Dale Coyne relishes 'extraordinary' double Fast 6 appearance in St Pete

There was contagious energy around Dale Coyne Racing as team members navigated through the rigors of post-qualifying for the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.

The team just qualified third with rookie Dennis Hauger, in his debut race weekend in the IndyCar Series, and sixth with returning veteran Romain Grosjean, who hadn’t raced for the team since 2021. The scene coming to the team’s setup area in the paddock was that of owner Dale Coyne - with a huge smile across his face - surrounded by team members and the occasional fan that would come up and ask for a picture.

As the people scampered around to fulfill their duties, Coyne paused, as if taking in the moment, a wide grin continuing across his face.

Although there were expectations…

“They weren't that high,” Coyne told Motorsport.com.

Coyne gave credit to the team, contrived of veteran engineers Mike Cannon and Bill Pappas - who recently returned after an extended time with IndyCar, along with Mitch Davis, one of the most well-respected team managers in the sport.

“It's a good group of people we've got,” Coyne said. “Our engineers, Bill Pappas and Mike Cannon, have been with us before, they know how we think and we do things. They know our strengths and our weaknesses. Mitch knows that and knows how to manage it all. Our assistant engineers, everybody in the engineering department, were great.

“And we've got two great drivers, so there'll be more of this, hopefully.”

Not 1️⃣ but 2️⃣ cars in the Fast 6!! 🔥🏁
On debut, Dennis Hauger brings it home in P3 👏⁰Romain Grosjean locks in P6 💪 pic.twitter.com/F2BdzSF0EW

— Dale Coyne Racing (@DaleCoyneRacing) February 28, 2026

The duo of Grosjean and Hauger followed through with everything they showed Coyne during preseason testing. The combination of their feedback and skill behind the wheel are all part of what helped push the team to showcase it when it counts.

“We saw some good stuff in the preseason,” Coyne said. “It was like when we made changes to the car, they knew how to react to that. They would help lead us in the right direction with the car. And that's valuable, that everybody works together. I just think that everybody working together, pulling in the same direction, it paid off today.”

Romain Grosjean, Dale Coyne Racing

Grosjean, who was a reserve driver with PREMA Racing last season, was also surprised by how quick he and Hauger got on.

“I felt like Fast 12 would be very good today, so having both cars in Fast Six is an extraordinary day,” Grosjean told Motorsport.com. “Yeah, I think we can all be very proud of what we've done.”

“Of course, tomorrow there's a race, there's a lot more going on, and there's strategy involved in pit stops and bits and pieces, but the hardest part in racing is to go fast, and we did that today, and now we just have to execute the rest.”

Hauger's No. 19 Honda was just 0.0317s off the pole time set by Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin, while Grosjean, in the No. 18 entry, ended up 0.8036s off but opted to go out on old tires and save a set of alternates - having two fresh sets for the race.

“Dennis is a very talented driver,” Grosjean said. “He’s been very fast all weekend. I think I've used my experience to get the car where we wanted it to be. We still have a little bit of work that we can do to go faster. There's still more to be found, but generally I'm very proud of all of Dale Coyne Racing.

“Again, we're a small organization, but we're doing a good job.”

Scott McLaughlin earns IndyCar St. Pete pole, Coyne impresses in Fast 6

To read more Motorsport.com articles visit our website.