IndyCar veteran Conor Daly is currently without a seat for the 2026 season, with just one full-time seat left at Dale Coyne Racing. Amid this, an IndyCar insider came out and detailed the $10M factory, leading to the uncertainty for DCR to confirm their 2026 lineup.
Conor Daly joined Juncos Hollinger Racing midway through the 2024 season for the last five races, replacing Agustin Canapino. The veteran helped push the JHR entry into the winner’s circle, and just a few months after the season ended, Daly was confirmed as the full-time driver for the 2025 season as he partnered with Sting Ray Robb.
The 2025 season was Daly’s first full-time season since his drive for Ed Carpenter Racing in 2022. However, the Indiana-born faced issues with his sponsor, Polkadot, early in the season, but managed to secure sponsorship to continue for the season.
Going into the 2026 season, JHR announced Rinus VeeKay as one of the drivers for the season and recently came out to confirm the lineup, with Sting Ray Robb continuing with the team. Conor Daly has been linked to the only remaining IndyCar seat at DCR, and IndyCar insiders Kevin Lee and Curt Cavin discuss the seat situation for the 33-year-old.
“I think Conor is the best available option that is out there when you combine talent and available budget. Conor has been great about representing partners and providing return and raising budget,” said Kevin Lee (11:00 onwards)
Detailing how Conor Daly possibly doesn’t have the full $8-10M in sponsorship required to run a seat full-time in a season, Lee said,
“He doesn’t have a full, I doubt at least, a full $8 to $10 million that teams would like to have, but he probably has more than most right now. But other than he’s going to be faced with, for example, what if Dreyer and Reinbold is saying, hey, we need to know if you want this second Indy 500 seat.”
If DCR decides not to sign Conor Daly, the IndyCar star will possibly have the option to run the Indy 500 with Dreyer and Reinbold Racing as a one-off entry.
Conor Daly’s bittersweet goodbye as JHR announces 2026 driver lineup
Conor Daly had a strong season with Juncos Hollinger Racing as he finished P18 in the championship with some wonderful drivers at the ovals. The 33-year-old finished the season strong with a Top 5 result at Nashville. As JHR confirmed Sting Ray Robb for the 2026 season alongside Rinus VeeKay, Daly took to the social media platform X and shared a tweet with a bittersweet message.
“Best ever race result for the team. Best Indy 500 Qualifying and Race result for the team. Most points scored by a driver for the team in a season. Tied for best qualifying result for the team. 17-5 against teammates in race results during my time with the team. Extremely proud of what we were able to accomplish together in a short period of time. Thank you to all the folks who put in the hard work 🫡,” read Daly’s tweet
Yuki Tsunoda, Romain Grosjean, and Linus Lundqvist are the rumored names for the only remaining IndyCar seat.
Edited by Pranay Bhagi
