Devlin DeFrancesco
Keeping with the theme of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing's loss of pace at Indy, I can't help but think that Devlin DeFrancesco is also going to enter the feared Last Row Shootout with a chance of missing the race entirely.
The only positive last year for this team is that it was only Rahal in the Last Row Shootout. In 2023, three of the team's four drivers were battling it out against a slow Coyne car.
DeFrancesco always qualified comfortably and raced well at Indy with Andretti Autosport, but even an Andretti Autosport team that hadn't won the race in several years was far superior to Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing as of late. And DeFrancesco, known to be in his seat primarily due to funding, hasn't competed in the race since 2023. He has also had a rocky start to the 2025 season.
Jacob Abel
Rinus VeeKay has already proven that Dale Coyne Racing's primary problem was not the cars last year, except, of course, when Nolan Siegel was relegated to a tortoise-paced backup after his practice crash and had zero percent chance of getting into the race, provided Marcus Ericsson actually turned a four-lap qualifying run (oh, wait...).
Jokes aside, Jacob Abel is now Coyne's rookie driver, and he too is largely there due to funding. Having lacked a strong start to the year and with minimal oval experience, he could be this year's Siegel, even without a practice wreck.
VeeKay is always fast at Indy, and while the Top 12 or Firestone Fast Six Shootouts probably aren't on the cards, don't expect him to be on the back row. The team can only hope that his experience can elevate his teammate.
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