"It’s a shame": Kyle Kirkwood hits back at Rinus VeeKay over public blame for Laguna Seca incident

Andretti Global star Kyle Kirkwood and Dale Coyne Racing driver Rinus VeeKay collided at Laguna Seca as the Grand Prix of Monterey approached the quarter mark. The #18 DCR driver decided to publicly shame Kirkwood on X, which led to a frustrated response from the Andretti driver.

Rinus VeeKay and Kyle Kirkwood qualified on the ninth row of the grid and were battling each other in the first quarter of the race. On Lap 25, Kirkwood got a great run on the start-finish straight and tried making a move on VeeKay’s inside into Turns 1 and 2, but the opening was shut down by the DCR driver.

Into the fast Turn 3, the Andretti Global driver tried making a daring move and diving bomb the inside of #18 DCR. Unfortunately, there wasn't enough gap on the inside, and the late braking from Kirkwood meant he clipped Rinus VeeKay's car's right rear.

The Dale Coyne Racing driver was sent spinning into the gravel as a caution came out. Although VeeKay was able to recover and get out of the gravel trap, he was multiple laps down by that point, ending any hopes of scoring major points.

Rinus VeeKay took to the social media platform X and slammed Kyle Kirkwood for his audacious move as he uploaded an onboard video of the crash from Kirkwood's onboard camera. The caption read,

“A good day ruined by someone else’s mistake. We showed really good pace, until that moment. Eyes forward to Portland! 👀”

Kirkwood came out and shamed the DCR driver for uploading a driver's mistake on social media. He wrote,

“It’s a shame someone would put someone’s mistake on socials like this. Yes, I misjudged someone hitting the brakes 70ft earlier than the previous lap. Sorry. I take full blame, although that’s impossible to judge.”

Neither Kirkwood nor VeeKay was able to finish the race inside the Top 10.

Kyle Kirkwood’s apology to Rinus VeeKay for the Laguna Seca incident hours before he shamed the DCR driver for the public shaming

Kyle Kirkwood reflected on his IndyCar ace at Laguna Seca and uploaded a tweet, taking full blame for the crash and apologising to Rinus VeeKay. The Andretti Global driver's tweet was uploaded before Kirkwood realised the DCR driver’s tweet with the crash video.

“Tough day today. Very sorry to @rinusveekay for ruining both of our days. Just didn’t anticipate his brake or turn in point properly. We had a top 5 capable car. Managed to move forward somehow! Thanks to the @AndrettiIndy 27 crew for the effort 💪,” read Kyle Kirkwood’s tweet

While VeeKay ended the race 3 laps down from the race leader, Alex Palou, Kirkwood finished on the lead lap but only managed a P16 finish.

Edited by pranavsethii