RACE RESULTS

9th: CHRISTIAN RASMUSSEN No. 20 GuyCare Chevrolet
19th: RINUS VEEKAY No. 21 Chevrolet 

NEXT RACE: Iowa Speedway, July 13 (NBC, 8 p.m. ET)

CHRISTIAN RASMUSSEN, NO. 20 GUYCARE CHEVROLET

CHRISTIAN RASMUSSEN, No. 20 GuyCare Chevrolet, Finished 9th: “Just a strong, well-executed weekend! It looked a little tough in practices, but we made good changes and had our best qualifying attempt with my first time in the Fast 12! I qualified P9 and I finished the race P9. It was kind of a boring race for me, but that’s what we needed! Just super proud of where this is headed. We have shown good pace on multiple occasions but haven’t been able to translate that into a good race result. Being able to do that today for everyone and also myself was really awesome!” Courtesy INDYCAR Photo

OF NOTE: 

• Christian Rasmussen advanced to the second round of qualifying for the first time in his young NTT INDYCAR SERIES career yesterday and earned his first Top 10 starting position. While his lap time in the Fast 12 awarded him the 9th starting position, he took the green flag from 8th as another competitor had a grid penalty. It was his best qualifying effort and best starting position of his season so far.

• Rasmussen immediately picked up a spot on the start and settled into the 7th position. He stayed there until his first pit stop on Lap 28, where he came in for a switch from black Firestone Firehawks to reds. He rejoined the race in 7th. 

• For the majority of his second stint, Rasmussen stayed in 6th. His second and final pit stop occurred on Lap 54, where he selected another set of black tires. After all cars had completed their final stops, Rasmussen was running in the 9th position. He remained there through the checkered flag, earning his first career Top 10 finish in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES.

RINUS VEEKAY, NO. 21 CHEVROLET

RINUS VEEKAY, No. 21 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet, Finished 19th: “We knew it was going to be a tough day starting so far back. We missed it on the strategy a bit as well, which makes it even harder here. Mid-Ohio is one of those tracks where it is tough to pass if there are no yellows and the field gets strung out, which is what happened today. Ready to get to an oval next weekend and see what we can do there!” 

OF NOTE: 

• Rinus VeeKay’s weekend at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course was a difficult one from the start. He did not have the opportunity to turn many laps during Practice 1 as the team learned the nuances of the new NTT INDYCAR SERIES hybrid unit. In Practice 2, heavy traffic made it difficult to turn a fast lap. After struggling with the balance of the No. 21 Chevrolet in qualifying, he slotted into 20th on the starting grid. 

• VeeKay began the race on a set of red Firestone Firehawks. The move paid dividends as he was up three positions in the first green flag lap. After 10 laps, he came in for a switch to black Firehawks and committed to a three-stop race. His second stop came on Lap 31 and he stayed on black tires.

• With the field spread out across the circuit and no caution flags, there were limited passing opportunities for VeeKay. His third and final pit stop occurred on Lap 57 and he rejoined the field in 20th. He was able to pick up one more spot in the closing laps to finish in the 19th position.