The relationship between Dale Coyne Racing and HMD Motorsports could expand to place another NTT IndyCar Series entry on the grid next season.

DCR with HMD united during the offseason to field Indy Lights runner-up David Malukas in the No. 18 Honda and to bring Coyne into the Indy Lights series, where the five-car HMD Motorsports with Dale Coyne Racing team holds a handsome championship lead with Sweden’s Linus Lundqvist. HMD, specifically, is known to harbor an ambition to grow its presence in IndyCar and Indy Lights, and could become a larger presence in the sport in the coming years.

Looking to 2023, RACER understands the fielding of second DCR with HMD Indy car is growing more likely with Lundqvist positioned as the leading candidate to take the seat alongside Malukas and DCR with Rick Ware Racing’s Takuma Sato in the No. 51 Honda.

“If we get the people, yes,” Coyne told RACER. “The problem right now is getting the people and I would want to get the people before I commit to another car. But we’re thinking about all that right now.”

With the effective pairing of Sato and Malukas, Coyne wants to keep the tandem intact and says the two-time Indy 500 winner is expected to remain with the team. Sato is also known to share in that ambition.

“I think that we’ll continue with Takuma,” he added. “He’s fit. He’s proven. He’s competitive. You know, we haven’t gotten the result we need yet, but he was lightning fast every day of practice at Indy and qualified on the front row of Detroit and Texas. It’s all working pretty good together. So I think that’s really motivated him to try to keep doing this for more than just one year.”

Coyne has also been impressed by Lundqvist, who owns four wins and five podiums from seven Indy Lights races in the No. 26 HMD with DCR entry, and the opportunities presented by having a new pipeline of talent at the top step of the Road to Indy.

“He looks really good, and that’s why we took him in the Indy Lights program this year,” Coyne said. “We knew Linus would be the star of the field and he’s proven that. And the [Lights collaboration] works really well. In fact, it’s more than just drivers.

“We’re developing mechanics, engineers, and it’s all got great potential to help and grow those guys up to help with the problem finding quality people. It’s competitive out there, so if we can nurture somebody from a ladder system, that helps everybody.”