Rinus VeeKay has been cleared to resume testing at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway after suffering a heavy crash just four laps into his first run Thursday morning in the No. 21 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevy.
The only question for the promising young talent is whether his team will put the native of Holland back on track after the Speedway-optimized No. 21 hammered the Turn 1 wall and pummeled the right side of the car. With the season-opening NTT IndyCar Series race set to run in just over a week at Barber Motorsports Park, it’s unclear whether ECR would want to make use of VeeKay’s road course chassis in converted Speedway configuration to resume testing at IMS, or try to repair the crashed car and run it without the aero and mechanical treatments that generate extra speed on big ovals.
Despite climbing from the crashed car under his own power, VeeKay complained of pain in his left hand, and later confirmed he’d broken a bone, which is believed to be in his left index finger.
In addition to being cleared to drive, the IndyCar medical staff also supplied the 20-year-old with a temporary splint that fits beneath his driving glove while a custom, carbon-fiber splint is sourced.
Note to self: don’t post on social media you’re ready for the season with testing still to go. Nasty wind from the side swept me into the wall. Broken finger, but good to go again. Sorry to the team, these days were meant to get as many laps and I’m gutted we can’t do that now… pic.twitter.com/MnLZ81uAFH
— Rinus VeeKay (@rinusveekay) April 8, 2021
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