary race, the 21-year-old Dutchman drives a car completely in orange, including the Dutch flag on the front wing and a lion on the mirrors.
For the second consecutive year, VeeKay enters the Indianapolis oval with a special color scheme and for the second consecutive year it is a bitcoin initiative. While the talented twenty-something, who drives for Ed Carpenter Racing, took part in The Greatest Spectacle in Racing last year in a black car, his car is now painted in orange.
The #21 Bitcoin Racing Team car is powered by Bitnile, Todd Ault III’s company, which has been associated with Ed Carpenter Racing since the start of this season. Earlier this year, VeeKay drove around in a special livery, supported by Bitnile, on the streets of Long Beach, when the Hoofddorper was dressed in the purple and sea blue of Alzamend. Also next weekend, when the GMR Grand Prix is on the Road Course of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, VeeKay will be driving a special livery, this time for the benefit of the Building Tomorrow foundation.
The Indianapolis 500 is the sixth and most significant event of the 2022 NTT INDYCAR Series season. The competition has been hosted 105 times and has earned a special place in motorsport history. VeeKay has competed twice in the Indianapolis 500 and impressed fans and bystanders in both his first and second entries.
On his first entry in the Indy 500, in 2020, VeeKay, then only 19 years old, started from fourth place on the grid to be in the forefront throughout the race. In 2021, the Dutchman even qualified on the front row of the grid. During the race, VeeKay led for 32 of the 200 laps. With the #21 Bitcoin Racing Team powered by Bitnile, VeeKay wants to take a shot at victory this year, to join legendary motorsport names, including that of compatriot Arie Luyendyk.
In the 2022 NTT INDYCAR Series season, which is currently four races old, VeeKay occupies a neat seventh place in the standings. A podium finish at Barber Motorsports Park is his highlight so far, where VeeKay has already scored three top ten finishes with a sixth place in St. Petersburg and a tenth place on the oval in Texas.
Practices for the 106th Running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge will begin on Tuesday, May 17, with qualifying taking place over the weekend of May 21 and 22. The race will start on Sunday, May 29