STARTING POSITIONS

12th: CHRISTIAN RASMUSSEN No. 20 GuyCare Chevrolet
22nd: RINUS VEEKAY No. 21 Chevrolet

EVENT: Streets of Toronto
TRACK: Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto
LOCATION: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
TRACK LAYOUT: 11-turn, 1.786-mile street circuit
RACE LENGTH: 85 Laps/151.81 Miles

BROADCAST: Sunday – 1 p.m. ET (Peacock)

CHRISTIAN RASMUSSEN, NO. 20 GUYCARE CHEVROLET

CHRISTIAN RASMUSSEN, No. 20 GuyCare Chevrolet, Starting 12th: “I am obviously very happy with that qualifying, second Fast 12 in a row for me! Super positive and just shows the direction we are headed, both myself as a driver and also the team as well. I am very proud of the GuyCare boys and what they have been able to do for me! We knew going into the Fast 12 we were going to be at a disadvantage as we used an extra set of greens in the first round, but we are still happy with 12th on the grid. We’ll see what we can do tomorrow during the race!”

OF NOTE: 

• For his second race in a row and the second time in his NTT INDYCAR SERIES career, Christian Rasmussen advanced to the second round of qualifying this afternoon in the streets of Toronto. He easily advanced out of Round 1, Group 1 with a lap that had him 3rd overall. In Round 2, Rasmussen had the 12th fastest time, which will be his starting position tomorrow. 

• Rasmussen is back behind the wheel of the No. 20 GuyCare Chevrolet after his best NTT INDYCAR SERIES event to date. While team owner Ed Carpenter drove in last weekend’s oval doubleheader at Iowa Speedway, Rasmussen’s most recent race was two weeks ago at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Rasmussen advanced to the second round of qualifying for the first time and earned his first Top 10 starting position. He took the checkered flag in 9th, his first career Top 10 finish in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES. The rookie’s Mid-Ohio result is the latest in a string of impressive performances during his debut season.

• The Toronto street circuit holds a special meaning for Christian Rasmussen as he earned his first career Road to Indy win on the downtown course. In 2019, Rasmussen won the USF2000 race in Toronto. It was the first of many victories that would eventually see him become only the second driver in history earn a championship in each open-wheel junior category that currently feeds the NTT INDYCAR SERIES – USF2000 (2020), USF Pro 2000 (2021) and INDY NXT (2023). Rasmussen joined Ed Carpenter Racing after winning last year’s championship. 

RINUS VEEKAY, NO. 21 CHEVROLET

RINUS VEEKAY, No. 21 Chevrolet, Starting 22nd: “That was a really messy qualifying session, so many cars in the same place on track. I am upset with where we are starting because we had a solid weekend leading up to qualifying and were quick in both practices. The positive is we know we have a good car, we just have to make sure we make the most of it tomorrow.”

OF NOTE: 

• Expectations for qualifying were high after Rinus VeeKay turned Top 10 lap times in the all cars practice yesterday and in this morning’s Practice 2. His lap time this morning was the 7th-fastest lap of the weekend to date. However, VeeKay’s qualifying session was fraught with heavy traffic. He was unable to turn a clean lap on his set of green Firestone Firehawks and only managed the 11th-quickest lap of the session. He will start 22nd in tomorrow’s Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto.

• In last weekend’s doubleheader at Iowa Speedway, VeeKay scored back-to-back Top 10 finishes. On Saturday, he drove from 13th to 5th to earn his first Top 5 finish since July of 2022. Sunday’s race saw him move up from his starting position of 15th to finish 9th. With those two results, he has finished in the Top 10 of each oval race this season. At the Indianapolis 500, VeeKay and his No. 21 crew rebounded from a crash during his first qualification attempt and not being in the 33-car field to advancing the to the second day of qualifying and earning the 7th starting position. The following week, VeeKay raced his way through the entire field to finish 9th after a penalty dropped him to the back. His first Top 10 finish of the year was at the season opening street course race in St. Petersburg, Florida.

• Born in Hoofddorp, Netherlands, Rinus van Kalmthout began karting in 2009 at the age of 8. With sights set firmly on the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, he transitioned to the Road to Indy in 2017 and launched his U.S. career driving as Rinus VeeKay. Now in his fifth season in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, VeeKay has stepped into a veteran role as ECR’s senior full-time driver. He has spent his entire career behind the wheel of the No. 21 Chevrolet and is the longest tenured full-time driver in the team’s history.