Rinus Veekay declines contract offer from Dale Coyne Racing; Romain Grosjean possible replacement: Report

Rinus Veekay has reportedly declined a contract offer from Dale Coyne Racing for the 2026 IndyCar season. As per reporter Tony Donohue, he could be replaced by 2025 Indy NXT champion Dennis Hauger or former F1 driver Romain Grosjean.

Veekay joined DCR only three weeks before the 2025 IndyCar season kicked off at St. Petersburg. He was let go by Ed Carpenter Racing after the 2024 season, and Dale Coyne picked him up as the last signing of 2025, completing the 27-driver grid.

The Dutch driver was quick from the word go and outperformed all expectations. Rinus Veekay earned seven Top 10 finishes, including two Top 5 finishes, with a season-best result of P2 at the Indy Toronto in July. It was the team's first podium in two years, and his first podium in over three years.

However, it seems like the 24-year-old has interest from other teams, possibly a frontrunner, which has made him decline an extension with Dale Coyne Racing, a backmarker. The team could replace him with Dennis Hauger, who dominated Indy NXT, the junior series to IndyCar, in 2025 and won the championship in his rookie season.

Alternatively, Romain Grosjean's return to DCR is also a possibility. The French driver made his IndyCar debut with DCR in 2021, earning three podiums that year. After serving as PREMA Racing's reserve driver in 2025, Grosjean is actively eyeing opportunities for a full-time return to the grid in 2026.

Dale Coyne was expecting to retain Rinus Veekay with the contract extension deadline set for Halloween

Rinus Veekay at the NTT INDYCAR Series Snap-On Milwaukee Mile 250 - Source: Getty

Ahead of IndyCar's Milwaukee Mile 250 weekend from August 22 to 24, Dale Coyne was confident that Rinus Veekay would stay with the team for 2026. When he was asked by RACER whether the Dutch driver would be retained, Coyne said:

"I think it will. Like I’ve been saying, I don’t think we’re going to see many changes next year. We just saw (Marcus) Armstrong’s going to continue with Meyer Shank, so he’s staying put. I think you'll know our two drivers long before Halloween (October 31)."

After Veekay's podium at the Indy Toronto in July, the 25-year-old had appeared on fellow IndyCar driver Conor Daly's podcast. When asked about his contract situation for 2026, he admitted that his "stock has been pretty good" among other teams and "gone up quite considerably" after his streak of unexpectedly good results this season.

A possible destination for Rinus Veekay could be AJ Foyt Racing, with the driver of its No. 4 Chevy, David Malukas, expected to replace Will Power at Team Penske. The official announcements from all teams are yet to arrive.