ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.– Mere days after confirming his switch to Pabst Racing, Rinus VeeKay completed a stunning weekend at the Grand Prix of St Petersburg. The 16-year old Dutchman made quick work of learning the intricacies of street racing to take home two podium finishes in his Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda debut event. 

“This was such a great weekend for me,” Enthused the rookie, who is supported by Holland’s premiere junior driver development program, KNAF Talent First. “I came into the weekend hoping to challenge for podiums, but now I know we can go for wins.”
 
The youngster placed second in the only practice session held on Thursday evening, and looked set to qualify second for race one until contact with the wall disabled his car, resulting in a 14^th place grid position for the first race of the weekend. VeeKay worked his way through the field with moves like a veteran, and at the checkered flag had improved 11 positions to finish third, a mere 0.6 seconds behind the race winner.
 
For the second race, VeeKay had an easier task having qualified third. VeeKay put together an impressive performance combining consistency and raw speed to finish second to close out his Mazda Road to Indy debut weekend.
 
“I have to say a big thank you to Pabst Racing,” Noted VeeKay. “From the moment I signed with them I knew they were the best team for me and this weekend they did an incredible job for me. I also have to thank my family for all their support to get me to this point and my sponsors Jumbo Supermarkten, KNAF Talent First, Total and Quick Sports and Leisure Wear.
 
Next up on the USF2000 schedule is another double-header at Barber Motorsports Park on the weekend of April 21-23.
 
About Rinus VK: Rinus was born and raised in the Netherlands and, at the tender age of 16, already has four karting championships to his name along with countless race wins. For 2017, the Dutch phenom will be making the move to IndyCar’s official development ladder, the Mazda Road to Indy, and compete in the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered By Mazda.