Our fourth IndyCar Wrap-Up sees a team that moved up the grid. Dale Coyne Racing went from a team that didn't have a car finish better than 13th in 2024 to a team that nearly stole a victory in Toronto while having a number of other impressive days. It was the last team to set its driver lineup, and it did it late in the game, but the last driver hired proved to be a wise choice. However, Dale Coyne Racing still showed its shortcomings, and it took another tough blow in the month of May.
Rinus VeeKay
The last driver hired for a full-time seat, VeeKay took on a new challenge as he was out of a ride after five seasons with Ed Carpenter Racing. Joining the team that did not have a car finish better than 13th the year prior was a cause for concern, but VeeKay excelled at Dale Coyne Racing. Together they found good results early, and ran surprisingly competitive at times. What could have been a step backward for a career at a crossroads may have been a big leap forward for the Dutch driver.
What objectively was his best race?
VeeKay ended up second at Toronto, but he led 16 laps after the cautions and pit strategy shook out to the point where VeeKay was at the front. He was leading going into the final round of pit stops, but the concern would be if his #18 DCR crew could complete a stop to hold off Patricio O'Ward. Unfortunately, it didn't. O'Ward took the lead and sailed to victory, but VeeKay held on to second, his first podium in over three years.
What subjectively was his best race?
Toronto was good, but VeeKay started to stand out early. He opened the season with a ninth at St. Petersburg. Thermal Club and Long Beach were tougher days, but VeeKay shined at Barber Motorsports Park. He qualified a surprising fifth and he spent the entire race in the top five. He was up to fourth late and pushing Scott McLaughlin for that final podium position. Barber set the tone for VeeKay's season.
What objectively was his worst race?
VeeKay had consecutive 27th-place finishes, and at the worst time. In the Indianapolis 500, VeeKay had an accident in the pit lane. At Detroit, his car suffered an engine failure after only completing six laps.
What subjectively was his worst race?
At Indianapolis, VeeKay had used an alternate strategy to get into the top ten. We were only 200 miles into the race. There was plenty of time for VeeKay to do more, and he lost the car on pit entry when he didn't have brakes. Detroit was terrible because he qualified sixth. That final week of May and first day of June are really the low points of his season.
Rinus VeeKay's 2025 Statistics
Championship Position: 14th (305 points)
Wins: 0
Podiums: 1
Top Fives: 2
Top Tens: 7
Laps Led: 19
Poles: 0
Fast Sixes: 1
Fast Twelves: 4
Average Start: 18.764
Average Finish: 13.882
Wins: 0
Podiums: 1
Top Fives: 2
Top Tens: 7
Laps Led: 19
Poles: 0
Fast Sixes: 1
Fast Twelves: 4
Average Start: 18.764
Average Finish: 13.882
Jacob Abel
After three seasons in Indy Lights, there was only one place left for Abel to go, and that was IndyCar. With help from his family's team, Abel partnered with Dale Coyne Racing, and it was one of the toughest seasons you could ask for. While half the team shined and were a reason to celebrate, Abel's half was a reminder of how small Dale Coyne Racing is and how tough it is to be remotely competitive let alone succeed.
What objectively was his best race?
Benefitting from not stopping before what ultimately was the final caution of the second Iowa race, Abel remained on the lead lap while a number of drivers were trapped a lap down. He had not been driving great prior to that but he was not ahead of most of the competition, and Abel finished 11th.
What subjectively was his best race?
It is really just the second Iowa race, but Detroit should be mentioned because after Abel failed to qualify for the Indianapolis 500, he responded and finished 18th, his best finish of the season up to that point.
What objectively was his worst race?
On the road, Abel was 27th at Barber Motorsports Park, dead last in a race where every car was running at the finish. Abel never had good speed. In the first Iowa race, Abel had an accident after 72 laps and he was classified in 27th.
What subjectively was his worst race?
Isn't failing to qualify for the Indianapolis 500 objectively worse than finishing last in two other races? Either way, Indianapolis was a low moment. We knew Dale Coyne Racing had a car fail to qualify last year, and DCR had two cars in the last row shootout the year before that. Most had Abel penciled in for the last row shootout, but he never had the pace to threaten to make the race. He struggled to break 227 mph over a four-lap average. It became clear in the middle of the practice week that Abel was missing the race unless someone else had the qualifying weekend from hell. That didn't happen, and Abel missed the Indianapolis 500.
Jacob Abel's 2025 Statistics
Championship Position: 27th (123 points)
Wins: 0
Podiums: 0
Top Fives: 0
Top Tens: 0
Laps Led: 0
Poles: 0
Fast Sixes: 0
Fast Twelves: 0
Average Start: 24.9375
Average Finish: 22.6875
Wins: 0
Podiums: 0
Top Fives: 0
Top Tens: 0
Laps Led: 0
Poles: 0
Fast Sixes: 0
Fast Twelves: 0
Average Start: 24.9375
Average Finish: 22.6875
An Early Look Ahead
We know Dennis Hauger will be joining the Dale Coyne Racing operation, as Coyne forms a technical partnership with Andretti Global for the 2026 season. It is unclear who will be in the second seat. Jacob Abel has not been ruled out, but it seems unlikely Abel will return for a second season at DCR. The one named mentioned for the second seat was Romain Grosjean, who spent 2025 as a reserve driver for Prema.
There were plenty of reasons to be encouraged heading into 2026. The Andretti partnership only increases the positive vibes around the Coyne operation.
The month of May should be more smooth now that Andretti is involved, but it is not guaranteed they will be in the clear. Remember, Marco Andretti was also in the last chance qualifying session at Indianapolis along with the two Dale Coyne Racing last year. At least it shouldn't seem inevitable one of the Coyne cars will fail to make the race.
Coyne is getting a driver who is more than ready for IndyCar and probably should have been in IndyCar this year. Hauger is joining an ascending team, if it was only getting out of the cellar. There will surely be some growing pains. Ovals are still new to the Norwegian. However, there should be a level of competitiveness that is somewhere in the ballpark of where we saw DCR in 2025. It is still Dale Coyne Racing. It will not be competing for the championship. It will have days where it is never in the picture, but there will be weekends where Coyne is quick and performing better than a handful of cars that are better on paper.
Dale Coyne said we would know both of the team's drivers by Halloween. That is less than a month away. If it is Grosjean, we know that combination worked in 2021. Grosjean probably should have won one race, if not two. We also know how Grosjean's attitude can swing and, when things are not going right, he is stuck in a hole too deep for a tow truck to pull him out. Maybe a year on the sidelines will help. It is not going to fully change him, but he could have a new perspective that keeps him more grounded.
If it isn't Grosjean, you would think it would be someone with experience, and I mean more than the 16 starts Abel made last year. Coyne has an opportunity with the Andretti partnership to return to a level it has not seen since 2019. This is a chance to have two proper drivers that you can feel confident will have days in the top ten, maybe push the top five, and if the cards fall right, could be looking at victory. We saw that was the case with Rinus VeeKay this year.
Who else fits that mold? It is a pretty steep drop off from Grosjean. Conor Daly could be available, but we know his ceiling and unless it is an oval, you do not expect Daly to raise Coyne's level. Coyne isn't getting Takuma Sato to comeback to full-time driving. The same can be said for Ryan Hunter-Reay. Jack Harvey has already announced his Indianapolis 500 plans with Dreyer & Reinbold Racing. Outside of those handful of drivers, there aren't many other veterans available to direct a program. There is a lot of youth and inexperience. That isn't what Coyne needs or is looking for.
There should be a lot of curious eyes on Dale Coyne Racing over the next few months, especially when testing begins.
