RACE RESULTS

14th: RINUS VEEKAY No. 21 Chevrolet
27th: CHRISTIAN RASMUSSEN No. 20 GuyCare Chevrolet

NEXT RACE: XPEL Grand Prix at Road America, June 9 (NBC, 3:30 p.m. ET)

CHRISTIAN RASMUSSEN, NO. 20 GUYCARE CHEVROLET

CHRISTIAN RASMUSSEN, No. 20 GuyCare Chevrolet, Finished 27th: “We were caught out by an unforeseen engine issue. It is unfortunate because we were sitting pretty good and I felt like I had a good racecar. We were in a good spot, so it’s hard when these things happen. It’s part of racing, but it’s extra frustrating when it hits on a good day.” Courtesy INDYCAR Photo

OF NOTE: 

• Christian Rasmussen turned in his best qualifying effort of the season yesterday. On his final lap, he executed a stellar lap was nearly half a second faster than his previous best time. He jumped up to 7th, missing out on advancing to the second round by only one-tenth of a second. Rasmussen started 13th in today’s Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix.

• Rasmussen’s day was off to quick start as he made up two positions in the first lap. He raced forward and avoided numerous incidents to move up to 8th. On Lap 23, smoke began to pour out of the No. 20 GuyCare Chevrolet. Rasmussen safely brought the car to pit lane, but was immediately retired from the event with an engine issue. He was credited with a 27th place finish.

RINUS VEEKAY, NO. 21 CHEVROLET

RINUS VEEKAY, No. 21 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet, Finished 14th: “Long race, tough race. We made the right decision on tires when it started kind of raining, so that was a good call. We stayed out of all of the drama until someone inserted us into the drama. That was disappointing because it put us to the back in all of the chaos. We stayed out of it the best we could, but I couldn’t really move forward because of the damage to the car. I had to just hold on to it and that was all I could do. Great work by the team to give me a good car, wish we could have had more than P14 to show for it and have a higher result for Team Chevy.” Courtesy INDYCAR Photo

OF NOTE: 

• Rinus VeeKay started 18th in today’s Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix. Armed with the knowledge that it was difficult to get the Firestone Firehawks up to temperature in a short amount of time, the team made the decision to only utilize one set of alternate green tires in yesterday’s qualifications. VeeKay stayed on track for the entire 10-minute session and continually turned laps that would have him advancing. In the closing minutes, he slid down the order and had to roll off 18th this afternoon.

• VeeKay avoided each on-track incident and had moved solidly into the Top 10. Before the midway point, a steady rain began to fall around the circuit. Numerous cars dove into the pit lane for rain tires, but VeeKay stayed out on slicks and the rain quickly stopped. On the Lap 40 restart, VeeKay was racing for the 5th position when he was bumped by another competitor. The car spun and stalled, but the safety team was able to restart VeeKay before he lost a lap. He re-joined the race in 23rd, at the rear of the field. 

• Caution flags continued to fly and VeeKay managed to keep the No. 21 Chevrolet out of additional trouble. He continued to pick up positions when they became available, but was unable to race hard due to significant damage to the car. By the checkered flag, VeeKay had gained back nine positions and finished 14th.