A little over a week has passed since the 2026 NTT IndyCar Series season concluded from Laguna Seca, and we can now review the season that occurred through a team-by-team look. Though arguably not the worst team in 2026, we start with Dale Coyne Racing mostly because another team has news coming and we should wait until it is official before reviewing later this week. That aside, Dale Coyne Racing had a new lineup compared to the previous season, though it included a familiar face. There were high expectations after the results in 2025, but this season saw a falloff and a less competitive outfit, though still a few positive outings.
Romain Grosjean
After a year off the IndyCar grid and spending 2025 as a reserve driver for Prema's lone IndyCar season, Grosjean returned to full-time competition in a return with Dale Coyne Racing. Five years after making a stellar IndyCar debut with Coyne, Grosjean was hoping to recapture some of that magic. The combination didn't come close to their first foray together.
What objectively was his best race?
Grosjean wound up on the podium at Markham mostly through strategy. Grosjean ran two longer stints, which were aided due to cautions that allowed him to go that long. He ended with stints at 36 laps and 38 laps, and the final pit stop was simultaneous with Kyle Kirkwood hitting the barrier. Grosjean led much of the final stint, but he had to save fuel and could not defend from Marcus Ericsson, who only had to run 22 laps on his final stint. Despite saving fuel, Grosjean took second.
What subjectively was his best race?
Markham is hard to argue against, but the Indianapolis 500 deserves attention because Grosjean went off-strategy like eventual race winner Felix Rosenqvist only for Grosjean to receive a penalty for passing under caution. Grosjean recovered and was able to get back into the top ten and remain there. Even with the late caution and late restart, Grosjean took ninth, his best finish in the Indianapolis 500.
What objectively was his worst race?
It is technically Phoenix because Grosjean had a clutch failure on the grid and never turned a lap. He was classified in 25th. If we are looking only at races where Grosjean took the green flag, he was 24th in the second Milwaukee race, which was the race that started on Sunday afternoon, after a pair of spins. Grosjean had a promising start in that race and was making ground before he spun the first time exiting turn two, and it cost him being on the lead lap.
What subjectively was his worst race?
There were plenty of races where Grosjean and Dale Coyne Racing were not a factor and we didn't really notice they were out there. The entire Milwaukee weekend is disappointing because he started ninth in the race that started on Saturday and then was trapped a lap down because of a pit stop before the rain delay and he never could recover. In the first race, it looked like Grosjean was going to drive in to the top ten and then one spin ended the promising start.
Barber was another disappointing weekend because Grosjean qualified sixth, it was the second time in four races he made the Fast Six, and Grosjean went backward on every stint and finished 15th.
Romain Grosjean's 2026 Statistics
Championship Position: 19th (259 points)
Wins: 0
Podiums: 1
Top Fives: 1
Top Tens: 4
Laps Led: 32
Poles: 0
Fast Sixes: 2
Fast Twelves: 4
Average Start: 16.444
Average Finish: 16.611
Wins: 0
Podiums: 1
Top Fives: 1
Top Tens: 4
Laps Led: 32
Poles: 0
Fast Sixes: 2
Fast Twelves: 4
Average Start: 16.444
Average Finish: 16.611
Dennis Hauger
With aid from Andretti Global, Hauger moved up to IndyCar after winning the Indy Lights championship. A partnership put the Norwegian driver into Coyne's second seat, and after the team's results in 2025, it appears to be a good spot for Hauger to grow especially with Andretti technical support. The season started strong in St. Petersburg, but that proved to be one of this team's highest points of the season. What should have been a fairly comfortable season as the top rookie proved to be much closer than expected.
What objectively was his best race?
In the Grand Prix of Indianapolis, Hauger started 24th but he finished eighth thanks to other teams having their own issues, but Hauger made a few passes and looked racy. He made the most of the race car he had, which probably was starting further down the order than it should have been, but he turned that into a respectable result.
What subjectively was his best race?
Is it wrong to say St. Petersburg? Though Hauger started third and went backward the entire race, he spent basically every lap in the top ten. He had a good opening stint. It was a tenth-place finish on debut.
What objectively was his worst race?
Like Grosjean, Hauger had a mechanical issue on the grid prevent him from starting a race. A fuel leak kept Hauger from turning a lap at Gateway, and he was classified in 25th. However, he had a 25th-place result on track as Hauger was spun into the barrier on the opening lap of the season finale from Laguna Seca. Sting Ray Robb ran over Hauger, and it closed Hauger's 2026 season prematurely.
What subjectively was his worst race?
It isn't one race, but it is a collection of races where Hauger started well and did not race well. He started in the top ten of four consecutive races, two of which were top five starts and he scored zero top ten finishes from it.
Ninth to 13th at Portland.
Fifth to 15th at Markham.
Eighth to 15th at Washington, D.C.
Fourth to 21st in the Milwaukee race that started on Saturday afternoon.
At Portland, he spent much of that race on the edge of the top ten and couldn't quite get in there before the finish. He ran out of fuel on the final lap in Markham and he started that lap in 11th. He went backward in Washington, D.C., and like Grosjean he was trapped a lap down in the first Milwaukee race after making a pit stop before the rain came. He obviously had some comfort with the car to show that much speed, but it never translated in races.
To give one specific race, Hauger was in the same pack as Felix Rosenqvist, Patricio O'Ward and Marcus Armstrong in the Indianapolis 500, and Hauger was running as high as third before these drivers made their final pit stop on the alternate strategy. Hauger sped in pit lane for his final stop and it cost him a possible top ten finish and it definitely cost him Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year as he ended up 19th, one lap down and a position behind top finishing rookie Mick Schumacher. The Indianapolis 500 was nearly very special for Hauger. It was probably one of his best races of the season that is missed entirely due to one mistake
Dennis Hauger's 2026 Statistics
Championship Position: 22nd (228 points)
Wins: 0
Podiums: 0
Top Fives: 0
Top Tens: 2
Laps Led: 5
Poles: 0
Fast Sixes: 2
Fast Twelves: 4
Average Start: 17.111
Average Finish: 17.555
Wins: 0
Podiums: 0
Top Fives: 0
Top Tens: 2
Laps Led: 5
Poles: 0
Fast Sixes: 2
Fast Twelves: 4
Average Start: 17.111
Average Finish: 17.555
An Early Look Ahead
We haven't a clue how Dale Coyne Racing will look next season, and that is often the case for this team in the aftermath of a season.
Will both drivers be back? Probably not. Coyne doesn't retain both drivers often.
Will one driver be back? Possibly, but it is not strong in either case. Grosjean was the "hired" Coyne driver while Hauger was the "funded" Coyne driver. Hauger had some of his own sponsorship, but the Andretti Global tie helped secure that seat. Andretti Global has lost interest in its prospect and it will no longer back Hauger, especially since Andretti has locked up Marcus Ericsson over a multi-year extension, securing that three-driver lineup for the foreseeable future.
Dale Coyne Racing is in limbo as it regularly is after a season has ended. We don't know what drivers will be there. We don't know if it will hire a rookie or find another veteran to bring back. We will likely not know where this team will stand come Thanksgiving or Christmas or possibly even Valentine's Day. There was a brief period when Coyne did have its drivers secured well before the holidays began. That was an aberration. This is a return to the norm.
The team fell off. Both cars did finish in Leader Circle positions after one of the Coyne cars failed to qualify in the previous three seasons that is a boost to this team. Both Coyne cars also made the Indianapolis 500 for the first time since 2023 as well. The Leader Circle money will help as much as a $1.7-million bonus can entering a lame-duck season for the current generation of car and when a massive expense is about to be undertaken for new equipment. However, its cars were 19th and 22nd in the championship. In 2024, Coyne was semi-regularly in the top ten and competitive with Rinus VeeKay.
It doesn't feel like 2027 will be a sizable leap forward or a return to 2025 form. The Andretti partnership did nothing with Hauger. There are some shortcomings you cannot overcome. Coyne had some speed, but it could not produce it when it matter most in races. It doesn't matter what drivers are put in those cars, no one is overcoming absence of race pace.
There is some belief Coyne will replace one Indy Lights champion for another, and 2026 Indy Lights champion Nikita Johnson has been linked to the team. It would be another young driver at Coyne as Johnson does not turn 19 years old until five days before the 2027 Indianapolis 500.
While Johnson took the title, there was not much shown that suggests he is ready for IndyCar and will be a natural fit. He could bring some funding beyond the scholarship he receives for the championship. It would help with the finances but that does not guarantee the success on the track. Combining Johnson with Grosjean and Coyne's regular stable of engineers does not inject hope into the possible outcome of this team.
Of course, we could end up with something entirely different and something we cannot imagine in our minds for Coyne's 2027 lineup. It is another offseason where we look at Dale Coyne Racing, have no clue where it is going, and we will not really care even after its driver lineup is confirmed. Whatever decision is made, it is borderline irrelevant to how next season will play out. Someone will be champion, but it will not be Dale Coyne Racing as the Illinois-based team hopes to fight for the championship top ten, but might not even be good enough to crack the top fifteen.
