If there’s anyone on the grid who recognizes the magnitude and significance of racing at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, it’s Zach Veach.
Prior to competing in the Fanatec GT World Challenge America powered by AWS championship, his home was in IndyCar, driving for powerhouse team Andretti Autosport for the majority of his time in the series. With over 40 career starts, which included multiple trips to the Brickyard, Veach is no stranger to the importance of this historic venue.
This October, he will be returning to IMS in a new capacity, co-driving the No. 93 Racers Edge Motorsports NSX GT3 EVO22 in search of victory in the Indy 8 Hour.
“It’s so special for me because as a young kid, the Indy 500 was always the goal,” Veach explained. “I still count myself so lucky to have been able to do four of them so far in my career. Every time I go to the Speedway, I still get this burst of emotion that brings me right back to my first Indy 500 start. Hearing (Back Home Again In) Indiana on the grid, seeing the crowds and the full grandstands for the first time as a driver, it was indescribable.”
The Brickyard holds a unique sentimental value for him, as he and his father created their own tradition before his first Indy 500 start by sitting at the top of the Turn 3 grandstands, and continued to practice the custom in the following years.
“In every year that I got to race in the 500, on the parade lap I would always look out to where my dad and I sat, and it almost felt like I could see the past versions of ourselves up there. I have so many positive emotions every time I go back, and it’s such a nice feeling to know that I’m able to take my new love of sportscar racing there. The fact that it’s for an endurance race makes it even more awesome. It's the best of both worlds.”
Although he has already spent a great deal of time at the track, he is preparing to experience it in a brand new way, as the eight-hour endurance event will be his first time racing there under the lights for the night stint.
“I've never been able to see the racetrack at night before,” he said. “Every race I've done there, from the ladder series to IndyCar itself, was always in the day. That’s going to be a new one for me, and you can't really say you get too many new experiences at a place as historic as Indy. To be able to check that off my bucket list is pretty special. Hopefully it treats us ex-IndyCar guys a little better than everyone else, and we can have an advantage. But we'll see!”
As he mentioned himself, he is not the only driver in the field with IndyCar experience, as Conor Daly has also recently joined the competition, something that Veach treats as an additional source of motivation.
“This is the first time Conor and I have been on track with each other since an IndyCar race,” he stated. “At Barber Motorsports Park, it was exciting and I kind of lit up in the car because when I first came to SRO, there were a few familiar faces, but I felt as though my racing community had to kind of be rebuilt. I'm learning a lot and becoming friends with so many great people in the series, but Conor is somebody that I've spent 18 years racing against. We go all the way back to our days in karting, so to have him here, knowing that I've raced against him every step of the way, it's a little comforting and it's nice to compete against someone you have so much history with.”
When asked what it would mean to him to be able to kiss the most famous bricks in the world, Veach admitted that he would feel slightly conflicted.
“I've always imagined that scenario with a big reef around my neck and milk all over the suit,” he elaborated. “But any opportunity you have to win at Indianapolis, you don't pass that up, and to do it at the end of an endurance race would be all that much more special.”
At the end of the day, Veach has full confidence that he and the Racers Edge Motorsports team have what it takes to achieve success when they reach the finish line, and he believes that all his accumulated experience has provided him with the tools he needs to accomplish this goal.
“The mindset we have for the Indy 500 is much like our mindset for an eight hour race; it's all about delivering the car to that 400-mile marker and then really racing those last hundred miles. This same approach translates to the Indy 8 Hour, we have to take care of the car until we're in that last stint and then that's when everyone's going for it. From there, whatever happens, happens. I think my ability to be in the Indy 500 and the experience that I've had has set me up for endurance racing.”
To see Zach Veach tackle the Indy 8 Hour, purchase your tickets now and take in the atmosphere of Indianapolis Motor Speedway firsthand from October 4th to 6th for the season finale of the 2024 Fanatec GT World Challenge America powered by AWS championship.