September Scorecard: Offseason? What Offseason?

Surprisingly, the NTT INDYCAR SERIES had no driver turnover in the recently completed season. That isn’t the case in the offseason.

After all 27 full-time car-and-driver combinations remained the same for this year’s 17 events, the shuffling began almost from the moment the checkered flag waved at the season finale at Nashville Superspeedway. Already, at least five seats will be occupied by different drivers in 2026.

It took a scorecard to keep up with the September announcements, and more news is expected in the months ahead. Here’s a refresher:

Drivers on the Move

On Sept. 2, Will Power officially left Team Penske after 17 years, 42 race wins, 65 poles, a victory in the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge and two season championships. Seldom does a change forecasted for months seem so surprising when it happens. Power’s connection to Verizon was the longest-running pairing in the sport, and the next day he was announced as Andretti Global’s new driver for the No. 26 car. Power also will switch engine manufacturers, going from Chevrolet to Honda.

Power needed a place to continue his career, and it’s still surprising that Colton Herta’s (photo, above) seat became his destination. Sure, Herta had been interested in Formula One for years, and the chance to be selected by his employer’s team – Cadillac Formula 1 – seemed like his best bet. But the F1 door again appeared to close on Herta once this team selected series veterans Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas for 2026. On Sept. 3, it was confirmed that the 25-year-old Herta, who finished second in this series in 2024 and has nine career race wins, was offered the opportunity to learn about the series through a test driver role and an expected F2 ride, and he accepted it.

Team Penske waited 16 days to confirm David Malukas as Power’s replacement, but the deal surely was in place for quite some time. The Indianapolis 500’s runner-up finisher is an interesting prospect, for sure, and he is 20 years younger than Power. But unlike Josef Newgarden, who had won on all three of the sport’s circuit types when he signed with Team Penske, Malukas has not been to victory lane. He will start his Team Penske tenure this month in testing.

Rinus VeeKay was the last driver named for the 2025 season, and he delivered a standout performance with Dale Coyne Racing, a pairing highlighted by a second-place finish in Toronto and a 14th-place finish in the final standings. However, VeeKay announced on Sept. 2 that he will not return to Dale Coyne’s team in 2026. His next career move hasn’t been revealed, but everyone expects the one-time race winner to be on the grid when the season begins March 1 with the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.

Dennis Hauger, who won the INDY NXT by Firestone championship with Andretti Global, was confirmed Sept. 23 to drive for Dale Coyne’s team in 2026. Hauger, who remains connected to Andretti Global, dominated INDYCAR’s development series with six race wins and seven poles, finishing 72 points ahead of Caio Collet of HMD Motorsports.

The latest surprise of the offseason came just days ago (Sept. 26). Mick Schumacher, the son of seven-time Formula One World Champion Michael Schumacher, will test with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing on Oct. 13 on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. The second-generation driver has been intrigued by the NTT INDYCAR SERIES for some time, and it seems there is a chance for him to compete here next season if he enjoys the sampling he is about to get.

In news that doesn’t involve a change, Jack Harvey (photo, above) was confirmed Sept. 24 to return to Dreyer & Reinbold Racing’s Indianapolis 500 program in 2026. Harvey finished 19th after leading three laps in this year’s race in the team’s No. 24 Chevrolet. Next year’s race will be his ninth in the event. Harvey finished ninth in 2020.

News off the Track

INDYCAR announced the 2026 schedule (photo, above) featuring 17 races, including a return to Phoenix Raceway and new street races in Arlington, Texas, and Markham, Ontario. St. Petersburg again hosts the first race of the season (Sunday, March 1), and WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca will host the finale (Sunday, Sept. 6). The 110th Running of the Indianapolis 500 will be Sunday, May 24.

Andretti Global and Dale Coyne Racing signed a technical alliance that will pair the two Honda programs. The partnership helps Andretti Global place Hauger for the upcoming season and gives Dale Coyne’s team additional engineering resources. This becomes the sport’s third such alliance, joining Team Penske/AJ Foyt Racing and Chip Ganassi Racing/Meyer Shank Racing.

The fallout from Team Penske’s May 21 release of three prominent leaders continued with Andretti Global’s hiring Ron Ruzewski as its team principal Sept. 24. A respected engineer and team general manager, Ruzewski spent 21 years with Team Penske before the organization moved on from him, team president Tim Cindric and general manager Kyle Moyer following a second rules infraction in as many seasons. In June, Moyer became Arrow McLaren’s director of competition and Nolan Siegel’s strategist. As part of the Ruzewski announcement, Andretti Global listed Rob Edwards as chief performance officer of its parent organization, TWG Motorsports.