16th: RINUS VEEKAY 01:06.2891 (122.626 mph)
17th: RYAN HUNTER-REAY 01:07.0095 (121.308 mph)

RACE: Honda Indy 200
TRACK: Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course
LOCATION: Lexington, Ohio, USA
TRACK LAYOUT: 2.258-mile, 13-turn road course
RACE LENGTH: 80 Laps/180.64 Miles

BROADCAST: Sunday – 1:30 p.m. ET (USA Network)

RYAN HUNTER-REAY, NO. 20 BITNILE.COM CHEVROLET

RYAN HUNTER-REAY, No. 20 BitNile Chevrolet, Qualified 17th: “The team has done a phenomenal job adapting to this whole situation in a short amount of time. Obviously, we are still both learning together and the team is trying to come to me in what I need grip-wise. It’s still kind of the same scenario as Road America where I am lacking front grip, which is a lap time robber here. We are working on that. The good thing is we made the BITNILE.COM car a lot better than where we started. We’re trending in the right direction on that. We’re just keeping our heads down, focusing on our own task list and having a good time doing it.”

OF NOTE: 

• Ryan Hunter-Reay has qualified 17th for tomorrow’s race at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, his first NTT INDYCAR SERIES event at this circuit since July 2021. In his second race weekend with Ed Carpenter Racing, he gained over a half a mile an hour of speed from Practice 1 to Practice 2. Improvements to the No. 20 BITNILE.COM Chevrolet continued throughout the qualifying session and Hunter-Reay earned a starting position on the inside of Row 9.

• Hunter-Reay recently joined Ed Carpenter Racing as driver of the No. 20. Hunter-Reay, recognized as one of the most successful American open wheel racing drivers, has brought a wealth of experience to the team with an INDYCAR career that spans two decades. He made his debut with ECR two weeks ago at Road America, where he gained 10 positions over the duration of the race.

• The Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based driver is an NTT INDYCAR SERIES Champion (2012) with 18 career wins, including a victory in the 2014 Indianapolis 500. Hunter-Reay will be one of the most experienced drivers in the field this weekend with 17 Indy car starts at Mid-Ohio to date. In 14 of those races, he earned a Top 10 finish. He has been on the podium four times, most recently in 2020. He has started inside the Top 5 on eight occasions, including one pole position.

RINUS VEEKAY, NO. 21 BITNILE.COM CHEVROLET

RINUS VEEKAY, No. 21 BITNILE.COM Chevrolet, Qualified 16th: “We made good improvements from practice to qualifying, so I am happy with that! It’s very tough out there, though. The track is constantly changing and it’s really hard to get it perfect. I feel we fixed our biggest troubles and the balance in some corners. We improved, but we’re definitely not good enough. We want to comfortably advance and we’re not there quite yet. Ryan (Hunter-Reay) has really helped the team understand things better and his approach is a lot different than mine. I learn a lot from him! He has so much experience and that helps me get more prepared for everything, including qualifying sessions. We’re moving in the right direction.”

OF NOTE: 

• Rinus VeeKay will start from the 16th position tomorrow at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. His best qualifying lap in the No. 21 BITNILE.COM Chevrolet was nearly a second faster than his quickest practice lap. With a best time of 01:06.2891, he will roll off from the outside of Row 8.

• VeeKay has spent his entire NTT INDYCAR SERIES career with Ed Carpenter Racing and is the team’s longest-tenured full-time driver, now in his fourth season behind the wheel the No. 21 Chevrolet. VeeKay has competed at Mid-Ohio four times, achieving his best result to date last year with a fourth place.

• 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. Just four years into his time in the United States, he not only reached the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, but earned 2020 Rookie of the Year honors. He became an NTT INDYCAR SERIES race winner in May of 2021 with a victory at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.