Dale Coyne Racing signs INDY NXT champion Nikita Johnson for 2027 season
EDDIE KALEGI - STAFF WRITER
One more question regarding the 2027 NTT INDYCAR Series field has been answered, and it's a seat that will be occupied by the defending INDY NXT by Firestone champion.
18 year-old Floridian Nikita Johnson, who earned two wins and nine podiums en route to the secondary series title last season for the Ed Carpenter Racing affiliated Cape Motorsports this year, has inked a deal to race for Dale Coyne Racing next season.
DCR has lacked stability in recent seasons, using 7 different full-time drivers (and 16 drivers overall) since the start of the 2022 season, with just four podiums and a best points finish of 14th with Rinus VeeKay during the span.
Johnson will be the youngest driver in the INDYCAR field in the spring, joining a team that opted to part ways with Romain Grosjean and Rookie of the Year Dennis Hauger this offseason, with the latter already signing to race for A.J. Foyt Racing in 2027.
"Probably oval driving, everyone wants to win the Indianapolis 500," Johnson told our lead INDYCAR reporter Jeffrey Hrunka at Laguna Seca in September when asked what skills he believes are most critical for INDY NXT drivers to have to get opportunities at the next level.
"But you also have to be a good road course and street course driver," Johnson continued. "You know, that's the hard thing to find a driver that can do all three and I think I've pretty much showed that I can do relatively good at all three."
Johnson's 2026 statistics back up that claim, as he scored a street course victory at St. Petersburg to open the season, a road course victory at Barber later that month, and had a pair of top fives with an average finish of 4.7 across three oval starts, with a best finish of second at Nashville in July.
Three full-time slots on the 2027 NTT INDYCAR Series grid remain vacant, as Dale Coyne Racing seeks its second driver, while Juncos-Hollinger Racing is still yet to fill either of their seats for next season.
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