RACE RESULTS

13th: CHRISTIAN RASMUSSEN No. 20 GuyCare Chevrolet
26th: RINUS VEEKAY No. 21 Chevrolet

NEXT RACE: Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, July 7 (NBC, 1:30 p.m. ET)

CHRISTIAN RASMUSSEN, NO. 20 GUYCARE CHEVROLET

CHRISTIAN RASMUSSEN, No. 20 GuyCare Chevrolet, Finished 13th: “We had a pretty good start! We were moving forward on the red tires, I think what held us back a little bit was our stint on black tires. Overall, we turned a messy race into a pretty solid result with a 13th place finish. I am happy about that! There was probably more in it, we just need to eliminate some mistakes we had in the race. Especially the drive-through penalty, that held us back as well. Overall, I am pretty happy with the result given how messy of a race that was!”

OF NOTE: 

• Christian Rasmussen overcame an incident in Practice 2 yesterday to qualify for his first NTT INDYCAR SERIES race at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. After Rasmussen made heavy contact with the Turn 10 tire barrier on only his third lap of the session, the No. 20 GuyCare crew quickly went to work to repair the car for qualifying. Despite the limited track time, Rasmussen jumped right back in and turned the 11th-fastest lap in Round 1, Group 1.

• Rasmussen was off to a tremendous start as he picked up five positions in the first three laps. He remained in striking distance of the Top 10 for the majority of his first two stints. On Lap 70, he was forced to serve a drive-through penalty for improper pit exit and fell to the 25th position, one lap behind the field. A well-timed caution just a few laps later allowed him to regain lead-lap status. He used three restarts in the closing laps to work his way back forward. By the checkered flag, he was up to the 13th position. 

RINUS VEEKAY, NO. 21 CHEVROLET

RINUS VEEKAY, No. 21 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet, Finished 26th: “Just a really unfortunate day. I was feeling good after the warm up session and confident in the changes we had made to improve the car. Unfortunately, the bad luck continues and we had a failure within the gearbox. We will try again in Mid-Ohio!”

OF NOTE: 

• Though Rinus VeeKay was quick in the weekend’s opening practice, his first session ended early as he encountered an unforeseen engine issue. The No. 21 crew worked late into the night to change the engine and have the car ready for Practice 2 this morning. During qualifications, Veekay was forced to slow on one of his quick laps as the car in front of him worked to make a gap. He ended Round 1, Group 1 with the 10th-quickest lap, which translated into the 20th starting position.

• In this afternoon’s warm up session, VeeKay turned the fastest lap of the field. On Lap 5, he spun going up the hill and dropped from 17th to 27th. He used his quick car to charge back forward and made up all the positions he lost by Lap 30. Near Lap 50, VeeKay began to notice an issue with the No. 21’s gearbox. He managed the situation for over 20 laps before being forced to retire from the event.