NASHVILLE –Rinus VeeKay was a solid P2 in the wet Saturday morning practice on the streets of Nashville. His teammate Ryan Hunter-Reay was 7th. However, they were puzzled with the lack of pace in qualifying which left them starting 19th (VeeKay) and 27th (Hunter-Reay) respectively.

In the race though, VeeKay had a shot to do something special in coming from 19th to the top five after the first stint. That’s because they elected to start the 80-lap race on a set of green Firestone Firehawks. He was the very first car to make a pit stop today, stopping on Lap 3 to switch from green to black tires.

The move paid dividends as he cycled forward when other cars stopped. A caution on Lap 13 placed him solidly inside the Top 10 and, more importantly, on a strategy same as the leaders.

VeeKay cycled into the second position before he made his next pit stop on Lap 29. He stayed on pace with the lead pack of cars for the duration of the stint.

On Lap 49, VeeKay was running 4th when he and Alexander Rossi made contact heading into Turn 9. VeeKay had to pit immediately with a cut tire, then was issued a drive-through penalty. 

Following the penalty, VeeKay fell from 4th to 19th. As several cars faced challenges in the final laps, VeeKay avoided the melee and gained several positions. By the checkered flag, VeeKay had climbed back up to the 14th position.

“We almost had a great day,” VeeKay rued. “We went from 19th to 4th and then the contact happened. Got a drive-through penalty, which does not make sense to me. Anyway, it was a big step in the right direction for us and a great strategy by the team!”