Inside Line: Dale Coyne Racing Driver To Put in Spotlight?

Today’s question: Dale Coyne Racing just hired 2026 INDY NXT by Firestone champion Nikita Johnson as one of its NTT INDYCAR SERIES drivers for the 2027 season. Owner Dale Coyne has fielded an interesting mix of veterans and rookies since he started his team in 1984. Which one of those drivers or seasons do you think deserves an extra spotlight?

Curt Cavin: Before I get to my favorite Dale Coyne Racing moment, I’d like to note that the team has won six races with four different drivers, and it won races in three consecutive years (with Justin Wilson in 2012, Mike Conway in 2013 and Carlos Huertas in 2014) and five times in a seven-year stretch (2012-18). But one of my favorite days in 40 years in the sport came in 2009 at Watkins Glen when Wilson gave Dale Coyne his first INDYCAR SERIES victory (photo, top), beating two Penske drivers (Ryan Briscoe and Helio Castroneves) and Ganassi’s Scott Dixon. Wilson, who started second because qualifying ended before he could use the red tires, led 49 of the 60 laps. It was the Fourth of July weekend, and I’ve never seen a group celebrated more for a race win outside of the Indianapolis 500. I remember standing off to the side well after Wilson had received the trophy, and the smiles on the faces of Coyne, engineer Bill Pappas and the rest of the No. 18 crew were just immense. Literally, most of the crew had never won a race, and they didn’t know how to act. It was in victory lane that Pappas was approached about bringing the group to the Seneca Lodge to celebrate as Formula One race winners once did. Ever the traditionalist, Pappas jumped at the offer, and it was one mighty night of bubbly drinking from the silver cup. A magazine headline dubbed them “Giant Slayers,” and that fit.

Eric Smith: For me, it’s 2019. Santino Ferrucci (photo, above) joined the team and immediately made an impact, recording three top-five finishes and seven top-10 results in 17 starts. Sebastien Bourdais added two top-five finishes and nine top-10 results of his own that season. Combined, the duo produced five top-five finishes and 16 top-10 results, tying 2018 for the team's most top-five finishes in a season since 2014 while establishing its highest single-season top-10 total since 2013. The combination of Ferrucci's immediate success and Bourdais' consistency made 2019 a particularly memorable season for the team.

Arni Sribhen: It’s easy to forget the 2020 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season, with a schedule that was a mishmash of delays, uncertainty, doubleheader races and the Month of May in August. But it’s also the season that Dale Coyne unearthed a gem via a partnership with a Japanese team that wanted to bring its driver from Super Formula to the NTT INDYCAR SERIES. His name was Alex Palou (photo, above). The Spanish rookie no one knew when he turned up at preseason testing at Circuit of the Americas in February was standing on the podium by his third INDYCAR SERIES race. And though he finished 16th in the points standings and behind Rinus VeeKay for top rookie honors, Palou showed he had pace with three top-four qualifying spots and a seventh-place qualifying effort at Indianapolis. It was those performances that led Chip Ganassi to hire Palou the following season. But none of what he has accomplished since would have happened if not for Dale Coyne Racing.

Paul Kelly: Sebastien Bourdais (photo, above) in 2017. The four-time INDYCAR SERIES champion returned the unsung, low-budget Coyne team that season after making nine starts for it in 2011. The impact of the Frenchman’s return was sudden and successful, as the pairing won the season opener at St. Petersburg, Bourdais’ adopted American hometown. It was the first win for the team since Carlos Huertas shocked the series by winning in 2014 at Houston. But what many forget is that Bourdais and DCR were fourth in the series standings entering the Month of May. A last-place finish in the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road race to open May dropped Bourdais to seventh, but he and Coyne rallied to show abundant speed in Indianapolis 500 practice. Bourdais led Fast Friday practice by nearly 1 mph over his closest pursuer. In his first qualifying attempt Saturday, Bourdais’ first two laps were more than 1 mph faster than the four-lap average posted by the quickest qualifier to that point, Scott Dixon. Then another sudden and less successful impact struck Bourdais and DCR: His No. 18 Honda wiggled in Turn 2 on his third qualifying lap and smashed the SAFER Barrier with alarming force, overturning and then overturning again back on its wheels. Bourdais suffered multiple fractures to his pelvis and hip and was out until the last three races of the season. It was one of the most memorable “What if?” moments I can recall in my long career in this sport, as it would have been fantastic to see Bourdais and Coyne on the pole or at least on the front row for “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.”