While Dale Coyne Racing's first driver lineup announcement for the 2027 NTT IndyCar Series season has indeed come before Thanksgiving, it is worth reminding fans that their first confirmation for the 2026 season came shortly after the 2025 season ended. And it still took until just weeks before the 2027 season for the team to confirm their full lineup.
For the eighth consecutive season, Dale Coyne Racing are set to have at least one rookie in their lineup, and for the third year in a row, they are set to have at least one rookie running full-time.
Reigning Indy NXT champion Nikita Johnson is set to replace the A.J. Foyt Enterprises-bound Dennis Hauger behind the wheel of the No. 19 Honda in 2027.
Nikita Johnson addition leaves 3 open IndyCar seats for 2027
It marks the fourth driver lineup announcement made since the 2026 season ended in early September. Hauger is set to replace Santino Ferrucci, and he is set to be joined by rookie Josh Pierson as Caio Collet's replacement, while Christian Lundgaard's move to Chip Ganassi Racing to replace the Arrow McLaren-bound Scott Dixon was finally formalized as well.
It leaves three seats still open in next year's 25-car lineup, although two of those seats are basically taken, albeit without formal confirmation.
As Juncos Hollinger Racing continue to work toward resolving what the team ownership situation will look like in 2027, Rinus VeeKay is set to continue for a second season in the No. 76 Chevrolet, following a career year in 2026 which saw him rack up four top four finishes and 10th in the championship standings, by far the team's all-time best.
As for the No. 77 Chevrolet, which had been linked to a number of candidates over the past few months, the frontrunner to replace Sting Ray Robb appears to be ex-Arrow McLaren driver Nolan Siegel.
With these two announcements almost certainly forthcoming, Dale Coyne Racing's confirmation of Johnson effectively means that there is just one more vacancy to fill in next year's lineup, and it belongs, of course, to Dale Coyne's team.
According to RACER.com, Formula 2 race winner Alex Dunne has emerged as a candidate to join Johnson and replace Romain Grosjean behind the wheel of the No. 18 Honda, which is significant in more ways than one.
First and foremost, look what happened the last time Coyne signed a rookie named Alex from overseas. Second, Coyne's team has quietly (but impressively) scored at least one podium finish in 13 consecutive seasons when fielding at least one entry for a full-time driver.
That streak, which does not include the 2015 and 2024 seasons in which they only fielded cars for part-time drivers, dates back to 2012, and was extended in Markham this past season with Grosjean's runner-up finish.
And third, it would mean that Grosjean's IndyCar days are more than likely behind him. While he did miss the entire 2025 season, at which point there was skepticism that he'd be able to land another ride in 2026, it's hard to imagine him returning for what would be his age-42 season in 2028 if he misses the entire 2027 season as well.
There are still nearly four months remaining in the offseason, with the 2027 NTT IndyCar Series season not scheduled to get underway on Sunday, March 7. The Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg is set to kick off the 17-race 2027 season from the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida, with live coverage set to be provided by Fox.
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