Zach Veach: My own Lazarus project

Knowing that I had a car with my name on it at St. Pete this year was a very surreal feeling for me. I was beyond excited to be back, but at the same time slightly nervous. The biggest question was whether my speed would be what it was in 2014. Driving is a lot like riding a bike, but racing and performing is something you need to do consistently to maintain the skill.

The opening race in 2014 was my breakthrough moment and my first Indy Lights win, so I repeated the same steps for this season as I did to prepare for that one: focusing heavily on the mental side of the sport, and visualizing every lap from practice to the end of the weekend.

The weekend started off well for the most part. During the opening laps of the first practice session I was able to sit P1 before falling to P5 by the end when we were trying some of our test items. In the second session, I quickly realized we had a developing problem, especially when I didn't have the power to get into sixth gear anymore. Ending the session in P9, we looked through the data and was able to see I was losing between four and five mph on each straightaway. The decision was made to switch the engine going into qualifying the next morning.

Leaving the pits Saturday morning, I keyed the mic up and said "Now this thing has some power!" I knew then and there we had the car and now the engine to push for the pole. At about halfway I came in for my second set of Cooper Tires while sitting P2. With 15 minutes to go, I didn't think the times were going to stick, so leaving the pits I tried desperately to find some clean track. But I didn't have much luck, and the session was checkered and I found myself P3 for the first race and P2 for the second one.

The one thing that hasn't changed in Indy Lights since 2014 is the style of racing. The start is still the most important part. If you can lead through Turn 1 with a good car, you have a great chance of getting the win! Starting third, I knew I had a good opportunity to go for it. As we rolled to the green, I made sure to leave no gap between myself and the lead car. I wanted to put as much pressure as I could on him, especially on the dirty side of the track heading into Turn 1.

Then going into the braking zone, it was almost a flashback to my move on Gabby Chaves to get the lead in 2014. Kyle Kaiser locked up a front and gave me just enough room to get inside of him. Trying hard to get the power down without wheelspin, I managed to stay to the outside of him entering Turn 2. With an apex slide and a big moment, I managed to come out in the lead. I screamed some choice words in my helmet and focused on stretching out the gap.

After 16 laps, I had a comfortable 2.0s lead and was just watching after my tires. I was on autopilot at that point. As I started lap 17, I made my way through Turn 3, shifted up to fourth gear ... and then disaster struck. The dash just went black and there was silence.

I screamed on the radio in a panic "The car just shut off!! The car just shut off!!" My engineer quickly told me to cycle the power and try re-firing it. After a few seconds the car came back to life, but my lead was already gone. This process repeated itself three more times until the end of the race. I wanted to throw up; I was completely heartbroken. To have a win in my first race back would've been incredible, but that's racing. This issue wasn't anyone's fault, just electrical gremlins with very bad timing.

I tried to put it behind me, smile, and look forward to the next day, race two. Starting second, it was an all Belardi Auto Racing front row. As we lined up for the green I made the slight mistake of having my right rear tire on the runway paint, which led me to have too much wheelspin. That resulted in me losing a spot and settling into third. This was basically the race for me. Trying to redeem myself from Saturday, I pushed, took care of my tires and crossed the finish line in third. My first podium in the new car.

Overall St. Pete was a little bittersweet, but nonetheless, I am extremely thankful. Not only for being back in a race car, my pace, and all of the people who have welcomed me back, but also for Brian Belardi and Belardi Auto Racing. For they have given me this opportunity to rise back from sitting on the sidelines and having one more chance at achieving my dreams.

We still have a lot more work to do to find funding for the end of the year, but I feel I am showing that I belong. I'm back, hungry, and feel I have the team to fight for the championship with.

Thank you for reading,

Zach