Another Indycar silly season puzzle piece fell on Thursday when hot commodity Rinus VeeKay announced he is staying at Ed Carpenter Racing.
VeeKay, unlike others within the series, announced a multiyear contract extension with Ed Carpenter Racing and later backed up by the team. Teams like Chip Ganassi Racing and Arrow McLaren are amidst contract disputes with one Alex Palou. Others like Helio Castroneves, Jimmie Johnson and the next best open option Felix Rosenqvist all still have no 2023 plans yet.
With VeeKay signing the extension, the silly season now turns to Rosenqvist as the best option without a 2023 contract. It was to be VeeKay being the sought after driver and certainly was. However, he stayed true and is returning to a ride he’s had success in. Piloting the ECR No. 21 to two Indy 500 front rows and six top-10’s this season. His summer stretch has gone well placing in the top six in three July races out of five.
After starting from the pole in May at Barber, VeeKay grabbed his only podium of the year finishing third. He was able to put the car on the front row at Indy once again this year. The 2020 Indycar Rookie of the Year looks to grow with ECR. He is already looking for more in 2023. Right now, VeeKay sits 11th in Indycar points.
“I am very excited to continue with Ed Carpenter Racing for what will be my fourth year in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES! Ed Carpenter gave me the opportunity to drive for the team when I came out of Indy Lights and has let me showcase my talents in an Indy car ever since,” VeeKay stated. “The continuity at ECR is great, there have barely been any changes in my time here and it’s very nice to have the same group of people around me all the time. We have been stepping up our game every season and with the support of Todd Ault and BitNile, we can really move forward as we head into 2023.”
VeeKay was an important piece this Indycar offseason. With his name off the board Rosenqvist will be the next to make a difference. That is as long as Palou doesn’t have another saga. It has been a chaotic silly season so far. Signs say it will continue to be a silly season that changes the complexity of the sport.
Rosenqvist, a proven winner in Indycar, currently drives for Arrow McLaren. However, his ride with the team beyond 2022 is uncertain. Earlier in the season, the team announced Rosenqvist has a ride through 2023. However, that narrative changed after declining comment earlier this month. Team officials and Rosenqvist now reveals he is not under contract for 2023 with Arrow McLaren.
The team continues to bring others into the mix with not enough rides open. That also includes their Formula 1 rides. A major mess in the Indycar scene gets messier with the news of Rosenqvist.
Other drivers out there include Castroneves who has said that he wants to stay at Meyer Shank Racing. Very adamant about continuing to build what they have, Castroneves seems set to go back for a full season at MSR. Takuma Sato also wants to stay put in the No. 51 ride. He enjoys his team at Dale Coyne and Rick Ware Racing.
Then comes the Johnson saga. The seven-time Cup Series Champion is looking at contract options and could scale back to part time again. Strong runs at Texas and Iowa have been the bright spot in an otherwise rocky 2022. He would like to run full time again too but that is all uncertain right now.
The NTT DATA Indycar Series heads to the streets of Nashville this weekend. Coverage on NBC and Always RaceDay.
