Rinus Veekay reportedly set to replace Conor Daly at Juncos Hollinger Racing

Rinus Veekay will join Juncos Hollinger Racing in the 2026 IndyCar season, as per reporter Marshall Pruett. The Argentinian-American team already has Sting Ray Robb on a contract for next year, which means Veekay will displace Conor Daly in the second seat.

The Dutch driver was the last signing of the 2025 grid, with Dale Coyne Racing announcing the move less than a month before the season opener in St. Petersburg. Despite the preparation time being cut multifold and being in a backmarker car, Rinus Veekay impressed the paddock by kicking off the season with a Top 10 finish in St. Pete.

After two mediocre results in the next two races, the former Ed Carpenter Racing driver secured a stunning P4 result at Barber. Many thought it couldn't get better than that for Veekay, but it did in the second half of the season in Toronto. The 25-year-old secured a podium finish at the Indy Toronto - his first in three years and Dale Coyne Racing's first in two.

However, he declined a contract offer from Dale Coyne in early September, confirming he wouldn't return to the team. Veekay's move would've made sense only if he had another offer in hand, which it seems he did.

Reporter Marshall Pruett was recently asked about DCR's recent technical announcement with Andretti Global and whether it could bring Rinus Veekay back into play for the second DCR seat alongside Andretti talent Dennis Hauger.

"VeeKay is off to Juncos Hollinger Racing," Pruett wrote in response in the RACER Mailbag.

Veekay joining Juncos Hollinger Racing would mean the team would get a new number for the Dutch driver's car. Conor Daly drove the No. 76 Chevrolet in 2025, which directly reflected his sponsor, Union 76 Gas Stations' involvement in the IndyCar effort.

What Rinus Veekay's move to Juncos Hollinger Racing means for Conor Daly

Conor Daly at the NTT INDYCAR Series Snap-On Milwaukee Mile 250 - Source: Getty

It is difficult to draw comparisons between Rinus Veekay and Conor Daly's performances in the 2025 IndyCar season. The former was driving a car more suited to road/street circuits than ovals, while the latter's JHR challenger had the opposite characteristic, performing better on ovals.

Daly was a standout performer on all ovals this season, including at the IMS during the Indy 500. Irrespective of where he started on the grid, the IndyCar veteran found himself in the Top 5 sooner than later. While he encountered unexpected degradation of his rear tires on a couple of ovals, including at the 500, that derailed his races, he finally earned his first Top 5 finish of 2025 at the season finale in Nashville.

With Rinus Veekay reportedly set to replace him at JHR, Daly has only two options in front of him. He could either replace Team Penske-bound David Malukas at AJ Foyt Racing or swap places with Veekay to sign with Dale Coyne Racing.

Unfortunately, Indy NXT driver Caio Collet is rumored to be the favorite for the AJ Foyt seat, while Romain Grosjean is understood to be DCR's top choice, as Daly predicted recently.

Edited by Yash Kotak