Dale Coyne Racing has confirmed its driver lineup to open the NTT IndyCar Series season with seven-year IndyCar veteran Jack Harvey in the No. 18 Honda and rookie Colin Braun in the No. 51 Honda at St. Petersburg. Multiple drivers will make use of both cars throughout the year.
Harvey is set to contest 14 races in the No. 18 and will share the car with Nolan Siegel, who’ll take the wheel for The Thermal Club, Long Beach, the Indianapolis 500, and Toronto.
Braun, who will drive at St. Petersburg and Thermal, is among the oldest IndyCar newcomers in quite some time as the 35-year-old arrives in the series after leading race- and championship-winning programs since his teens in Grand-Am, NASCAR, and IMSA.
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His official IndyCar debut in St. Petersburg will happen with a single day of experience to draw from after his eye-opening test for Coyne on Tuesday at Sebring International Raceway inspired the team to sign the son of renown race engineer Jeff Braun to start the year in its second entry.
“It’s been a busy off-season and we’re extremely pleased with our driver lineup heading into the 2024 season,” said Coyne. “I think we have a great combination of drivers that will work well together, as they’ve shown at our tests in Homestead and Sebring. Jack brings a lot of experience to the team and he immediately fit right in when he tested with us. Nolan, like Jack, is a pleasure to work with. He impressed us at the Homestead test with how quickly he was up to speed for his first time in the car. We look forward to seeing what both will do this season aboard our 18 car.
“We already know what Colin Braun can do in a sports car, and it was great to see him jump into our IndyCar last week. He’s jumping into the deep end with little time aboard one of these cars before his first race but we’re confident in his abilities and can’t wait to see him back in the car this weekend in St. Petersburg.”
For Harvey, the opportunity with Coyne is a chance for the 30-year-old to reboot his IndyCar career, which ended prematurely when his two-year stint with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing was halted with three races left on last year’s schedule.
Across all of the drivers who are likely to drive for Coyne in 2024, Harvey — a polesitter and strong performer during his five years with Meyer Shank Racing — will be its benchmark and mentor for most of those who will contest portions of the calendar in Coyne’s cars.
Beyond the first two races, it’s unclear how many other races Braun might do in the No. 51.
IndyCar and sports car veteran Katherine Legge is rumored to be the team’s choice for the Indy 500 and other ovals in the car, but that leaves a lot of races to fill in throughout the 18-race season.