Few seats but high intrigue as scramble for final 2026 IndyCar spots heats up

December is approaching and the quest to complete the IndyCar Series grid is inching forward. With PREMA Racing serving as the only outlier, 10 of the 11 teams are confirmed to return in 2026 and among the 25 non-PREMA seats in the series, 23 are locked with new or existing drivers.

As RACER revealed in August, PREMA continues to search for new funding to stay in the series with its two-car program, and has kept its staff in place and working as it seeks investment to reach its second season of competition with Callum Ilott and Robert Shwartzman.

Since our last installment, AJ Foyt Racing did as expected in signing Caio Collet as teammate to pair with Santino Ferrucci, and there’s only one piece of critical news left to deliver by the team. Its technical alliance with Team Penske, which has been in place for three seasons, is meant to carry on, but awaits confirmation from Foyt and Penske.

Elsewhere, it's more of a status check than major revelations since there’s been no official movement within the two other veteran teams where question marks hang over specific seats.

Starting with the most competitive entry from 2025 that sits unclaimed, Dale Coyne provided a recent update where he set the window for signing the driver of his No. 18 Honda by Thanksgiving, or no later than December 15, and is on the clock to decide who he’ll pair with reigning Indy NXT champion Dennis Hauger. Last season, the No. 18 Dale Coyne Racing entry was sponsored by former Ed Carpenter Racing backer Todd Ault, and the business relationship between Ault and Coyne is expected to continue. The roster of known options is unchanged with Romain Grosjean, Conor Daly, and Linus Lundqvist among those on DCR’s shortlist.

Rahal Letterman Lanigan is the last team with an unresolved entry with its No. 30 Honda, but that’s due to change. RLL tested ex-Formula 1 driver Mick Schumacher in October, and with his newly confirmed departure from the Alpine WEC Hypercar program, the son of seven-time F1 world champion Michael Schumacher has the freedom required to reroute his career to IndyCar.

At this point, it would be a surprise if Schumacher doesn’t join the team, and with his addition, RLL would have its strongest rotation since the expansion to three cars in 2022.

There was a surprise return to the silly season debate this week with the second Juncos Hollinger Racing entry driven last season by Sting Ray Robb, but it might be little more than a storm in a teacup. As we noted in our August update, both JHR seats were understood to be up for change, and Rinus VeeKay did indeed replace Conor Daly as the lead driver.

Robb’s manager Pieter Rossi insisted his client would return to the second car, which we chronicled in September, and then the team launched its new website in recent days and no longer lists Robb as one of its drivers. Below VeeKay’s picture, quote, and information, anything relating to Robb has been replaced with the text TBA (to be announced) and a blank driver silhouette using JHR’s colors.

In a call this morning with Rossi, he sought to quiet the speculation regarding Robb’s future in the No. 77 Chevy and reiterated his stance, saying the young Idahoan is confirmed with JHR for next year and announcements to that effect are on the way. An outreach to JHR seeking comment awaits a reply.