Why IndyCar's Dutch ace can bring glory to Ed Carpenter Racing

Rinus Van Kalmthout’s tweet last June, after he took a strong runner-up finish in the first Detroit IndyCar race, stood out to this writer. Posing with his trophy, his face was fixed in a startled yet thrilled expression, like someone who’d just walked into a surprise party full of friends he hadn't seen in years. Above the image was written the words, “I also have this face with my helmet on”. One suspects there’s an element of truth in that.

Known Stateside as 'VeeKay', he exudes exuberance in an IndyCar, whether he’s on a flying lap or in the middle of a duel. However, serious he is in debriefs, out on track he just seems to be having fun, revelling in his own talent, knowing he’s one of the best at what he does.

The Dutchman was the same way in Indy Lights in 2019, wringing dry his Juncos Racing car in order to bridge its slight performance deficit to the Andretti Autosport entry of Oliver Askew. Ultimately, he came up just short against the rapid Askew, but did enough to convince Ed Carpenter of his talents. The Ed Carpenter Racing boss had spied a similarly promising talent to that of 2011 Lights champion Josef Newgarden, the now double IndyCar champion scoring three wins and an outsider for the 2016 title with ECR. 

Of course, there is always a major learning curve in IndyCar for even the most talented rookie, and in a 2020 season lacerated by the knock-on effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, ECR found it tough to find track time for its new star. Testing was virtually non-existent and practice time was pinched. Should a team fail to hit the sweet spot throughout the reduced two-day events, they were in danger of suffering two kidney punches: to make up a 14-race season, five of IndyCar’s race weekends that year were