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Dale Coyne Racing have finally confirmed Rinus VeeKay's replacement behind the wheel of the No. 18 Honda for the 2026 IndyCar season, 15 weeks after they had initially aimed on making the announcement.
VeeKay confirmed shortly after the 2025 season that he would be moving on after one season and joining Juncos Hollinger Racing, replacing Conor Daly behind the wheel of the No. 76 Chevrolet alongside Sting Ray Robb in the No. 77 Chevrolet for his seventh season in the NTT IndyCar Series.
Dale Coyne Racing landed reigning Indy NXT champion Dennis Hauger, along with a technical alliance with Andretti Global, but they still needed a second driver. Jacob Abel was always unlikely to be back after a disappointing rookie season.
Hauger was recently confirmed as the driver of the No. 19 Honda, a number Dale Coyne's team haven't used since 2019, and it's Romain Grosjean who is set to replace VeeKay behind the wheel of the No. 18 Honda. The No. 51 that the team had used since 2020 will not be used in 2026.
Romain Grosjean confirmed at Dale Coyne Racing
Grosjean made his IndyCar debut with Dale Coyne Racing as a part-time driver in 2021, following a Formula 1 career that stretched from 2009 to 2020. He was impressive, nearly winning Rookie of the Year honors over Team Penske full-time driver Scott McLaughlin, despite missing four races. He recorded three podium finishes, including two runner-up finishes in the two races at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.
He moved to Andretti Autosport in 2022 but was replaced by fellow ex-Formula 1 driver Marcus Ericsson in 2024 after an underwhelming two-year stint that did not live up to high expectations. Despite taking Juncos Hollinger Racing to new heights in 2024 with six top 10 finishes, he was replaced by Robb for 2025 and was left without a ride.
Hauger and Grosjean are set to try to extend one of the most underrated streaks in the NTT IndyCar Series in 2026. Dating back all the way to the 2012 season, Dale Coyne Racing have scored at least one podium finish every single season in which they've run at least one full-time driver, a massive achievement for one of the smallest and consistently most underfunded teams in the sport.
In 2015 and 2024, they did not have any full-time drivers, and they didn't finish on the podium either year. The streak began with the late Justin Wilson's epic upset victory at Texas Motor Speedway 14 years ago. VeeKay extended the streak with a runner-up finish on the streets of Toronto in 2025.
Dale Coyne Racing, winners of six IndyCar races dating back to their 1984 debut, have not won a race since Sebastien Bourdais won the season opener on the streets of St. Petersburg in back-to-back years in 2017 and 2018.
All things considered, this is probably Dale Coyne Racing's best driver lineup since 2020, when they paired rookie Alex Palou with Santino Ferrucci, and that was before anybody really knew just how good Palou could become. Ferrucci actually finished three spots ahead of the now four-time series champion and reigning Indy 500 winner in the standings that year.
Palou recorded the team's best finish that season, a third place finish in only his third career start, second on a road course, at Road America.
While the tradition of Dale Coyne Racing being the final team to secure their driver lineup, and just before the season opener, has continued, one other team continues to face uncertainty, and that is Prema Racing.
They had been lined up for a second season with Robert Shwartzman behind the wheel of the No. 83 Chevrolet and Callum Ilott behind the wheel of the No. 90 Chevrolet, but their status has been in doubt for quite some time, and it's looking more likely that there will be just 25 cars, the 25 chartered cars, running the full 18-race 2026 schedule, rather than 27.
The Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg is set to begin the 2026 IndyCar season on Sunday, March 1, with live coverage set to be provided by Fox beginning at 12:00 p.m. ET. Start a free trial of FuboTV and catch all of the action from the Sunshine State!