Veach says 2018 is a good time for rookie IndyCar season
Zach Veach, who has signed a multi-year agreement to race an Andretti Autosport-Honda from next season, believes 2018 is the perfect time for rookies as all drivers will have to adapt to the aerokit.
Oriol Servia tests the 2018 Honda
IndyCar Series
The 22-year-old from Stockdale, Ohio, will be sponsored by Group One Thousand One, a group of insurance companies based in Indianapolis, and will take over the #26 car from Takuma Sato, who is heading to Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing next year.
The rest of the full-time Andretti Autosport lineup – Alexander Rossi, Ryan Hunter-Reay and Marco Andretti – will remain unchanged.
Asked if he thought the 2018 universal aerokits would suit him, given its reportedly more tail-happy handling, Veach said: “I'd like to say so. But the thing I'm excited about is we're starting fresh with all the other drivers.
“Obviously everyone is going to have different levels of experience in IndyCar, but the chassis with that aerokit – we're all going to be starting on page 1 in January, so that's exciting for me because I think we can all progress at a similar rate.
"With my teammates being so experienced, it's going to really give me an advantage in trying to get up to speed and learning as much as possible.
“I'm excited for that because I think racing is going to be a little closer, and hearing that the grip is going to be coming from the bottom of the car more, it's something that's even more exciting for me.
"I'm just ready to figure out what it's going to be like. We've got a lot of time to sit and think about it until then, but as a rookie getting into his first full-time ride, I think the timing couldn't be more perfect."
Veach made his IndyCar debut subbing for the injured JR Hildebrand in an Ed Carpenter Racing-Chevrolet at Barber Motorsports Park this year, and then raced a third AJ Foyt Racing-Chevy in the Indianapolis 500. He said that even this limited experience with a very different aero package had been useful.
“The two races I had the opportunity to do this year are blessings,” he said, “because the car with the aerokit is going to be slightly different, but pit stops aren't, the changes that you're going to be working through to try to make it aren't.
“That experience just put a lot more tools in my toolbox to start off with next season, so there's a lot I can take away from that and a lot that I still think about today that I'm just constantly building on for next year."
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