Written by Archie O’Reilly
Rinus VeeKay has signed for Dale Coyne Racing (DCR) for the full 2025 IndyCar season, completing the team’s lineup alongside reigning Indy NXT vice champion Jacob Abel.
The 24-year-old Dutch driver departed Ed Carpenter Racing (ECR) after five years at the conclusion of the 2024 season, leaving him as a free agent for the majority of the off-season. But he is now confirmed for a sixth season in IndyCar, competing in the No.18 DCR Honda and completing the 27-driver field.
VeeKay has already participated with DCR in October’s Indianapolis 500 hybrid test and was present supporting Abel during a recent test at the Thermal Club, hinting at a possible move.
“Very exciting news,” VeeKay said. “I am happy to announce my partnership with Dale Coyne Racing for the 2025 IndyCar season. It makes me proud to see my name among the drivers competing in this fantastic series for a sixth consecutive year. After a difficult start to my off-season, I am delighted to end the winter with this news.”
VeeKay joins a DCR team that endured a 2024 season rife with uncertainty. Across its two entries, a total of nine drivers were fielded; Jack Harvey ran 14 of the 17 races in the No.18 but the No.51 never had a confirmed driver.
The team’s best result last season was 13th place on three occasions - achieved by Harvey twice and Toby Sowery on debut at Mid-Ohio.
VeeKay rounded out his final season with ECR 13th in the standings, picking up seven top 10 results across a season riddled by misfortune in its early stages. His consistency across five years in the series, despite wavering performance from his ECR team, has been impressive, finishing between 12th and 14th in points in all five seasons.
A move to DCR marks VeeKay’s first venture outside of ECR in IndyCar after his half-decade with the team that he joined in 2020 after finishing second in the championship as a rookie Indy Lights in 2019.
He went on to pick up podiums in each of his first three seasons in the series, including a victory on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) road course and second-place finish in Detroit in 2021.
He has become particularly renowned for his speed on the oval at IMS, qualifying fourth on debut and starting on the front row for the subsequent three editions of the Indianapolis 500. He remarkably overcame a qualifying crash to start seventh in 2024.
With VeeKay in the No.18 entry and Abel in the previously-uncertain No.51 Honda, DCR enters the 2025 season with crucial stability that was absent throughout 2024.
“We are excited about getting back to full-time drivers for 2025,” Coyne said. “The stability allows us to grow as a team and that’s important to me. For that to be accomplished, having a proven veteran in one of our entries helps tremendously, and that’s one of the many reasons we have decided to go with VeeKay.
“We are excited for him to join the team and get started with us at the Sebring test coming up next week in preparation for the full IndyCar season.”
While the ‘stepping stone’ tag may not be wholly favourable, the team has been a proving ground for many drivers. Since 2020, now-three-time champion Alex Palou, Romain Grosjean and David Malukas have all achieved podium results in the early stages of their IndyCar careers with DCR before moving on to front-running teams.
While VeeKay is no longer in the infancy of his IndyCar career, he remains a youthful prospect at 24. And this move provides a first chance to prove his worth in a different environment - and one that has been a haven for young talent.
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