Dale Coyne Racing was founded in 1984 to allow team owner Dale Coyne to compete as a driver. This remained the case until late 1988, when the team began to focus on other drivers as well.
Building a Reputation: 1989 - 2003
Over the years, Dale Coyne has built a reputation in open-wheel racing for his ability to recruit and coach young drivers. In 1991, Dale Coyne drove his last race for his own team. During the following years, due to a limited budget, the team was consistently found at the back of the field. This began to change in 2004 with Oriol Servia and sponsorship from YokeTV and AMR: the team scored its first top-three finish at Laguna Seca, and in 2007, with Bruno Junqueira, achieved three consecutive podium finishes.
IndyCar Success: 2008 - 2016
In the following year, in the IndyCar Series, the team secured five top-ten finishes, and in 2009, Justin Wilson gave the team its first victory at Watkins Glen. In 2013, Mike Conway dominated and won a race for Dale Coyne Racing at Belle Isle. In 2014, rookie Carlos Huertas unexpectedly secured a win in the streets of Houston in a race with unpredictable weather conditions. In 2016, the team fielded Conor Daly and Luca Filippi, although apart from a second and fourth place by Daly, few notable results were achieved.
Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser-Sullivan: 2017 - 2019
Since 2018, the car of Sébastien Bourdais, who joined the team in 2017, has been run under the name Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser-Sullivan. This partnership marked the return of Jimmy Vasser and James 'Sulli' Sullivan to the sport. In addition to the four-time Champ Car World Series champion, Dale Coyne Racing fielded a second car for Santino Ferrucci, who was one of four full-time NTT IndyCar Series rookies in 2019.
New Partnerships and Driver Changes: 2020 - 2021
After a winless season, the team announced at the end of 2019 that they would be parting ways with Sébastien Bourdais, despite the Frenchman originally having a contract for the 2020 season. This coincided with the end of the partnership with Jimmy Vasser and James Sullivan (Vasser-Sullivan).
In place of Vasser-Sullivan, the team started a partnership with the Japanese Team Goh for a car driven by rookie Alex Palou. However, this partnership lasted only one year, after which the NASCAR team Rick Ware Racing partnered with Dale Coyne Racing to field another rookie, Romain Grosjean. Like Palou, Grosjean's partnership with the team lasted just one year due to his success (one pole and two podiums).
Continued Partnerships and Struggles: 2022 - 2024
The partnership with Rick Ware Racing continued into 2022, with Takuma Sato driving the car in what would be the Japanese driver's final full-time season. True success remained elusive, while debuting teammate David Malukas did manage to secure one podium finish.
In 2023, Dale Coyne Racing entered the season with a very young driver lineup: alongside the 21-year-old Malukas, fellow 21-year-old Sting Ray Robb made his debut with the team. While Malukas managed to finish in the top ten five times, Robb had a very difficult season, failing to finish in the top ten at all.
Challenges in 2024
The challenging 2023 season foreshadowed a difficult 2024: Dale Coyne Racing struggled to find full-time drivers and constantly rotated between them. Only Jack Harvey provided some stability within the team, driving the majority of races in the #18 car. Due to all the changes within the team, it turned out to be a disastrous season, with not a single top-ten finish.
Driver Stability Should Help Team Move Forward in 2025
After a disappointing 2024 season, Dale Coyne Racing has secured more stability in its driver lineup for 2025. Rookie Jacob Abel and veteran Rinus VeeKay are expected to help lead the team to new successes.
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