IndyCar announcement leaves two teams with empty seats

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing have solidified their driver lineup for the 2025 IndyCar season, announcing that former Andretti Global driver Devlin DeFrancesco is set to replace Pietro Fittipaldi behind the wheel of the No. 30 Honda.

DeFrancesco did not compete during the 2024 season after spending the first two seasons of his career with the team formerly known as Andretti Autosport. His top finish during those two years was 12th place, and he racked up five other top 15 results.

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing's driver lineup also consists of veteran Graham Rahal, who has competed for his father's team since 2013, and rookie Louis Foster. Foster, the reigning Indy NXT champion, is set to replace the Arrow McLaren-bound Christian Lundgaard behind the wheel of the No. 45 Honda.

Two IndyCar teams still need drivers

There are now nine full-time teams that have filled all of their seats for the 2024 season, leaving only Juncos Hollinger Racing and Dale Coyne Racing with the need to do so.

There are 25 chartered entries and 27 entries set to compete full-time in 2025, with the difference of two coming as a result of the addition of Prema Racing to the grid. They will not have any charters but have confirmed both of their full-time drivers, Callum Ilott and Robert Shwartzman.

Juncos Hollinger Racing's recent announcement that former A.J. Foyt Enterprises driver Sting Ray Robb is set to join the team behind the wheel of the No. 78 Chevrolet means that they still have one seat to fill. The No. 77 Chevrolet, which was driven by Romain Grosjean in 2024, still needs a driver.

The announcement also means that Dale Coyne Racing are the only team without any confirmed drivers for the 2025 season. Dale Coyne's team have traditionally been one of the final teams to confirm their lineup, and it is no surprise to see them here again after their worst season in roughly three decades.

Dale Coyne Racing, despite their well-known status as a relatively small and underfunded team, entered the 2024 season with at least one podium finish in 11 of the last 12 seasons. But they finished no higher than 13th place in 2024, something that had not been true for the team since 1987 – when Coyne himself was the driver.

During that 12-year stretch, their only podium-less season was 2015, which was also their only season without at least one full-time driver during that stretch. The 2024 season was consequently their first season since 2015 without a full-time driver, so perhaps the ongoing driver search will produce at least one full-time driver who can get them back on track.

The 2025 IndyCar season is scheduled to begin on Sunday, March 2 on the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida. Fox is set to provide live coverage.