Dale Coyne Racing

Dale Coyne raced smaller open-cockpit cars in the late 1970s and early 1980s before pursuing a career in the fledgling CART series. He attempted to qualify for each CART race in 1984, which earned him a CART franchise for the following season. In 1986, the team fielded the Coyne DC-1, a modified 1984 Lola Indy car fitted with a Chevrolet stock-block engine. The team reverted to a customer March chassis the following year, with Coyne doing all the driving while relying on one of the only stock-block Chevrolet engines in the field due to budget constraints.

After utilising the 1986 Rookie of the Year Dominic Dobson for one race in 1988 with little improvement, Coyne concluded the team needed better equipment. In 1989 the team upgraded to a pair of 1988 Lola-Cosworth cars for Italian pay drivers Guido Dacco and Fulvio Ballabio. Coyne retired as a driver after 1988 to focus on developing younger talent, though he contested several more races as a driver through 1991.

In 1990, Dean Hall drove a new Lola car with full-time sponsorship from the Japanese [insight] group. Chief mechanic Bernie Myers ensured a well-prepared entry that earned the team its first start at the Indianapolis 500 and scored 4 points. Both Coyne and Myers received the Clint Brawner Mechanical Excellence Award — Coyne at the 1990 Indy 500, Myers at the 1992 race.

Throughout the following years, DCR relied heavily on pay drivers to finance its racing. Coyne earned a reputation for developing young talent: drivers who had their first CART ride with the team included eventual series champion Paul Tracy, Indy Lights champion Éric Bachelart, and eventual Le Mans winner André Lotterer. Despite a lack of competitive results across its first two decades, the team was a consistent full-time entrant year after year.

Ex-Formula 1 driver Roberto Moreno broke through in 1996 with the team's first podium finish, at the 1996 U.S. 500. Michel Jourdain Jr. drove from 1997 to 1999, earning the STP Most Improved Driver award from his peers in 1997. In 2000, Tarso Marques led the team with 17 starts under a deal with Swift Engineering for a factory-supported Swift chassis. Takuya Kurosawa drove 8 starts that year, including an inspired run at Long Beach where he became the first Japanese driver to lead a CART race before an accident ended his hopes of a top-10 finish. Alex Barron ran as high as second in Australia before an engine failure, and led at Fontana before again retiring with an engine failure.

The team contested only two races in 2001 following a short-lived partnership with the Project Racing Group. In 2002, Coyne re-emerged to field a one-off Team St. George entry for Darren Manning at the Rockingham 500, resulting in a 9th place. Later that season, André Lotterer received his only Champ Car start in Mexico.

DCR returned to full-time competition in 2003 with six drivers, veteran Gualter Salles achieving a best result of 6th. The 2004 season brought improved sponsorship from American Medical Response and Yoke TV; Oriol Servià achieved a podium at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca and finished 10th in the standings — the team's best season to that point. In 2007, Bruno Junqueira recorded three consecutive podium finishes at Zolder, Assen, and Surfers Paradise on his way to seventh in the championship.

DCR entered the IndyCar Series in 2008. Drivers Bruno Junqueira and Mario Moraes recorded five combined top-10 finishes and both led laps in the Indianapolis 500.

Justin Wilson finished third at the opening 2009 race at St. Petersburg — the team's first IRL podium. On July 5, 2009, Wilson won the Camping World Grand Prix at the Glen at Watkins Glen International, the team's maiden victory after 25 years of competition. Wilson dominated the race, leading 49 of 60 laps. It was Coyne's 558th career start as an owner or driver.

For 2010, Boy Scouts of America was announced as the primary sponsor of the #19 car. Milka Duno drove the #18 Citgo car for the full season, achieving a best finish of 19th, and failed to qualify for the Indy 500. British driver Alex Lloyd in the #19 car won Rookie of the Year, finishing 16th in points with a best finish of fourth in the 2010 Indianapolis 500. British rookie James Jakes took over the #18 for 2011; four-time Champ Car champion Sébastien Bourdais was signed to the #19 for road course races only due to Le Mans Series commitments, with Lloyd covering oval rounds. Jakes failed to qualify for the 2011 Indianapolis 500; Lloyd qualified and finished 19th.

In January 2012, Honda and Honda Performance Development announced they would power a two-car effort for DCR with their new 2.2-litre turbocharged V6 IndyCar engine. Justin Wilson returned to the team alongside the renewed Honda partnership and engineer Bill Pappas. DCR scored its second win and first oval win with Wilson at Texas Motor Speedway in 2012.

In 2013, Mike Conway won at the Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix Race 1 in his first start for the team, with Wilson finishing third — the first time DCR had two cars on the podium. Ana Beatriz had driven Conway's car for the first five races of that season. Carlos Huertas won at the Grand Prix of Houston in 2014 — his first career IndyCar win. Huertas returned to the #18 in 2015 but an ear problem forced him to withdraw mid-season. Pippa Mann drove the remaining oval races and Rodolfo González drove the remaining road courses.

In 2016, rookie Conor Daly drove the #18 all season, finishing 18th in the standings. The #19 entry was shared across the season by Luca Filippi, RC Enerson, Pippa Mann, and Gabby Chaves.

For 2017, Sébastien Bourdais drove the #18, rejoined by engineers Craig Hampson (with whom he had won his four Champ Car titles at Newman-Haas Racing) and Olivier Boisson. Bourdais won at St. Petersburg and finished second at Long Beach, holding an early-season points lead. Ed Jones — 2016 Indy Lights champion — drove the #19 and finished 3rd at the Indianapolis 500, earning Rookie of the Year. Bourdais' season ended during Indianapolis 500 qualifying when a severe accident left him with multiple pelvic fractures and a fractured hip. James Davison replaced him for the 500; Esteban Gutiérrez was signed as a substitute for subsequent rounds until Bourdais returned at Gateway. Jones departed for Chip Ganassi Racing at year's end.

In February 2018, former KVSH Racing co-owners Jimmy Vasser and James Sullivan partnered with Coyne to field Bourdais as Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser-Sullivan. Pietro Fittipaldi — grandson of Emerson Fittipaldi and 2017 Formula V8 3.5 champion — was signed to the #19 alongside Zachary Claman DeMelo, but Fittipaldi was injured during qualifying for the World Endurance Championship 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps. Haas F1 Team development driver Santino Ferrucci debuted at the Detroit Grand Prix. Bourdais' best result in 2018 was a podium at Barber Motorsports Park.

Santino Ferrucci drove the full 2019 season for DCR in a David Yurman-sponsored #19, achieving a best finish of 9th at the opening race.

In December 2021, the team announced Takuma Sato would race full-time for 2022 in the #51 car, replacing the outgoing Romain Grosjean. David Malukas drove the #18 in partnership with HMD Motorsports. Malukas returned for 2023, while Sting Ray Robb made his IndyCar debut in the #51 car.

In 1998, Coyne designed and built Route 66 Raceway in Joliet, Illinois — a drag racing facility that drew the attention of Indianapolis Motor Speedway CEO Tony George. George and Coyne, together with International Speedway Corporation, expanded the facility and built Chicagoland Speedway. Coyne served as president through its construction and opening season and on its management committee until ISC's buyout in 2007.

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