The Streets of St. Pete on March 1st 2026 will mark the start of season number seven in IndyCar for Juncos Hollinger Racing’s Rinus VeeKay. And he’s looking to make it a good one, carrying over his consistency from 2025 into his new team for the upcoming season.
Coming off one of his most consistent series in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES with Dale Coyne Racing, racking up six top-10 finishes and one podium in the No. 18 Honda, VeeKay is ready to take on a more senior role at a team with a familiar name.
Having worked with the Juncos name before, the Dutch-born driver is ready to turn top-10 consistency into a solid podium presence.
A lot of thought went into the move to JHR for the 2026 IndyCar season, says Rinus VeeKay
During the 2026 IndyCar media days, Rinus VeeKay spoke with Pit Debrief and other media outlets about how the decision to move from Dayle Coyne Racing was not easy.
Having experienced a career-high podium and consistent top-10 finishes in 2025 with DCR, VeeKay made the choice to move to Juncos Hollinger Racing for the new season to put the focus on himself as the senior driver.
The driver who returns to Chevy power also spoke about how excited he was to have a full pre-season of preparation to really settle in with JHR and take on a more leadership-style role.
“Very exciting outlook. I feel like it’s going to be a really good season.
“Definitely more than two weeks of preparation for St. Pete will be nice this year. Just going to be nice to really have almost a full off-season to work with the team and get to know everybody and get to work with the engineers before we actually turn a lap.
“I can take on that leadership role within the team.”
When asked whether JHR could be a home for the future, VeeKay kept the focus on the upcoming season as the starting point.
“Yeah, it could be. I’ve signed for one year now, but for me, I want to win.
“We all share that feeling within the team, within JHR. If we can make that happen there, that’s all we want. They want their car to win. I want my car to win.
“The goal is to make it all happen together.”
Lessons learned and a return to the Juncos name in 2026 for Rinus VeeKay
During his 2018 Indy Pro 200 campaign, the Dutchman secured seven race wins with Juncos.
In response to a question from Pit Debrief, VeeKay discussed how he has been settling into the once-familiar team and how he has grown in the years since he last raced under the Juncos name.
“Yes, there’s definitely a few faces that I recognise from that time. Not too many, though. There’s been a lot of changes.
“It’s been really good within the team so far. I feel like I’ve already got a good connection with my crew, I feel like we are ready for our first days on track.
“I already feel like I’ve been at this team for a while.
“I’ve grown a lot throughout the years. I feel like strategy-wise, I’ve really gotten a lot smarter in the car while driving. I’m really proud of myself how I’ve created this mindset that extracts everything out of myself and the team at all times.
“Everybody always tries to win, but it could also be a distraction […]. Being in that right mindset makes a really big difference, and I think I’ve found that one pretty flawlessly pretty quickly.”
Consistency is key in 2026
During his time as an IndyCar driver, Rinus VeeKay has shown exceptional consistency in his championship finishes, landing just outside the top 10 in all six seasons. When asked by the media pool, VeeKay outlined how he would achieve the finishes that would earn him a top-10 championship standing.
“Yeah, I think one really big thing for championship points is top 5s.
“Just barely getting top 10s, it’s good for points, but where you really start to see a difference is top 5s.
“Getting consistently in the top 5 is a priority. I feel like at least five, six top 5s are going to be necessary to comfortably be in that top 10 in the championship. Probably when I’m top 10 in the championship, I want to be top 5. I’m always striving for more as a team.
“The top 10 in the championship is just the goal.”
Complete focus on the short-term
VeeKay signed a one-year contract with JHR for 2026, and his options are open for seasons ahead, making this an important year for the Dutch driver. However, on media day, he made it more than clear he has changed his approach to the season and is fully focused on 2026.
“Yeah, I’ll have a really short-term mindset every race, just focus on the day ahead this season.
“It doesn’t matter if I have a 10-year contract. I think it’s really healthy for a driver to approach a weekend like it’s their only shot, to really make everything. To maximise everything they have and don’t get comfortable because I felt like at DCR at one point I was there for so long I was so comfortable.
“I kind of loosened up a little bit too much, where what really shook things up last year is that I really had this one shot that I had to take with both hands.
“I want to keep that mindset throughout.
“One contract year or ten, it doesn’t matter. I feel like that’s how you’re going to be successful every single weekend.”
Rinus VeeKay and the rest of the 2026 IndyCar grid return to the streets of St. Petersburg on March 1st.
