Tag: Dale Coyne Racing

Hauger Joins Coyne; DCR in Technical Partnership with Andretti

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New release from Dale Coyne Racing:

Dale Coyne Racing Welcomes Dennis Hauger, Enters Technical Partnership with Andretti Global
Dennis Hauger - INDY NXT by Firestone Music City Grand Prix - By_ Travis Hinkle_Ref Image

INDIANAPOLIS, (September 23, 2025) – Dale Coyne Racing announced today that reigning INDY NXT by Firestone Champion Dennis Hauger will pilot one of the Dale Coyne Racing Honda’s for the 2026 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season. In addition to adding Hauger to the team’s driver lineup, Dale Coyne Racing has entered into a technical partnership with Andretti Global for the upcoming season. Coming off a Championship-winning rookie INDY NXT season, 22-year-old Norwegian driver Hauger secured six wins, five additional podiums, seven poles, 13 top-10 finishes and 301 laps led across 14 races. Additionally, Hauger set multiple qualifying records in 2025, recording the fastest laps in track history on the Streets of Detroit, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and The Milwaukee Mile. Hauger’s on-track success allowed him to clinch the 2025 INDY NXT Championship at the penultimate race of the season at The Milwaukee Mile. Prior to making his debut in North American open-wheel racing, Hauger advanced through the European racing ranks, capturing the Italian F4 Championship (2019), the FIA Formula 3 Championship (2021) and earning five wins and 13 podiums over three seasons competing in the FIA Formula 2 Championship (2022-2024). Hauger will take his first INDYCAR laps in offseason testing at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course with Dale Coyne Racing and will make his official on-track debut at the 2026 INDYCAR season opener on the Streets of St. Petersburg, February 27 – March 1. DALE COYNE, OWNER, DALE COYNE RACING “This is a great opportunity for us here at DCR to bring on a talented driver and gain a strong technical partner in Andretti Global, Thanks to Dan and his belief in our sport and his dedication to elevating Dennis to the top of the ladder.” DENNIS HAUGER, DRIVER, DALE COYNE RACING “I’m excited to be joining Dale Coyne Racing for my rookie INDYCAR season. The progress the team has shown this year is really impressive, and it’s an honor to take my place on the grid with them in 2026. I want to thank Dale Coyne and everyone at the team for putting their trust in me. It’ll also be nice to see some familiar faces through the team’s technical partnership with Andretti Global. They’ve been a big part of my success since making the switch, so having their involvement in another rookie season for me will be great. I’m looking forward to contributing and starting this next chapter together.”

Grid Complete; VeeKay Signs with Coyne

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A long anticipated announcement came this morning as Rinus VeeKay signed with Dale Coyne Racing for the entire 2025 season. VeeKay will drive car 18 and will team with rookie Jacob Abel in caqr 51,

The announcement from Dale Coyne Racing:

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Dale Coyne Racing Signs Rinus VeeKay For the Full 2025 NTT INDYCAR SERIES Season

Plainfield, Illinois – February 14, 2025 – Dale Coyne Racing signs NTT INDYCAR SERIES veteran Rinus VeeKay for the full 2025 season. VeeKay will drive car 18 as a teammate to Jacob Abel in the 51.

The announcement from Dale Cotne Racing:

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Dale Coyne Racing Signs Rinus VeeKay For the Full 2025 NTT INDYCAR SERIES Season

Plainfield, Illinois – February 14, 2025 – Dale Coyne Racing signs NTT INDYCAR SERIES veteran Rinus VeeKay for the full 2025 season.

VeeKay last year driving for ECR

After a year in which multiple drivers piloted the two Dale Coyne Racing entries, the team is happy to announce its second full-time driver for the No. 18 entry.

“We are excited about getting back to full-time drivers for 2025. The stability allows us to grow as a team, and that’s important to me. For that to be accomplished, having a proven veteran in one of our entries helps tremendously, and that’s one of the many reasons we have decided to go with VeeKay to complete the 2025 grid. We are excited for him to join the team and get started with us at the Sebring test coming up next week in preparation for the full NTT INDYCAR SERIES season,” said team owner Dale Coyne.

Rinus VeeKay, hailing from the Netherlands, is another graduate of the junior open-wheel series programs, a champion of the 2018 USF Pro 2000 Championship, and vice champion in the INDY NXT by Firestone Championship on his quest to the NTT INDYCAR SERIES. Upon reaching the top rung of the ladder, VeeKay continued to shine, earning Rookie of the Year honors in 2020 and securing his maiden victory at the 2021 INDYCAR Grand Prix at IMS. Along with this win, VeeKay has achieved nine top-five finishes and two pole positions. He has shown blistering speed in Indianapolis 500 qualifying, with an impressive average starting position of 3.8, including three front-row starts in his five attempts at the historic race.
VeeKay gained the attention of team owner Dale Coyne after finishing first in class at the October IMS oval test and third overall in the No. 18 Dale Coyne Racing entry.

“Very exciting news. I am happy to announce my partnership with Dale Coyne Racing for the 2025 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season,” said VeeKay. “It makes me proud to see my name among the drivers competing in this fantastic series for a sixth consecutive year. After a difficult start to my offseason, I am delighted to end the winter with this news.”

VeeKay will join the team at the Sebring test next week in preparation for his first race with Dale Coyne Racing at the Streets of St. Petersburg on March 2.

Coyne Signs Abel to Car 51

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Dale Coyne Racing announced today the signing of Indy NXT runner-up Jacob Abel to a full season deal to drive car 51. The move leaves just Coyne’s second car, number18, as the only seat left to fill for the 2025 NTT IndyCar Series grid.

The announcement from Dale Coyne Racing:

Plainfield, IL. (Monday, January 13, 2025) Dale Coyne Racing today announces that multiple-time Indy NXT race winner and 2024 vice champion Jacob Abel will step up into the NTT IndyCar Series in the No. 51 My Entry for the full 2025 season. The 23-year-old American driver is making the leap from Indy NXT after a successful 2024 campaign that saw him finish in the top five 11 times in the series’ 14-race schedule, three of which were victories, ending the season as vice champion.

“We are excited about running another Indy NXT Vice Champion here at Dale Coyne Racing,” commented team owner Dale Coyne.

“We have watched Jacob over the years and did an evaluation with him at the end of the 2023 season, where he showed great promise in these cars. It will be good to get back to one solid driver for the whole season again. Our plans for our second driver are coming along quite nicely, and we will have more news on that in approximately 3 weeks.” In the fall of 2023, Jacob got the call up from Dale Coyne to do an evaluation day at Sebring. Jacob adapted quickly to the pinnacle open wheel Indy Car and impressed his suitors.

“I cannot tell you how excited I am to get a full time Indy Car ride for 2025. I have worked my whole life for this opportunity,” gleamed the likeable 23-year-old Abel.

“The test at Sebring with Dale and the test this fall with Chip Ganassi, only made my resolve greater. I know it is a competitive road ahead, but we look forward to hard work and showing what we can do together as a team.”

Abel will begin his time with Dale Coyne Racing with a test session at The Thermal Club, where he will start preparing for the NTT IndyCar Series’ first race of the season at St. Petersburg, FL, on Sunday, March 2nd, with coverage beginning at 12 p.m. ET.

McLaughlin, Newgarden Take Milwaukee Poles in a Penske 1-2 Lockout

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Scott McLaughlin will be on the point for the start of this afternoon’s first Milwaukee 250, while teammate Josef Newgarden will move to 11th after taking a nine place grid penalty.

Tomorrow, Newgarden has the pole and McLaughlin starts second, as Team Penske continues their oval domination in the 2024 season.

Race 1 Qualifying Results:

The 11 mile an hour speed separation between McLaughlin and last place Pietro Fittipaldi means that the leaders will encounter lapped traffic very early in the race.

David Malukas will move up to the front row for the start this afternoon.

Sunset is at &:27 pm Central time. Barring a long red flag or a race with lots of yellows, the race should easily finish before sundown. Ifr not, Indycar may declare a timed race.

Remember, kids, today’s race is exclusively on Peacock at 5 pm Central.

Race 2 Results

As of now there are no penalties assessed for Race 2, so this should be tomorrow’s starting lineup.

Notes

I talked to a couple of peoples in a Dunkin Donuts this morning who are in town for the race. They are originally from Indy but now live in Texas. They flew to Milwaukee for the race.

I drove to the track a little before 10 and there was a line toget in.

I heard that garage passes are sold out.

Thanks to Dale Coyne Racing for providing me workspace this weekend.

Milwaukee’s schedule has accomplished something oval tracks have had difficulty with. There is minimal downtime once cars get on track. Indycar follows Indy NXT after a brief transition, and the action is virtually nonstop. The only change I would make is to have Sunday’s race start an hour earlier.

Coyne Tabs Hunter McElrea for Toronto; Sowery Gets A Second Look

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Dale Coyne Racing today named former Indy NXT driver Hunter McElrea as the driver of car `18 for this weekend’s Toronto Indycar race., and Toby Sowery returns to the 51 after his great outing at Mid-Ohio.

McElrea has been driving sportscars after huis Indy NXT career did not result in an Indycar ride. he tested for Coyne at Mid-Ohio earlier this summer.

Sowery drove to 13th place at Mid-Ohio in his first Indycar drive.

Mcelrea is the ninth driver in a Coyne entry in 2024, a record. he is the 42nd driver to take part in a series race this season.

Nolan Siegel was originally slated for the Toronto ride, but he signed a multi year deal with Arrow McLaren last month. Jack harvey woiuld have been tghe logical choice toi step in, but he needs time to recover from the injury which caused him to miss Sunday’s race.

Practice for the Toronto race begins Friday afternoon. Sunday’s race is exclusively on Peacock.

SOWERY TO MAKE SERIES DEBUT WITH DCR AT MID-OHIO

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By INDYCAR | Published: Jun 26, 2024

From Indycar

INDY NXT by Firestone veteran Toby Sowery will take over driving duties of the No. 51 Dale Coyne Racing with RWR entry for The Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Presented by the 2025 Civic Hybrid on July 5-7 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

Sowery will make his first NTT INDYCAR SERIES start at the Ohio track after getting his first taste of the series during a test with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing last year at Sebring International Raceway.

British driver Sowery is racing in the LMP2 class of IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup, where he finished second at the Rolex 24 At Daytona and also raced in the 12 Hours of Sebring in his debut LMP2 season. In addition to competing in the Fanatec GT World Series, he has also raced and won in LMP2 in the Asian Le Mans Series this year.

“Racing in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES is an exciting challenge for anyone, and I’m extremely fortunate to be given this opportunity by Dale (Coyne),” Sowery said. “This race adds to an already incredible season for me filled with two amazing programs in IMSA and Fanatec GT World Challenge.

“Dale Coyne has been fundamental to INDYCAR in giving drivers opportunities to prove themselves, and I am eager for this challenge. It’ll be a difficult step to make having only one day in the car over a year ago, as well as adapting to the hybrid system, but I’m up for it.”

Sowery competed in INDY NXT by Firestone in 2019 and finished third in the championship after seven podium finishes, including a win at Portland International Raceway. He returned to the series for a partial season in 2021, finishing on the podium three times.

After being crowned champion of the inaugural Radical World Finals in 2022, Sowery returned to INDY NXT in 2023 to compete in two rounds, scoring a podium finish at Barber Motorsports Park.

“I’ve been following Toby’s career for quite some time now,” Team Owner Dale Coyne said. “He’s shown that he can quickly adapt to whatever car he is driving and has a successful track record to prove it. We realize coming into the weekend at Mid-Ohio with no prior testing of the car in its hybrid form might be a steep learning curve, but we’re confident he will get up to speed quickly, and we look forward to seeing what he can do.”

Earlier in his racing career, Sowery won the MSV Formula 3 cup Championship (2014) and the MRF Series Championship (2014/15). He is a two-time BRDC McLaren Autosport Finalist (2015, 2016).

Sowery competed in the BRDC British Formula 3 series in 2016, where he finished third in the championship, and returned to the series in 2017 to finish fourth in points. He was also runner-up in the Lamborghini Super Trofeo Asia series in 2017.

Sowery has four starts at Mid-Ohio in INDY NXT by Firestone, with four top-10 finishes, including a best finish of second.

Fellow British driver Jack Harvey will team with Sowery at Mid-Ohio in DCR’s No. 18 Honda. Live coverage of the race Sunday, July 7 starts at 1:30 p.m. ET on NBC, Peacock and the INDYCAR Radio Network.

    MSR: Castroneves In, Blomqvist Out for Detroit and Road America

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    Helio Castroneves will drive car 66 for Meyer Shank Racing at Detroit and Road America, replacing Tom Blomqvist. Castroneves,49, is part owner of the team and drove a third entry for MSR in the Indianapolis 500 last Sunday, finishing 20th.

    Tom Blomqvist

    Blomqvist drove the car in the first five races of the season, with a best finish of 15th at St. Petersburg. He drove for Meyer Shank in IMSA previously but has had a difficult time in Indycar. Blomqvist spun in the first turn of the Indianapolis 500 triggering a three-car accident.

    The team emphasized that Blomqvist is still part of the team. MSR is expected to return to IMSA in 2025, and he will likely be one of their drivers.

    After Road America, the team will evaluate the situation. Could this be the opening David Malukas needs to return to the series?

    Vautier to Drive Car 51

    In a day of driver announcements, Tristan Vautier will drive car 51 for Dale Coyne Racing at Detroit. DCR has used a revolving number of rivers in their cars in 2024. Vautier was 2013 Indycar Rookie of the Year. He last drove for DCR in 2017. Vautier spent 2023 in the LeMans series.

    Vautier will be the fourth driver of the 51 this season.

    Harvey, Siegel, Braun to Race for Coyne

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    Dale Coyne Racing today named Indycar veteran Jack Harvey, Indy NXT driver Nolan Siegel, and sports car ace Colin Braun as drivers in a split program for the 2024 season.

    Harvey will drive car 18 in 14 races. Siegel will take the wheel of the car for Thermal, Long Beach, the Indianapolis 500, and Toronto.

    Colin Braun will drive the 51 at St. Pete and Thermal, with the possibility of more races later in the season.

    Rick Ware Racing returns as a partner on the 51 car.

    Coyne has signed INVST as a sponsor.

    I wonder why Harvey was not given the opportunity to drive in the 500 after his banzai qualifying run last year. Siegel could drive at Indy in the 51.

    The 51 still has an open seat for 16 races. I’m sure they will have a driver for the 500, but what about the rest of the season?

    Coyne Adds Palou, Team Goh

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    The upheaval at Dale Coyne Racing has stopped. It has been a chaotic time at Coyne the last few weeks. Frist, Sebastien Bourdais was let go November 22. Last week engineer Craig Hampson left to become the head engineer at Arrow McLaren SP. Coyne has been silent about the return of Santino Ferrucci, although it appears that announcement will come in a few weeks.

    Today, however, it is positive news for the Plainfield, Illinois team. Alex Palou will drive for Coyne as he partners with Team Goh for the 2020 NTT Indycar Series season. Palou, from Spain, drove  Super Formula in 2019. He earned Rookie of the Year with one victory, a series best three poles, and finished third in the points standings. Palou drove for Team Goh in the Super GT Series at Twin Ring Motegi. He put the McLaren 720S on pole in the GT3 on pole, setting a class record.

    Team Goh won the 24 Hours of LeMans in 2004 with Seiji Ara, Tom Kristensenand Rinaldo Capello. The team used a black and hot pink livery which will look great on an Indycar. I hope they keep it.

    While one question at the team has been answered, there are still several more. Will Ferrucci move to the 18? Who will be the engineer? Will Vasser Sullivan return as part of the team?

    Palou Joins Askew, VeeKay in Rookie Class

    Palou will compete with Oliver Askew at Arrow McLaren SP and Rinus VeeKay at Ed Carpenter Racing for Rookie of the Year in 2020. In 2019, Ferrucci was in contention for the honor going into the final race at Weather Tech Raceway Laguna Seca. I’m glad to have a third rookie in the field.

    Palou’s entry into the series is another step in the changing of the guard. the grid seems to have drivers mainly at the young and the old end of the age spectrum. With Hinchcliffe likely not driving next year, there is a bit of a gap in the middle of the age range.

    Seats Still Open

    With Coyne fairly solid for 2020, Foyt and Carlin look to be the last teams with nothing confirmed driver wise. There is talk of Charlie Kimball, Dalton Kellett, and Tony Kanaan driving in some combination at Foyt. I have no idea what’s happening at Carlin.