The season-closing trilogy opened on the West Coast of the United States at the Portland International Short and Tight Raceway in Portland, Oregon. Ed Carpenter Racing Team Driver VeeKay had a rough start to the two-day race weekend. To make matters worse, the youngster, who celebrated his 21st birthday on Saturday, had to change the engine of a Chevrolet. The Dutchman had to start from 25th place.

From there, VeeKay once again demonstrated his racing gadget by pulling off trouble at a chaotic start to the Grand Prix of Portland. The Fort Lauderdale, Florida native passed no fewer than nine opponents on his first set of hits, to come in 14th after the first lap. This became until P9 when five opponents were punished for their involvement in the mayhem. VeeKay was able to keep alone on the first mission, stopping his first holeshot from the front of the middle arc.

In a strategy interview at the Portland International Raceway, the timing of the neutrals proved vital in terms of scoring a good result. For VeeKay, one of the neutralizations backfired. The Rookie of the Year for the 2020 season was called up for a second stop after 44 of the 110 scheduled laps – eight laps later the yellow flag appeared due to a track disaster. Thus many of VeeKay’s direct opponents were “talented”.

From that moment on, it was time for VeeKay, who could rely solely on his flawless steering skills. Fierce midfield battles were fought, with VeeKay flexing his muscles multiple times and regularly emerging as the winner. Despite overtaking an opponent more than twenty times, the ECR driver had to settle for 17th place when the finish flag fell.

“I was hoping to taste a bottle of champagne as a birthday present, but we’ll have to postpone it to next week or so,” Portland’s VeeKay said with humor. “It sounds crazy for someone who finished 17th, but I had a really good pace today. The start was great and after that I was able to fight with almost everyone.”

“The fact that I didn’t finish in the top ten was because of the timing of the warnings. The second neutralization was particularly unfavorable. I was just on a pit stop, when the rest wasn’t finished. All competitors got a free pit stop. For the setup, we could probably have left more From downforce, because in terms of tire wear it was very fast.”

“My robbery went well and did exactly what I was asked to do. I am convinced that without the yellow I would have finished well in the top 10, but today I wouldn’t have been. I am upset about having to settle for a place outside the top 10 again , but I know there’s nothing wrong with my pace. That’s why I’m really looking forward to next weekend’s race at Laguna Seca, one of my favorite songs on the calendar!” VeeKay concludes defiantly.

After fourteen out of sixteen games in the 2021 NTT INYDCAR Series season, VeeKay, who has competed in thirteen of those fourteen races, has accumulated 291 points. Thanks to this subtotal, the Dutchman is currently 12th in the IndyCar standings standings.

The penultimate IndyCar race of the season will take place next Sunday, September 19th at the legendary WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. VeeKay has won every race (2 pieces) he has entered on this track so far. The Firestone Grand Prix for Monterey will start at approximately 9:30 PM Dutch Time.