Rinus VeeKay is the new lead driver for Juncos Hollinger Racing. The 25-year-old returns to the team founded by Ricardo Juncos where he won the 2018 USF Pro 2000 championship and went on to place second for the team in Indy NXT. Brad Hollinger joined the renamed outfit as co-owner in 2021.
VeeKay also reunites with Team Chevy, where he spent the first five seasons of his career with Ed Carpenter Racing before moving to the Honda-powered Dale Coyne Racing team in 2025. With Coyne, VeeKay routinely starred for the humble outfit on the way to placing 14th in the championship.
According to JHR, he is signed for 2026, with no mention of a multi-year deal.
“I’m excited to officially announce my move to Juncos Hollinger Racing,” said VeeKay, who replaces Conor Daly. “This is a team with real momentum, high ambitions, and a clear vision for the future. There’s a shared determination to compete at the highest level, and I’m confident that together we can achieve great things.
“Signing with Juncos Hollinger Racing also feels like a return home – Juncos Racing gave me my start in the Pro Mazda Championship (now USF Pro 2000) in 2018, and we continued together in Indy Lights (now Indy NXT) in 2019, winning 13 races and a championship title together. I believe this is the right environment for me to continue growing as a driver.”
It’s an interesting, if not slightly rearward shift for the Dutchman, who steps into the car Daly took to 18th in the standings. VeeKay also becomes JHR’s fourth marquee driver in four seasons, following Callum Ilott (2021-23), Romain Grosjean (2024) and Daly (2025).
With potential openings at a number of front-running teams in 2027, which include Andretti Global, Arrow McLaren, Chip Ganassi Racing and Meyer Shank Racing, VeeKay is keeping his options open to stay with JHR if the season goes well or to move to a title contender.
VeeKay arrives at a JHR team guided by team principal Dave O’Neill featuring great engineering and operational depth, but the staffing improvements have yet to produce significant movement in the championship standings.
The frequent driver changes have conspired against establishing continuity with a pilot of VeeKay’s caliber, and outside of Daly’s oval performances, JHR’s results were generally lacking last season. Of the goals to target – beyond working with VeeKay for more than a single season – is achieving meaningful gains with its road and street course package. If VeeKay can help the team to make an impact that extends past the ovals, JHR could leave the bottom half of the field behind.
“At Juncos Hollinger Racing, we’re fully focused on building a program capable of sustained high performance in the years ahead,” O’Neill said. “We have exciting plans across every area of the team – on and off the track – and bringing Rinus on board is a major step in that direction.
“Reuniting with Rinus feels like a natural continuation of the success we’ve shared in the past. As Juncos Hollinger Racing enters its fifth full IndyCar season, and with Rinus bringing six seasons of IndyCar experience at just 25 years of age, we believe this reunion will deliver results quickly. He brings the ideal combination of speed, consistency, race craft, and experience that we’re looking for.
