VeeKay "embracing" leadership role at JHR amidst strong run of form

Credit: Bella Rosen

It has been some six years since Rinus VeeKay burst onto the IndyCar scene at the age of 19 and quickly established himself as one of the rising starts of the series.

The 2019 Indy Lights vice-champion was fast out of the blocks, earning a podium and a pole position within his first 12 races and a maiden victory within his first 20. It seemed like destiny that VeeKay would mature into one of the series' top talents and although that career trajectory never panned out like some may have expected, a double change of scenery in the last two seasons has seen VeeKay's stock rise to similar levels of what it was five years ago, even if it were for what are considered the two smallest teams in the series.

At the end of 2024, VeeKay found himself without a home in IndyCar. His long-time employers at Ed Carpenter Racing, who VeeKay had been at for five years, decided to move onto pastures new as they signed 2016 Indianapolis 500 winner Alexander Rossi on a multi-year deal.

It could have easily been the end of VeeKay's IndyCar career but after doing some work in supporting Dale Coyne Racing's (DCR) efforts in the off-season, he was rewarded with a full-time drive for 2025 which started the revitalisation of his IndyCar career.

In just one season with DCR, VeeKay brought home the team's best championship finish since 2020, with a second-place finish at Toronto being the teams best individual result for three years. It was quite the stark contrast to a team that had not had a single car finish better than 13th the season prior. It also spoke volumes about VeeKay's leadership in a team, progressing the team to a standard they not had achieved in years, taking on a lead driver responsibility alongside rookie Jacob Abel.

It made another change of scenery for 2026 surprising for VeeKay when he opted to sign with Juncos Hollinger Racing (JHR) on a one-year deal, another team who had struggled the year prior to VeeKay's arrival, with just five top 10 finishes across the 17 races.

12 months on, the story that VeeKay wrote at DCR has started to re-write itself at JHR.

Credit: Hope Van Beek

With three races to go in 2026, VeeKay finds himself with six top 10 finishes, as he lies 11th in the standings, sandwiched between multi-time champions Will Power and Scott Dixon in the championship, impressive work for a team who have never had a driver finish higher than 16th.

And for the second year in a row, undeniable progress has been made in one of IndyCar's smallest organisations with VeeKay the lead driver of the operation

."Yeah, really embracing it. It feels very natural to me," said VeeKay of his leadership role within teams. "This is also now the second year for me on a new team, but both times I've been blindly trusted by the teams that my feedback was correct.

"We've grown so much already this year with Juncos Hollinger Racing. Looking at our first race in St. Pete until now, it's a lot more complete as a team. It's really nice to see that."

VeeKay is certainly right to highlight the difference in JHR pre and post-Indy 500 this season. Heading into the 'Month of May', the team had a singular top 10 finish, courtesy of VeeKay on the Streets of St. Petersburg but have since kicked on with five top 10 finishes in nine races, including three top five finishes in a five-race stretch between Gateway and Portland.

That type of progression can usually be attributed to the usual gelling process when a driver comes into a team, with many drivers utilising the 'Month of May' as an opportunity to spend time engaging with their engineer and mechanics, building a closer bond that can be used into the remainder of the season.

But for VeeKay, it is the more simple things that have contributed to his uptick in form in the latter half of the season.

" I don't think there's something we did wrong earlier in the season," VeeKay adds. "I think we can thank our second half of the season by just having a few test days. We had three test days and got to try some stuff that really fixed our Achilles heels.

"Indy Road Course was a tough weekend. Arlington was a tough weekend. Long Beach was a tough weekend. Then Road America was one. So that's all bumpy street courses and road courses. Then we tested in Mid-Ohio, and that really changed everything for us.

"We had enough time to try things that we usually don't dare to do in a race weekend when you've only got an hour practice. That really changed everything and I think was the key to fixing our package."

Credit: Gabriella Hughes

The next opportunity for VeeKay and JHR lies at the double-header at the Milwaukee Mile, a track with significant meaning to the team being the home of their only IndyCar podium, which was in the hands of Conor Daly in 2024.

Daly has responsible for a lot of JHR's improvement on ovals in recent seasons, but there's no doubting that VeeKay has since taken the baton at the team too and has shown well at all oval races this year. The Dutchman was fighting for a podium in Phoenix when he collided with Álex Palou late on before top six finishes at both the Indianapolis 500 and Gateway. VeeKay was once again in contention for a top five at Nashville before he was caught out by a late caution.

VeeKay's IndyCar career has been almost defined by the fact he has finished between 12th and 14th in the standings in his six IndyCar seasons and if JHR's strong Milwaukee form is to be believed, VeeKay could put himself in the prime position to finally escape that championship bracket. That's easier said than done though, with VeeKay just 12 points ahead of six-time champion Dixon.

There's more on the line than that for VeeKay though, who is aiming for a maiden top 10 finish in the championship and to take home some silverware before the end of the season.

Whatever the result of those targets may be come the chequered flag at Laguna Seca, the focus will then transition to the decision that VeeKay will have to make regarding where he drives in 2027.

With many of the top available seats now being filled, a return to JHR is increasingly likely, albeit VeeKay says there is "nothing concrete decided yet" despite that "things are getting more clear". What is for sure though is that unlike two years ago, VeeKay is no longer fighting for his IndyCar future but instead now consistently spoken about as one of the top remaining free agents and is certainly an attractive option for any team owner who needs a new figurehead to revitalise their teams.