Carpenter's Dutchman Rinus VeeKay set the third fastest time in Indianapolis 500 qualifying history and said he can still extract more from the Fast 12 on Sunday
Rinus VeeKay took flight and led the first day of qualifying for the 2022 Indianapolis 500. The Dutchman posted a time of 2min34s073, averaging 233.655 miles per hour (376.03 km/h), to finish in first place and advance to the Fast 12, which will be run this Sunday. Even after the great result, the Carpenter driver stated that he can still extract more performance from the car.
"I think we definitely have more to extract on Sunday, but the car is already very good. It was a great job by the team, the car was very comfortable to drive and accelerate during the whole lap," praised VeeKay.
Rinus' lap went down in history. It was the third best lap in Indy 500 qualifying history, behind only Arie Luyendyk, also a Dutchman, and Scott Brayton, from the United States, both in 1996. Entering this select group is exciting for the 21-year-old driver.
"I'm very excited, I was happy with the first lap, 234 miles per hour, it's the fastest I've ever gone and I think the fastest since Arie's record in 1996, so it's pretty special," Rinus valued.
The session ended early because of the rainy Indianapolis afternoon weather. In addition to VeeKay, the following have advanced to the Fast 12: McLaren's Pato O'Ward and Felix Rosenqvist, McLaren's Alex Palou, Brazilian Tony Kanaan, Ganassi's Jimmie Johnson, Marcus Ericsson and Scott Dixon, fellow Dutchman Ed Carpenter, Andretti's Romain Grosjean, Penske's Will Power, and Dale Coyne's Takuma Sato.
The Fast 12 is scheduled for 5 p.m. ET. The top six will advance to the Fast Six, which will determine the pole-position for the 106th Indianapolis 500, to be held on May 29.