Some surprise players emerge in IndyCar’s silly season

We’ve entered into a IndyCar silly season unlike any other. The roster of free agents is deep, the available seats are plentiful, and despite the high state of supply and demand, there’s one big thing that’s missing: A proven driver who can take down Alex Palou.

Last year’s IndyCar silly season was a prolonged waiting game as teams delayed their moves until the key free agent – Team Penske’s Will Power – made his decision on where his talents would be taken. Once he chose Andretti Global, signings happened quickly and the field was largely set.

But with this year’s silly season, there’s no big domino to fall like Power, nor is there one standout star that all of the teams are fighting over to acquire.

If anything, the opposite problem exists as there are a bunch of great drivers to pursue, but none have shown the kind of consistent speed and sustained results to topple Palou or upend his closest rival, Kyle Kirkwood.

As Palou and Kirkwood continue to fight among themselves for IndyCar supremacy, there’s nobody among the IndyCar free agents, the up-and-coming drivers in Indy NXT, Formula 2 or elsewhere, who team owners and team principals have told me about as clear and obvious solutions. Who will roll the dice? Who will stick with known quantities? And are there any unexpected moves on the horizon?

Yes, in fact, there’s one to start with, and it’s a byproduct of May.

MEYER SHANK RACING
More than any other team, MSR is facing the possibility of returning in 2027 with an all-new driver line-up. Indy 500 winner Felix Rosenqvist (main image) and Marcus Armstrong are in the final years of their contracts, and both are attracting meaningful interest from other teams.

Could a Rosenqvist-to-Andretti switch be in the works? Could it be Rosenqvist-back-to-Arrow McLaren? I don’t have the answer on which one of the two it happens to be, but multiple sources have told me the Swede has received a huge offer from one of IndyCar’s wealthiest teams. I continue to hear MSR is doing all it can to hold onto Rosenqvist, but there’s a growing belief that he’s chosen to leave for greener pastures.

The amount of outreaches today alone (Thursday) on the topic has left me fully convinced Rosenqvist is indeed departing MSR.

Armstrong is in an interesting situation as well. He’s well-liked within the MSR/Ganassi family, he is there with the specific blessing of Ganassi after it needed to find a home to place him after downsizing from five cars to three, and he’s recently developed into MSR’s most consistent and reliable performer.

If Rosenqvist’s truly on the way out, the New Zealander could slot into the P1 role – a first for him in IndyCar – but he’s also said to be on Arrow McLaren’s radar for its third car.

With Palou as a guide to what’s possible within the Ganassi family, staying at MSR and making more out of the Ganassi technical alliance as MSR’s new leader might be the smartest play for Armstrong at this stage of his career. But I’ve also had two other teams mention an interest in Armstrong, so he’s got some thinking to do about where he wants to spend 2027 and beyond.

To close on MSR, it feels safe to expect at least one seat to fill, and within the paddock, rookie Caio Collet, Andretti’s Marcus Ericsson, and Juncos Hollinger Racing’s Rinus VeeKay are spoken of as the three most intriguing solutions for teams with known or anticipated vacancies to resolve.

Indy NXT championship leader Nikita Johnson is also considered a fascinating young talent – he’s just 18 – that the likes of MSR might consider as they hunt for the next Palou or Kirkwood.

ANDRETTI GLOBAL
I do not envy this team with all of the decisions it needs to make in the immediate future. Kyle Kirkwood and Will Power are under contract beyond 2026, so that part is stable, but Marcus Ericsson is at the end of his three-year deal and there’s been nothing to suggest the team intends to offer an extension.

Based on his top-10 output, and the bizarre inconsistencies with Power’s program, maintaining stability with Kirkwood and Ericsson in 2027 would be the call made by any veteran racing organization, but the obvious choice isn’t always the final choice.

The prospect of trading Ericsson, the 2022 Indy 500 winner, for Rosenqvist, his countryman and the newest Indy 500 winner, is wild, if that is where he’s headed. Rosenqvist, like Ericsson, is a top-10 driver, but I don’t know if I can find the huge difference between one or the other.

Between Rosenqvist and Ericsson (above), Swedish Indy 500 winners are taking center stage in silly season talks. Joe Skibinski/Penske Entertainment

Andretti also has Dennis Hauger under contract and placed at Dale Coyne Racing for his rookie season. Coyne recently told me he’d love to keep Hauger for as long as possible, so there’s no urgency for Andretti to call him back and vacate Coyne’s second car. If Rosenqvist, and not Hauger, takes over Ericsson’s car, would that push Hauger to 2028 as Power’s replacement? Again, there’s a lot of options and moves for this team to decide upon.

And then there’s the question of Colton Herta, who is on the F2/F1 journey crafted by Andretti parent company TWG Motorsports. There’s the hope and intent for Herta to earn enough super license points to become eligible to race for TWG’s Cadillac F1 team, but with no guarantees on that front, Andretti needs to keep a landing spot in mind for Herta back in IndyCar – if not in 2027, then 2028 – if the F1 experiment goes awry. The odds are small, but even if it’s only a remote possibility, a backup plan to receive a returning Herta is also a necessary part of the seat-filling matrix.

The Ericsson situation is a complex one, especially with his return to form this season as IndyCar’s most-improved driver at the halfway point where he holds ninth in the championship, one spot behind Rosenqvist.

To his credit, Ericsson’s been mentioned by four teams during my silly season calls and he appears to have some solid options to pursue if it’s time to find a new home.

ARROW MCLAREN
Only one of its three drivers holds a multi-year contract, as Pato O’Ward is locked in for one more season. The other two are out of contract in a few months, and only Christian Lundgaard is expected to remain with the team.

Nolan Siegel, who has been showing stronger form in recent races, won’t be retained in the third entry, so the focus is on exploring who might take charge of the No. 6 Chevy as a hired driver.

I’m aware of two points of interest for O’Ward and Lundgaard, and both favor Arrow McLaren. O’Ward’s current deal runs through 2027, and while IndyCar’s most popular driver will certainly receive interest from other teams for 2028, Arrow McLaren is said to have an offer-matching clause that should ward off any of its rivals. Others can try to sign O’Ward, but I understand Arrow McLaren will do whatever it takes to match and keep its star.

The team also has an option on Lundgaard, who ranks fourth in the drivers’ championship ahead of O’Ward in fifth, which I expect to be taken up before the end of the season.

Arrow McLaren's No. 6 entry is the focus of its 2027 planning. James Black/Penske Entertainment

Which leaves the upcoming vacancy in Siegel’s car. Is it Rosenqvist? Is it Armstrong? Or is it a next-gen driver who could become an antidote to Palou? McLaren also has reigning F2 champion Leonardo Fornaroli under contract. He has expressed an interest in IndyCar; Arrow McLaren recently brought the Italian to a race and team principal Tony Kanaan has said they intend to run him in a post-season test.

Fornaroli is understood to have an F1 race-seat clause in his contract that would allow him to leave McLaren if another F1 team puts him on the grid, but if that doesn’t happen, Fornaroli could be a serious contender to join O’Ward and Lundgaard.

Williams F1 reserve driver Luke Browning has also been mentioned as a young driver the team covets. The Briton is racing in the Japanese Super Formula championship this season and has drawn the attention of at least one other IndyCar team as well.

And Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon, who is famous for signing short one- or two-year contracts, is routinely mentioned as a candidate to join Arrow McLaren. Anything is possible, of course, as the New Zealander contemplates his final season(s) as a full-time IndyCar driver, but I’ve heard nothing credible to suggest he’s leaving CGR, retiring, or doing anything other than returning to race the No. 9 Honda in 2027.

Siegel’s options to stay in IndyCar appear to be limited.

AJ FOYT RACING
Santino Ferrucci and Caio Collet are on one-year contracts with the team with options for a second – a "one and one" deal, as it is known – and like MSR, there could be significant changes ahead.

Ferrucci’s been chasing the same form that propelled him to ninth in the championship in 2024, and as I’m told, the team is looking for a meaningful uptick in results – real, at-the-finish-line results – from the American over the final nine races of the season.

He was 16th in the standings in 2025 and is 16th so far in 2026, and with the ongoing Team Penske technical alliance in position, there appears to be a serious push from inside the Penske/Foyt leadership for its marquee No. 14 Chevy to be much closer to the Team Penske drivers who are all ranked inside the top seven. If the alliance is going to continue, something better than midfield runs are expected.

Ferrucci is looking to rediscover his mojo from a couple of seasons ago. Joe Skibinski/Getty Images

Ferrucci’s been a top 10 championship performer for Foyt in a Penske-tuned car, so it’s not a question of whether he’s capable, but past performances don’t earn contract extensions. With an expiring deal to consider, he’s definitely got competition from others with expiring deals like Ericsson and VeeKay, and Conor Daly, who’s said to be in the frame for a possible return with his sponsors, who’d love to be connected to Penske through Foyt.

Collet might not have much in the way of solid finishes to tout his capabilities; a 12th at Arlington is the Brazilian’s best, but he’s made a lot of team owners take notice of his raw talent as they contemplate drivers to pursue for 2027. I’m aware of at least one significant team that plans to meet with Collet’s camp this weekend, and another team suggested they were also on the meeting list.

And with the strong financial support of his sponsors, Collet is a rare combination of someone who’s wanted for his speed, and brings motivated backers who want to see him in a contending situation. The Foyt team would also love to keep him, but I wouldn’t be shocked if he signed elsewhere. Former Penske driver Juan Pablo Montoya has been making a hard sell throughout the paddock on his son Sebastian, and Foyt is known to be one of the teams on the list.

It’s an interesting dynamic for both drivers: The team wants one to prove he’s worth keeping while needing to prove to the other that he should stay.

If Collet opts to go, Foyt could need to take a well-paying driver to offset the sponsorship loss, and in that scenario, some of the funded drivers in the series – Siegel and Sting Ray Robb, specifically – and some of the wealthier Indy NXT drivers might have a pathway to reaching or staying in IndyCar.

JUNCOS HOLLINGER RACING
The team has both drivers in contract years with Rinus VeeKay and Robb. JHR is known to be pursuing an extension with VeeKay, who they’ve come to cherish, but he’s on a one-year deal and has driven his value upwards by overperforming for the team owned by Ricardo Juncos and Brad Hollinger.

JHR wants to sign him, but he’s getting nods from many of the same teams that have been mentioned so far – Foyt, MSR, etc. – so it’s hard to say where the Dutchman will land.

The team is also working through a potential ownership change with Hollinger assuming full possession of the team and welcoming a new co-owner/investor to replace Juncos, provided the proposed separation between Juncos and Hollinger, which has been ongoing for quite some time, reaches the finish line. I’ve heard as many as five potential investors are interested in forming a union with JHR, and Dreyer & Reinbold Racing is included in that pool.

At Juncos Hollinger, the silly season has extended into the ownership side due to uncertainty over Ricardo Juncos's future with the team. Matt Fraver/Penske Entertainment

The recent death of Dennis Reinbold has not derailed the talks between DRR and Hollinger, so that possibility still stands among the others. Conor Daly’s name and sponsors have been mentioned as a facet of the proposed DRR/JHR alignment, and if that were to happen, it would bring him back to the team he led before being replaced by VeeKay.

One of the rumored motivations to move forward with Hollinger as the primary owner has been to reengage with Arrow McLaren. The two teams worked together on the commercial front in 2024 in a deal struck between Hollinger and his good friend Zak Brown, McLaren Racing’s CEO. JHR added flourishes of papaya to its cars and would help Arrow McLaren to feature some of its associate sponsors on its cars, which was a novel arrangement.

But their IndyCar collaboration was severed when Juncos’s countryman and chosen (now former) driver Agustin Canapino and former Arrow McLaren driver Theo Pourchaire made contact at the Detroit Grand Prix, and Canapino dismissed the volley of online hatred and threats his fans directed at Pourchaire.

The ugly affair and its mishandling by JHR led Arrow McLaren to step away from the arrangement, but it’s said to be up for reconsideration – possibly going as far as including technical support – under a revised ownership structure.

All of that backstory is useful to know, as it feed directly into JHR’s ambitions to reconfigure its team, introduce a new co-owner/investor, and return in 2027 with both seats taken by elite drivers the team has hired.

If all of that happens, and there are obviously a lot of steps that need to be completed, it would mean Robb will be replaced by one of the established pros like Armstrong, Ericsson, Daly, or Callum Ilott, who is open to reuniting with the team after serving as its lead driver from 2021-23. Ex-Ganassi driver Linus Lundqvist is another young talent the team has wanted to run for more than a year.

Hollinger is committed for the long haul, which is important, and with VeeKay showcasing the team’s improved competitiveness, it could attract a higher caliber of driver to join him or take over the lead car if he elects to leave.

And if the business restructuring doesn’t go according to plan, there could be a need – just like Foyt – to make its second seat available to the highest bidder.

CHIP GANASSI RACING
I’ve asked multiple times and been told the same thing each time – no openings or changes for 2027. But it would be expected of IndyCar’s most successful team of the century – 13 championships and counting since 2003, with six delivered by Dixon – to start planning for a day when its all-time best is no longer a full-time driver.

The alliance with MSR should not be underestimated for its potential to develop a next-gen option like a Luke Browning or another F2 standout like Paul Aron, if either were interested in leaving their F1 reserve driver roles behind.

It’s too early to say where things will go, but if a young lion is signed by MSR, it could be an indicator of a future-minded move for Ganassi in the same way Penske used Foyt’s second car in 2025 to prepare David Malukas as Will Power’s eventual successor.

DALE COYNE RACING
Romain Grosjean and Dennis Hauger are on one-year deals. Todd Ault, the team’s primary sponsor, continues to love Grosjean and Grosjean loves the DCR team, so I’d expect them to execute an extension.

We’ve covered Hauger’s situation, and if he isn’t heading to Andretti in 2027, Coyne’s only too happy to keep him for his sophomore run. If that were to change, there would be no shortage of paying drivers lining up to replace Hauger.

ECR
Christian Rasmussen signed a fresh extension, so he’s in place for a few more years. I need to inquire about Alexander Rossi and where they’re at with an extension.  

RAHAL LETTERMAN LANIGAN RACING
Graham Rahal and Louis Foster are under contract next year. The key question is whether Mick Schumacher will want to stay in IndyCar, and if so, does he want to stay with RLL? The team says it wants to get through June before pursuing next steps with Schumacher, and if he opts to depart for whatever reason, it’s a seat where an Ericsson, Ilott, Lundqvist, Collet, and others would be in play.

TEAM PENSKE
All of its drivers are signed through at least 2027.