Dale Coyne Racing moves into the offseason after the conclusion of the 2025 NTT IndyCar Series season with reason for optimism on its future performance.
The recent announcement on Friday (Aug. 29) of partner Todd Ault and his Ault Blockchain signing on with the team will provide the resources and finances to increase competitiveness that has been harder to achieve in years past.
Coyne has long been known to run one of the smallest operations in IndyCar, with the benefit of it being more like a family than a team. But that tight-knit feel can only push the team so far up the running order.
With the partnership, Coyne will aim to have both his cars compete for the top 22 in the championship, thus earning the coveted Leaders Circle payouts of over $1.2 million. This year, only his No. 18 with Rinus VeeKay, who recently announced he will not return to the team next year, was able to accomplish that. Coyne hasn’t had both cars finish in the top 22 since 2022, when David Malukas and Takuma Sato did it.
Before cars hit the track next year, Coyne has some shopping to do with VeeKay out, and Jacob Abel‘s future with the team is uncertain.
There are three highly qualified drivers available, and it will depend on whether Coyne wants experience or to fill one seat with youth to challenge a veteran.
Romain Grosjean
The most experienced driver without a ride at any time this year in the paddock is Romain Grosjean. His jump to IndyCar with Coyne in his initial foray to American open wheelers felt like a lightning bolt striking the series. Grosjean brought with him a fandom that rooted for him in Formula 1 and followed him to the U.S. However, he quickly enlarged his following amongst IndyCar fans.
In just his third race, Grosjean nearly won at Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s road course, losing to VeeKay. Soon after that, purple No. 51 Grosjean jerseys were popping up at Mid-Ohio, Road America and Laguna Seca.
A second runner-up at IMS road course and a podium at Laguna cemented that he belonged in IndyCar. He even showed his commitment to American life, as he bought an RV and took his family across the country between races.
By season’s end, Grosjean had finished 15th in points, but astoundingly did so missing three races as he skipped the early ovals. A trial at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway was enough to convince him he was comfortable in races where he turned only left. This included some brave outside passes that are more common now than they were at that time.
His results convinced Andretti Global to sign Grosjean for the 2022 season, so the magic he had with Coyne lasted just one year.
But the potential is there for round two.
Linus Lundqvist
When the charters took effect at the start of 2025, limiting teams to three entries that received Leaders Circle money, young Linus Lundqvist was without a ride. The former Indy NXT champion had patiently walked the paddock in 2023, receiving some seat time with Meyer Shank Racing before Chip Ganassi Racing picked him for a full season in 2024
While he wasn’t blitzing the track like Grosjean did in 2021, he also didn’t have the vast years of experience. With a year off between his 2022 NXT title and racing full-time again, the Swede had some cobwebs to shake off. But a great pit strategy and confident driving got him a podium in just his third race with Ganassi at Barber Motorsports Park. He later took his first pole at Road America.
In the second half of the year, he showed stout oval performance with another podium at Gateway and had the best car early in Milwaukee Race 1 before cycling back to sixth. An eighth concluded his one-year effort with Ganassi.
Unfortunately, the sponsorship dried up for him to run this year, so he had to walk the paddock and be seen. The young man has the skills and has proven it, and is the type of talent a team can groom into a contender.
That’s not hyperbole. Three of the last six Indy NXT champions have won at least one race, and two — Kyle Kirkwood and Pato O’Ward — were in the top five of the IndyCar standings this year. The other driver, Christian Rasmussen, took his first win at Milwaukee and has a bright future ahead.
If Coyne signed Lundqvist, they could have the next former NXT champion fighting for wins. But there is one more driver who can do that as well.
Dennis Hauger
If there has been one talent that has captivated IndyCar nation in the last year, it’s 2025 Indy NXT champion Dennis Hauger. The Norwegian tried to break through into F1, but as is often the case, there were too many guests and not enough rooms at the inn for him to find a home. Instead, he jumped overseas to Indy NXT.
He won four of his first five races but learned how tough the American junior ranks were, as Brazilian Caio Collet hounded him through the summer to tighten the race and make a charge to overcome an early points deficit. Hauger held on, winning the title by 72 points with six wins and four runner-ups. That is the type of year owners want to see from the NXT champion to earn a spot in the big leagues.
Hauger is a great young talent who, not surprisingly, excelled at the road and street courses. But he wasn’t overwhelmed by ovals either, adapting quickly and finishing second at Milwaukee and third at Nashville in 18-car fields. Very promising.
If Coyne decides to go for a veteran like Grosjean in one seat, teaming up with a rookie talent like Hauger, that is a great recipe for growth. Grosjean has proven to do well with DCR, and he can mentor the European Hauger or Lundqvist if that is the direction the team takes. There’s a lot to like there.
The future is looking a whole lot brighter for Coyne and his close-knit operation.
Tom is an IndyCar writer at Frontstretch, joining in March 2023. Besides writing the IndyCar Previews and frequent editions of Inside IndyCar, he will hop on as a fill-in guest on the Open Wheel podcast The Pit Straight. A native Hoosier, he calls Fort Wayne home. Follow Tom on Twitter @TomBlackburn42.