Ranking IndyCar’s rising stars to watch in 2026

Every sport has its ‘stars of tomorrow’ for everyone to get hyped about, and the same is true in the IndyCar Series.

The criteria for this list is a bit different than our NASCAR counterpart in that we’re not dipping down into the lower categories, which would have been Indy NXT, to showcase prospects with potential to be a contender on the grid of North America’s premier open-wheel championship. Instead, we looked at the current grid and ranked young talents aged 25 and under without victories likely to make an impact in the short- and long-term. Some names you might already know, as for the others, you will.

1. Dennis Hauger (22) – #18 Dale Coyne Racing

Dennis Hauger, Dale Coyne Racing Honda

A multi-time race winner in Formula 2, Hauger made the switch to Indy NXT last year with Andretti Global and thumped the field with six wins, 11 podiums and eight poles en route to the championship.

The Norwegian already came into the paddock with a significant amount of hype off his success in the junior formula ranks in Europe, which included an F3 title and being part of the Red Bull Junior Team. Now, though, having proven that thunderous pace also worked in IndyCar’s developmental category, he’s poised to do it at the next level.

With no seat available at Andretti Global’s IndyCar program in the step up, Hauger was loaned out to Dale Coyne Racing for this year. Set to remain involved, Andretti Global entered a technical partnership with Coyne to assist Hauger’s maiden season. There are pieces in place for him to make an instant impact with Coyne, who impressed last year with Rinus VeeKay – in combination with veteran engineer Michael Cannon. And with Hauger in position to eventually move to Andretti permanently in the near future, he could also be a significant problem for the field for years to come.

2. Marcus Armstrong (25) – #66 Meyer Shank Racing

Marcus Armstrong, Meyer Shank Racing

It’s wild to think last year was only the second full-time season for Armstrong in IndyCar, especially considering he has 46 starts. However, for a guy that claimed top rookie honors in 2023 despite not making a single oval start, he continues to inch closer to the front of the field.

Known for stout pace on road and street circuits (and being a four-time F2 winner in his own right), the New Zealand native is starting to also figure out ovals, as recognized with his third-place run last season in the second act of a doubleheader weekend at Iowa Speedway. It proved to be the best result in a year where he snagged 11 top 10s across 17 races and finished eighth in the championship.

Considering Meyer Shank Racing’s technical alliance with Chip Ganassi Racing, the team that Armstrong drove for in 2023-24 and has won four of the last five IndyCar titles with Alex Palou, the momentum will likely only ramp up.

3. David Malukas (24) – #12 Team Penske

David Malukas, A. J. Foyt Enterprises, Will Power, Team Penske

If it feels like Lil’ Dave has been around forever, well, it’s because he has. No one on this list, though, has likely undergone the same amount of drama as Malukas.

A runner-up for the Indy NXT title in 2021 to Kyle Kirkwood, now a five-time IndyCar race winner with Andretti Global, Malukas has shown flashes of being a firestarter since stepping up to North America’s premier open-wheel champion the following year. A two-year run with Dale Coyne Racing to start his IndyCar journey delivered memorable podium runs in each visit at Gateway, as well as a strong fourth-place showing at Texas Motor Speedway (in ‘23).

The optimism of what could be upon joining Arrow McLaren ahead of the 2024 season quickly turned into a nightmare after Malukas suffered significant injuries in a mountain biking accident just a few weeks before the campaign was set to start. Ultimately, he missed too many races and was released by the team at the end of April. He managed to claw back into a ride with Meyer Shank Racing by June and finished out the last 10 races, highlighted by a gritty sixth-place run on the bumpy Streets of Toronto.

Malukas’s resolve was enough to get the attention of the paddock and he found himself in an AJ Foyt Racing machine last year that also had a technical alliance with Team Penske. And all he did was go out and finish runner-up in the Indianapolis 500, a brightspot on a year where he captured four additional top 10s.

Considering Malukas, who has 61 career starts, is now at Team Penske, replacing the legendary Will Power in the No. 12 Chevrolet-powered entry, the pressure has never been higher but the opportunity also never greater.

Certainly, in the short-term, Malukas has every chance to make the best chance to make the greatest impact of anyone on this list. It’s just a matter of taking all his lessons learned both on and off the track, and applying them.

4. Kyffin Simpson (21) – #8 Chip Ganassi Racing

Kyffin Simpson, Chip Ganassi Racing

Simpson probably wouldn’t have made it beyond an honorable mention on this list a year ago, but that goes to show how much he grew during his sophomore campaign in 2025.

The Caymanian has enjoyed the benefits being with Chip Ganassi Racing, an organization that has been hitting at a near-perfect rate for several years now, as well as multi-time champion teammates in Scott Dixon and Alex Palou. To Simpson’s credit, though, he dedicated himself to the hard stuff and progressed his development by running – and winning – in the Asian Le Mans Series, European Le Mans Series, and occasional IMSA appearances.

All of that experience built a recipe for a stronger showing this past year with his first podium (Toronto), three top fives and six top 10s. Snakebit by strategy a few times, his 17th-place finish in the overall standings could’ve easily been improved by at least five more spots.

With Simpson going into his third year, another step in his development could come by finding the top step of the podium.

5. Louis Foster (22) – #45 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing

Louis Foster, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing

It says a lot about a driver when they’ve won in every single category they’ve ever competed in, which is exactly what Foster achieved on his path to IndyCar.

The 2024 Indy NXT champion, Foster’s maiden season in the step up to IndyCar wasn’t as electrifying as he’d likely have anticipated. While he demonstrated phenomenal single-lap pace by earning his first career pole at Road America, the best finish of the year ended up being 11th (twice – Indy GP, Road America). In many ways, he went as Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (RLL) went, ending up 23rd in the championship while veteran teammate Graham Rahal finishing just four spots higher (19th) in the overall standings.

RLL appears to have made significant strides, with former IndyCar President Jay Frye now nearly a year into steering the ship as the team’s president. They also signed former Formula 1 driver Mick Schumacher, son of seven-time F1 champion Michael Schumacher, over the offseason to replace Devlin DeFrancesco.

If things can align on the engineering side to improve the damper program, Foster has the mental makeup to convert his experience into speed similar to move forward. There’s a good chance, though, it will take time.

6. Caio Collet (23) – #4 A. J. Foyt Enterprises

Caio Collet, AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet

Collet possesses many qualities that are intriguing as he steps up to IndyCar in 2026.

The 23-year-old Brazilian, who will drive AJ Foyt Racing’s No. 4 Chevrolet-powered entry, is fresh off a sophomore Indy NXT campaign where he proved to be the only true threat to Hauger. He took three wins and finished on the podium nine times over 14 rounds en route to being vice champion. In 2023, he won one race and landed on the podium six times, and he also made one Formula E appearance at Portland International Raceway with Nissan.

A former French Formula 4 champion, Collet has built a reputation as being quiet and calculating. The debriefs usually see engineers and teammates doing all the talking, while he sits in the background taking notes and studying onboard footage. That cerebral approach makes him a menace on the track, and, in many ways, gives off a demeanor reminiscent of the late Gil de Ferran, a two-time Indy car champion and 2003 Indianapolis 500 winner.

Collet’s presence adds to a rookie battle alongside Hauger and Schumacher that is one of the most captivating in years. What happens beyond it, though, is where he could surprise people along the way.

Honorable mentions

Nolan Siegel, Arrow McLaren

It would be a disservice to not note the likes of Nolan Siegel (21) and Sting Ray Robb (24), especially considering how quickly a driver can go from being an afterthought to a mainstay in just one season.

There are no illusions, though, Siegel is on the hot seat entering a contract year with Arrow McLaren and needs to perform. Just two top 10s last season, the expectation is a lot higher when teammates are winning races and finishing top five in the championship. Siegel has won races in every junior category that leads to IndyCar, and also found victory in the 24 Hours of Le Mans with an LMP2 class win in 2024. There’s no doubting the potential; he just needs to fill it, and fast, as he enters his second full-time season.

As for Robb, it’s been an uphill climb since becoming the 2022 Indy NXT championship runner-up. He has raced for three different teams – Dale Coyne Racing, AJ Foyt Racing, and Juncos Hollinger Racing (JHR) – in as many years, and a best finish of ninth (twice – Gateway, 2024; Long Beach, 2025) to show for it. The best thing he has going for him going into his fourth season is the fact he’s going to have stability by returning to JHR for this upcoming season. It’ll be interesting to see if that proves to be a pivotal factor as he tries to move forward up the grid.