What is going on with the second Dale Coyne Racing seat for 2026?

The seat alongside Dennis Hauger at Dale Coyne Racing is the only seat remaining on the 2026 Indycar grid, but as we approach the new year no announcement has been made.

Dale Coyne stated that he wanted to announce the second driver at either Halloween or Thanksgiving, or at the latest by the 15th of December. All three of those dates have been and gone and still no indication of when the second seat will be announced.

Several drivers have been linked to the seat, but something must be holding up which will eventually get the seat. Let’s analyse what each potential candidate could bring to the seat.

Romain Grosjean

After the drama of the Lamborghini GTP/Hypercar project and only being a reserve driver for Prema last year, Romain Grosjean will no doubt be eager to return to Indycar full time in 2026.

The Frenchman is arguably the driver with the highest potential that could fill the seat, a move that would see him return to the team that he made his Indycar debut with.

If Andretti have any say in who gets the second seat due to their new technical alliance with Coyne they may push to put Grosjean in the car as he would be a good benchmark to assess Hauger’s debut season.

Grosjean showed flashes of what he could be Indycar previously, but it never worked out, could this be his time to live up to his potential in Indycar?

Linus Lundqvist

Linus Lundqvist was potentially the biggest loser out of the Indycar charter system as it saw him lose his seat at Chip Ganassi racing after an impressive rookie season as they team had to downsize to three cars.

It seems rather unfair that he was never given a good shot to develop in Indycar, after his rookie season and a very successful junior career.

He may be the better long term option alongside Hauger due to his age and would certainly make it a strong line up for Coyne.

Lundqvist certainly deserves another chance in Indycar and this may be his last chance to return to the grid for the foreseeable future.

Conor Daly

Conor Daly had a some what successful season in 2025 with Juncos. He was massively ahead of teammate Sting Ray Robb, but also scored some impressive results, including a fifth place finish in the season finale.

Many believe Daly is one of the best oval drivers in recent Indycar history, but with something to be desired in terms of his road and street course results.

However, if Andretti do have a say on who gets the seat and want to help Hauger develop that side of Indycar racing, Daly may be the ideal candidate. Helping Hauger with his oval racing may be more beneficial for his development rather than what Grosjean could offer.

Nonetheless, Daly is a solid candidate, but he is also believed to be able to bring some level of budget which may help his case for getting the second seat at Coyne.

What is actually going on?

There is no clear picture of what the current situation at Dale Coyne Racing actually is, could it be that they have ended up having to bring in some level of pay driver or is something blocking them from persuading their chosen driver.

Some people have also suggested that the team should hire Yuki Tsunoda after his recent demotion to reserve driver at Red Bull’s Formula One team.

However, there hasn’t been any significant news linking the Japanese driver to the team, and it also remains to be seen whether Red Bull would allow Tsunoda to race full time as it would limit his availability as reserve driver.

If the team is struggling for budget could we see the return of Jacob Abel, although he has been confirmed to be racing in the European Le Mans Series next year, making a return unlikely.

Could we even see Devlin DeFrancesco get the seat as he is known to be able to provide a sizeable budget. These are all questions that currently remain unanswered.

Time will tell when the final seat on the Indycar grid will be filled, but Lundqvist, Grosjean and Daly seem to be the key candidates.

All three have their advantages and disadvantages on what they can bring to the team, so Coyne will have to choose carefully.

When the second driver is announced, maybe then we will be provided some insight into what caused the delay.

written by Michael Williams / Media Credit: Penske Entertainment