INDYCAR: After Glen triumph, Veach looks to big-car chance

Zach Veach isn't blessed with exceptional height or a musclebound frame, but that didn't stop the Ohioan from pounding the Watkins Glen road course and all of his Indy Lights competitors into submission last weekend.

Taming the most physically demanding track on the way to a 3.6-second win over Ed Jones was further proof the 21-year-old is ready to turn his first laps in an Indy car on Thursday with Ed Carpenter Racing. And as one of many Lights drivers primed to graduate in 2017, he's prepared for the next stage of his career by attacking the gym with the same ferocity shown behind the wheel of his Belardi Racing Dallara IL15-Mazda.

"I feel like my size of always been one of the things people looked at, but I've always been strong for my size," Veach told RACER. "I think it speaks to the theory that working with a place like Pit Fit really prepares you for this challenge. We work so hard not just for muscle size but muscle endurance. I think that is what has given me the ability to do what I did [at Watkins Glen]. I felt fine when I got out of the car."

Mastering an Indy Lights car, as Veach admits, is entirely different to withstanding the rigors of 750hp and 5000 pounds of downforce that await him in ECR's Dallara DW12-Chevy at Sonoma Raceway.

"I know the Indy car is going to be a different story," he said. "But you need to have that first test where you walk away with an idea of what you need to go back and work on. I have talked to James Hinchcliffe and those guys that went from Indy Lights to IndyCar, and they all say the first two test days in Indy car you're going to be super sore and then after that your body gets used to it. You train more to build up the areas the Indy car needs, then it is a little easier."

Beyond his physical abilities, Veach also demonstrated the IndyCar-esque ability to push hard, pull back, and manage his lead while taking exceptional care of his Cooper tires. Most Indy Lights sprint races involve an all-out attack until the checkered flag, but with the crazy cornering speeds and high tire wear to consider on Sunday, the three-year Lights veteran switched gears throughout the race – just as he would be asked to do in IndyCar – on the road to victory.

"One of my weaknesses has always been tire management," he admits. "In 2013 I was leading Milwaukee and burned them off – that is something that always stuck in my mind. I worked hard to keep them in line here and it worked. I wasn't expecting to have the great start, but once we did and I got the lead, a whole different switch flipped. Then I noticed we were on the same pace with the cars following me, so then it flipped to another one that I just need to build a gap that I can manage.

"Honestly, I was surprised how fast people fell off. My engineer was saying it is a two-second gap, three-second gap, and once we got to five seconds, I used push to pass to get me to seven seconds, so I wasn't using the tires at all. Then, with seven laps to go, I knew I could be almost a second slower each lap, protect my tires, and I'll still win this thing. So that's just the mindset I kept going with."

Fourth in points entering the finale, Veach has a shot at winning the Indy Lights championship and earning the $1 million advancement prize. Whether he gets to IndyCar with a title in hand or by his own means, look for the little dynamo to be ready for the fight.