IndyCar: Rinus VeeKay tipped to drive for Ed Carpenter Racing in 2020

By Asher Fair | Nov 15, 2019

MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 19: Spencer Pigot #21 of United States and Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet drives during testing for the Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca on September 19, 2019 in Monterey, California. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images) /

With Spencer Pigot out, Rinus VeeKay has been tipped to drive for Ed Carpenter Racing in the 2020 IndyCar season in their full-time seat.

Spencer Pigot confirmed that he will not be returning to Ed Carpenter Racing in the 2020 IndyCar season after spending four seasons with the team, including the last two as their full-time driver of the #21 Chevrolet after replacing J.R. Hildebrand ahead of the 2018 season.

As a result, 2019 Indy Lights runner-up Rinus VeeKay has been tipped to replace the 26-year-old Orlando, Florida native as the Chevrolet team’s lone full-time driver next year.

The 19-year-old Dutchman has been on Ed Carpenter Racing’s radar for several months now having tested for the team at Portland International Raceway in August and then at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in October, and he has been speculated to land at Ed Carpenter Racing in some capacity next year for quite some time.

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With Pigot out and a lack of funding being the primary reason for it coupled with the fact that VeeKay brings with him several Dutch sponsors, expect to see him behind the wheel of the #21 Chevrolet on a full-time basis next year.

Should VeeKay land this ride, it would cap off an ascension up the Road to Indy ladder that began with him as a 16-year-old back in the 2017 U.S. F2000 National Championship. He finished in second place in the championship standings to Oliver Askew. Askew is set to drive for Arrow McLaren Racing SP next year as a rookie. The following year, VeeKay won the Pro Mazda Championship, and he went on to finish in second in the 2019 Indy Lights standings behind Askew.

This confirmation would mean that Ed Carpenter’s Racing’s #20 Chevrolet for the road and street course races is the team’s lone ride without a confirmed driver for next year. Team owner Ed Carpenter is set to drive the car in the oval races only for the seventh consecutive season.

Ed Jones drove the #20 Chevrolet in the road and street course races through a partnership with sports car team Scuderia Corsa in 2019, but he is not expected to return to the team and Scuderia Corsa’s future involvement in IndyCar remains unclear.

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Provided that Rinus VeeKay is confirmed as the driver of the #21 Chevrolet for Ed Carpenter Racing in the 2020 IndyCar season, it would set up an exciting Rookie of the Year battle between him and Oliver Askew, the driver with whom he has become rivals during their years climbing the Road to Indy ladder to reach the pinnacle of American open-wheel racing.