Ahead of Saturday’s IndyCar race from World Wide Technology Raceway, commonly known as Gateway, Rinus VeeKay has expressed his dislike of the compressed schedule on offer.
Similar to the schedules commonly run last year due to the uncertainty of the pandemic, drivers will have to compress their entire weekend activities into just one day.
The condensed track time is not only tough for the drivers, but also for the teams which have to decide on a car setup very early on in the day.
In addition to all three on-track sessions taking place on Saturday, the cars will be impounded and effectively in parc ferme from the time the car is inspected prior to qualifying.
Talking with Motorsport Week ahead of the weekend’s running, VeeKay said that he will rely on his experienced team-mate and car owner Ed Carpenter for advice setting up the car for the Saturday night race.
“Having such a late race, having practice, qualifying – It’s almost too much to digest in one day,” said VeeKay. “To be fair, I’m not a big fan of it.
“I like to sleep, and have a night to think about stuff. We’ll just give it all and I think we can make it a good weekend.
“Out of long and short ovals, I definitely prefer short ovals. You have a bit more wing.
“It’s hard. It’s two corners, but it’s two corners where a millimeter over the limit is the wall. This team, especially on ovals, is always good at getting their stuff together.”
VeeKay also talked about the addition of Iowa Speedway to the 2022 IndyCar schedule, another short oval to add to the annual event at Gateway.
Like many other drivers, he is a fan of having more ovals on the schedule, despite his Ed Carpenter Racing Chevy serving as a launchpad for Colton Herta in the 2020 race around the 7/8-mile oval.
“Last year in Iowa, even though you know what happened…,” continued VeeKay. “Even though that happened, it was one of the most fun races I’ve ever had.
“Just having to be smart, being passed, passing guys and not losing any time. Working on strategy and being able to run more grooves, I think that’s awesome. Something we really need in IndyCar.
“I’m happy it comes back next year.”
