Rinus VeeKay sped to St. Petersburg, Florida, in March 2020 to make his NTT INDYCAR SERIES debut. His maiden start with Ed Carpenter Racing was delayed three months when the season was put on hold due to COVID-19 pandemic precautions.

With the pandemic shutting down much of the world, VeeKay returned to his native Netherlands from Florida. With plenty of free time, he took Carmen De Jong out for a first date. The couple has been together since, including getting married last fall.

“I think St. Pete being canceled, COVID happening brought us together,” VeeKay said. “So, that's not a story you'll hear very often.”

Here’s another story you don’t hear very often – Carmen VeeKay is a professional boxer.

She excelled at kickboxing while living in Europe, tallying a 28-0 record. That transitioned to amateur fights with headgear and padded gloves.

On Nov. 23, Carmen made her professional boxing debut, taking on Siria Sanchez in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. She won in a four-round unanimous decision.

“That was just such a great feeling,” Rinus VeeKay said. “It’s been a long time coming. Carmen's trained for so long, and she's been working for it for so long, so to finally get that first fight out of the way with a win, with a great performance, she did everything she needed to do.”

VeeKay experienced new emotions during the bout. As a professional boxer, Carmen competed without headgear and with smaller, 8-ounce gloves. Watching her in a dangerous sport introduced a new appreciation for Rinus for what race car drivers put their families through while competing on track.

“I thought it was going to be easy because I watched her spar a lot,” VeeKay said. “I watched her do it from close-by. I saw her finally get punched with heavier gloves, but not in a fight setting.

“Then when I was actually there, when the fight started, it was real. It was really happening. And I kind of had the feeling like I couldn't help her anymore. She was out there on her own, and she had to do everything on her own.”

That moment resonated with VeeKay. He felt what Carmen goes through every time he straps into an NTT INDYCAR SERIES car. He never thought about that aspect because he was always in control of the steering wheel.

“Carmen’s fight was four rounds of two minutes, so that's eight minutes of action,” VeeKay said. “I'm lucky to only have eight minutes to be stressful. Carmen's got two and a half hours of stress going on when she watches me.”

VeeKay was uneasy being on the sidelines because he wasn’t in control of the situation. He views race car drivers, including himself, as control freaks. That’s what makes them unique. Wrestling a car that’s on the verge of being out of control at speeds faster than 200 mph takes skill, bravery and confidence.

“I’m kind of a control freak, not just in the car but everywhere,” VeeKay said. “So, seeing Carmen go out there, I knew she could do it. I knew she was ready for it. I always want the best thing for her, and usually whenever I get nervous, I take care of it myself in the race car. I couldn’t do anything for her. Not that she needed me.

“I’m mostly nervous about wanting her to do well. I want her to be rewarded for all the hard work. I get to race 17 times a year. Carmen gets to fight maybe three to four times a year.”

VeeKay said he had many more sleepless nights leading into Carmen’s bout than he does building into the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge. That phenomenon is unique to logistics.

“You’re driving inside the venue with racing,” VeeKay said. “You are living inside the Speedway. You kind of get the vibe and feel everything. Where Carmen, the only time we got to the venue was two hours before the fights. It’s more the unknowns, really.”

VeeKay found having two professional athletes competing in different sports could pose a unique advantage. Boxers and race car drivers have similar traits. Both athletes must have fast hands and be able to develop endurance and stamina. To be at the top level, training is at the forefront.

“I feel like I've been in a three-month training camp just because we haven't traveled at all and we've been at home eating clean,” VeeKay said. “When Carmen was training, I was training. I feel like she pushes me to be fitter, but also there’s a lot of similarities.

“There's a winner's mindset. Doesn't matter if you're playing golf, you're boxing, you're racing, you’ve got to be in the moment. And like any thought, not in the moment is a distraction. So just seeing her work so hard toward it and dealing with the bad days and picking good things out of the good days, that’s just amazing. The only way you're going to learn is by making mistakes.

“So, I've seen her do that in training, and she's come out of it better. So, it's really fun to see how that learning curve, that the struggles kind of go the similar way.”