Dale Coyne Racing lands Hauger, tech alliance with Andretti Global
By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio
Veteran INDYCAR team-owner Dale Coyne will mentor rising star Dennis Hauger during his rookie NTT IndyCar Series season in 2026 in partnership with Andretti Global.
Dennis Hauger – INDY NXT by Firestone at the Milwaukee Mile – Photo by Chris Jones
Dale Coyne Racing has confirmed that Hauger, the reigning INDY NXT by Firestone champion, will drive one of the team’s Honda-powered entries for the full 17-race schedule. The team also announced it has entered into a technical alliance with Andretti Global for the 2026 season.
A 22-year-old native of Norway, Hauger scored six wins, five additional podium finishes, 13 top-10s and seven poles in 14 races en route to INDYCAR’s developmental series championship in 2025 as a rookie with Andretti Global. Hauger clinched the title at the penultimate round of the season at The Milwaukee Mile.
Dennis Hauger – INDY NXT By Firestone Detroit Grand Prix – Photo by Aaron Skillman
“I’m excited to be joining Dale Coyne Racing for my rookie INDYCAR season,” Hauger said in a team release. “The progress the team has shown this year is really impressive, and it’s an honor to take my place on the grid with them in 2026. I want to thank Dale Coyne and everyone at the team for putting their trust in me.
“It’ll also be nice to see some familiar faces through the team’s technical partnership with Andretti Global. They’ve been a big part of my success since making the switch, so having their involvement in another rookie season for me will be great. I’m looking forward to contributing and starting this next chapter together.”
A fulltime seat at DCR opened when Rinus Veekay exited the team shortly after the 2025 season-ender at Nashville Superspeedway. Veekay, a native of the Netherlands, drove Coyne’s signature No. 18 Honda to a 14th-place finish in the final point standings. Veekay teamed in 2025 with series rookie Jacob Abel in the No. 51 Honda.
Dennis Hauger – Grand Prix of Portland – Photo by Chris Owens
Hauger was effectively blocked from graduating to Andretti Global’s INDYCAR roster when free agent Will Power of Australia signed with the organization after exiting Team Penske. Power, a two-time series champion and winner of the 2018 Indianapolis 500, will drive the No. 26 Honda vacated by Colton Herta. Native Californian Herta will compete in Europe in 2026 as test driver for Cadillac Racing’s first-year FIA Formula One team.
Andretti Global’s 2025 INDYCAR lineup also featured Kyle Kirkwood, a three-time race-winner in the No. 27 Honda, and Sweden’s Marcus Ericsson, driver of the No. 28 Honda and winner of the 2022 Indy 500 with Chip Ganassi Racing.
Before making his debut in North American open-wheel competition, Hauger advanced through the European ladder ranks, capturing the Italian F4 Championship (2019), the FIA Formula 3 Championship (2021) and earning five wins and 13 podiums over three seasons competing in the FIA Formula 2 Championship (2022-24).
Dennis Hauger – INDY NXT by Firestone at the Milwaukee Mile – Photo by Chris Jones
“This is a great opportunity for us here at DCR to bring on a talented driver and gain a strong technical partner in Andretti Global,” Coyne said. “Thanks to Dan (Towriss, Andretti Global team partner) and his belief in our sport and his dedication to elevating Dennis to the top of the ladder.”
An INDYCAR competitor since 1984, Coyne drove in parts of seven seasons before turning fulltime attention to team ownership in 1992. Recognized for hiring and developing young drivers, DCR most notably jumped-started the domestic open-wheel career of Alex Palou, the four-time/reigning NTT IndyCar Series champion from Spain.
DCR has been home to a global lineup of aspiring and/or experienced drivers, including four-time INDYCAR champion Sebastien Bourdais and former Formula One regular Romain Grosjean of France; 1996 Indy 500 champion Buddy Lazier; two-time Indy 500 champion Takuma Sato and Hiro Matsushita of Japan; Canadian Paul Tracy; Americans David Malukas, Santino Ferrucci and Conor Daly; Justin Wilson, Jack Harvey, Mike Conway, Pippa Mann and Katherine Legge of Great Britain; Cristiano da Matta, Roberto Moreno and Bruno Junqueira of Brazil; Michel Jourdain Jr. of Mexico and Ed Jones of the United Arab Emirates.
Hauger will test this offseason at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio, before his official on-track debut with DCR in the 2026 NTT IndyCar Series season-opener on March 1 at the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg in Florida.
INDYCAR’s 2026 INDY NXT by Firestone season will showcase the inaugural INDYCAR Grand Prix of Arlington, Texas, as Race No. 2 of an expanded 17-event schedule.
INDYCAR’s developmental series will contest a series record-tying four races in March on a schedule featuring three new double-header weekends designed to prepare drivers and team personnel for the skills required to advance to the NTT IndyCar Series.
FOX Sports will again provide a broadcast platform for every race in a bid to build upon record-setting growth across the 2025 season.
The 17-race calendar is the most for the series since 2021, and is highlighted by the inaugural INDYCAR Grand Prix of Arlington in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. The Sunday, March 15 race will be staged on a new 2.73-mile/14-turn Streets of Arlington circuit as a “tentpole event.” The weekend is a first-of-its-kind venture uniting three championship organizations _ INDYCAR, the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys and REV Entertainment, official events partner of MLB’s Texas Rangers. The race will be staged in the popular Arlington Entertainment District in a bid to introduce open-wheel racing to traditional stick-and-ball fans.
A mix of wheel-to-wheel action on ovals, road-courses and street circuits in 2026 will include five double-header weekends, culminating with one at the season-finale at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in California. The historic road-course will return as the season-finale for the 15th time in series history.
For the second consecutive season, the 2026 schedule in the United States will be featured on live television with all events broadcast on either FOX Sports’ FS1 or FS2. Additionally, all practice and qualifying sessions will be carried on those networks. As part of a multi-year partnership between INDYCAR and FOX Sports, 2025 was a breakout year for INDY NXT with every race carried on live television for the first time. As a result, the 2025 season generated well over five times more viewership than the previous season.
“Like with the NTT IndyCar Series, the 2026 INDY NXT by Firestone season begins with super-charged action in March and only grows more intense from there,” said Mark Miles, Penske Entertainment Corp. president/CEO. “Additional double-headers at fan-favorite events will add to the challenge of winning a season championship, which again will be celebrated at iconic WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.
“Combined with the exceptional showcase of another full season of races on FS1 and FS2, we again look forward to seeing the young stars of INDY NXT challenge for the title and advancing to the NTT IndyCar Series.”
For the 16th time and fifth straight year, the season will open Sunday, March 1, on the Streets of St. Petersburg, Fla. Challenging double-headers at Barber Motorsports Park, Road America and Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course will add to traditional series double-headers on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road-Course and Laguna Seca.
The schedule also includes visits to the oval layouts at World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, Ill., Nashville Superspeedway and The Milwaukee Mile, which all produced series records for on-track passes in 2025.
All 17 races will take place during NTT IndyCar Series event weekends. Since taking over operational control of the developmental series in 2023, INDY NXT has enjoyed unprecedented growth by averaging over 19 starters at each race and the largest fields since the 2009 season.
Five of the seven race-winners during the 2025 NTT IndyCar Series season were former INDY NXT drivers. And the 109th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge featured 20 drivers with INDY NXT experience.
FOX Sports’ network assignments and tune-in times for the 2026 events will be announced at a later date.
Outside of the United States, the streaming service INDYCAR LIVE will continue to provide coverage of all 17 INDY NXT races along with all practice and qualifying sessions.
2026 INDYCAR NXT BY FIRESTONE SCHEDULE
Sunday, March 1 _ Streets of St. Petersburg, Fla.
Sunday, March 15 _ Streets of Arlington, Texas
Saturday, March 28 _ Barber Motorsports Park, Birmingham, Ala., Race 1
Sunday, March 29 _ Barber Motorsports Park, Birmingham, Ala., Race 2
Friday, May 8 _ Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road-Course Race 1
Saturday, May 9 _ Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road-Course Race 2
Sunday, May 31 _ Streets of Detroit
Sunday, June 7 _ World Wide Technology Raceway, Madison, Ill.
Saturday, June 20 _ Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wis., Race 1
Sunday, June 21 _ Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wis., Race 2
Saturday, July 4 _ Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington, Ohio, Race 1
Sunday, July 5 _ Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington, Ohio, Race 2
Sunday, July 19 _ Nashville Superspeedway, Lebanon, Tenn.
Sunday, Aug. 9 _ Portland (Ore.) International Raceway
Sunday, Aug. 30 _ The Milwaukee Mile, West Allis, Wis.
Saturday, Sept. 5 _ Weather Tech Raceway Laguna Seca, Monterey, Calif., Race 1
Sunday, Sept. 6 _ Weather Tech Raceway Laguna Seca, Monterey, Calif., Race 2
2026 NTT INDYCAR SERIES SCHEDULE
Sunday, March 1 _ Streets of St. Petersburg, Fla.
Saturday, March 7 _ Phoenix Raceway, Avondale, Ariz.
Sunday, March 15 _ Streets of Arlington, Texas
Sunday, March 29 _ Barber Motorsports Park, Birmingham, Ala.
Sunday, April 19 _ Streets of Long Beach, Calif.
Saturday, May 9 _ Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road-Course
Sunday, May 24 _ 110th Indianapolis 500, Indianapolis Motor Speedway Oval
Sunday, May 31 _ Streets of Detroit
Sunday, June 7 _ World Wide Technology Raceway, Madison, Ill.
Sunday, June 21 _ Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wis.
Sunday, July 5 _ Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington, Ohio
Sunday, July 19 _ Nashville Superspeedway, Lebanon, Tenn.
Sunday, Aug. 9 _ Portland (Ore.) International Raceway
Sunday, Aug. 16 _ Streets of Markham, Canada
Saturday, Aug. 29 _ The Milwaukee Mile Race 1, West Allis, Wis.
Sunday, Aug. 30 _ The Milwaukee Mile Race 2, West Allis, Wis.
Sunday, Sept. 6 _ WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, Monterey, Calif.
Note _ All races to be televised by FOX Sports
