Conor Daly gives honest take on Team Penske potentially signing Rinus Veekay

Conor Daly has shared his opinion about Rinus Veekay deserving an IndyCar seat with a top team like Team Penske. The Roger Penske-owned team has a vacant seat for the 2026 season, with two-time IndyCar champion Will Power in the final season of his contract.

Though Power seems likely to retain the seat in the No. 12 car, considering he is the team's best-performing driver this season, AJ Foyt Racing's David Malukas is rumored to be in contention for it as well.

However, considering Rinus Veekay's unexpected rise with Dale Coyne Racing this season, Conor Daly wants to see the Dutch driver in a Penske car or something similar. On a recent episode of his Speed Street podcast, Daly said:

"I know people talk about David Malukas going to Penske. Put Rinus there. Put Rinus in the 12 (Power's car)." [40:50 onwards]

However, the Juncos Hollinger Racing driver immediately backtracked to say that Power deserves to have his seat. What he meant to emphasize was that Veekay is equally deserving of a seat with a frontrunning team.

"Actually, I don't want anyone to get fired from Penske," Daly continued. "I don't think Will Power deserves to be out of there. Will Power should be there. But if there's anyone that should get a top seat, Rinus Veekay is the guy, one million percent. I hope we see it. I think Rinus is an absolute weapon behind the wheel. He's very talented."

Conor Daly's comments come after Rinus Veekay earned a sensational podium finish at the Indy Toronto last Sunday (July 20). The No. 18 Honda driver started the race in ninth, but found himself in the lead after a couple of early cautions. If not for a perfect overcut by Pato O'Ward's Arrow McLaren squad, Veekay could've held onto his lead for longer and potentially won the race.

Nonetheless, it was his first podium in 60 races, and also DCR's first podium in two years. Contrarily, Daly had a forgettable weekend after struggling to make a two-stop strategy work.

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Rinus Veekay "waiting" for Will Power to announce his next IndyCar move for 2026

Will Power at the NTT IndyCar Series Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio - Source: Getty

Rinus Veekay was the last driver signing of the 2025 season, but has quickly become possibly the hottest pick in the IndyCar driver market for 2026. However, the market is hinging on Will Power and his contract situation with Team Penske.

Veekay spoke about his contract situation with DCR for next season, and how his decision relies on Power's next move.

"Of course, Dale and me too are very interested in working with each other again in the future and next year. But I need to see what my options are right now. My stock has been pretty good. It's gone up quite considerably. You know, I am hearing some chatter around, but it's still not clear what the silly season is gonna bring," the 25-year-old said on the aforementioned podcast. [1:11:25 onwards]

Elaborating on Will Power's situation, Rinus Veekay added:

"I think we're all waiting for Will Power to make his move. That's gonna shuffle the board game."

Power recently revealed that he is set to re-engage in the 2026 contract negotiations with Team Penske owner Roger Penske in August. The result of those talks would kick off a domino effect to spice up the silly season.