IndyCar: Carlos Munoz, Conor Daly Discuss Their Future At Foyt Racing

Newly minted A.J. Foyt Enterprises drivers Carlos Munoz and Conor Daly spoke Tuesday about joining forces, financial struggles and their IndyCar futures.

Carlos Munoz and Conor Daly didn’t have the easiest road to the 2017 IndyCar season, but now both young drivers will be back – and working together as teammates at A.J. Foyt Enterprises, which confirmed Munoz and Daly as its two drivers on Tuesday.

Munoz (pictured above) will take over the No. 14 entry that previously belonged to Takuma Sato, who ironically is replacing Munoz in the No. 26 at Andretti Autosport. Meanwhile, Daly’s car that was driven this year by Jack Hawksworth will change its number from No. 41 to No. 4.

Both Munoz and Daly joined Beyond the Flag on a conference call shortly after their official hiring to talk about what it’ll be like to work together, the struggles they’ve both had to stay in the sport and what they expect from a revamped Foyt team come March.

Beyond The Flag: Carlos, this is the first time you’ve driven for an organization other than Andretti. What are your general thoughts on changing teams?

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Carlos Munoz: I have been with Andretti for the last five years, so it’s a big step forward for my career. [It’s] going to be a totally different approach from my part, driving with this team. I’m glad to join this team. It’s been around for a long time in IndyCar and [team owner] A.J. [Foyt] is an Indy 500 champion. I’m really honored to be a part of his team. I think it’s a new challenge to my career.

It’s also nice to be teammates with Conor Daly. It’s good to have two young, really fast drivers in the team. We want to drive really good; we want to win races. We’re going to work really well together. A.J., when I went to Houston to join the team and everything, said ‘There’s not a [number] one driver or second driver mentality driver here. All the drivers are the same’…I think as a team they want both drivers to be in the front.

BTF: Conor, your half of the team is actually going to be based in Indianapolis as opposed to Texas, and you’re also getting a new number as well. What do those changes mean for you?

Conor Daly: it’s really cool when [team president] Larry [Foyt] told me that we were going to be based in Indianapolis. Obviously that helps me quite a lot because that’s my hometown. Pretty excited about that.

Then I actually didn’t know we’d be the No. 4 until probably just a few days ago. That was even cooler just because of the history that we have there with my stepdad Doug [Boles], when he was running with Panther Racing, involved there. I grew up watching those guys, Scott Goodyear, Sam Hornish, Tomas Scheckter as well, then Dan Wheldon.

It was a cool number that meant a lot to my family. I have plenty of Pennzoil hats with No. 4 on them from when I was a kid. It’s just going to be cool. It’s just a great relationship, a great opportunity, and I can’t wait to get started.

BTF: This is the first time you’re going to have a full-time teammate. What do you think you’re going to learn from Carlos Munoz?

CD: I think with Carlos, the guy is incredible at Indy. I want to learn from him at Indy and all the other tracks. He’s coming from another team, so there’s always going to be more information to learn. Hopefully we can put it all together and make it work really well.

Carlos has shown just incredible skills at every oval, really all the tracks. He was the highest-finishing Andretti driver in the championship. There’s a lot of experience I can [gain] from him.

BTF: You’re an interesting pair because it’s not one veteran and one young driver. It’s two young drivers pushing each other. Does that make it different for you?

CM: I think the new generation is coming. Tony [Kanaan], Helio [Castroneves] are close to retirement, even though they’re still really competitive. I think IndyCar needs a new generation.

When I signed with Larry, I know, because I was in Houston the whole time, there were a lot of drivers calling him. He asked me which one of those I would like to be on the team. I said Conor, he’s a really young driver, he’s American, really talented, really good his first season, and I think we’re going to push each other a lot. He’s really fast, as well. He can be really fast in all kind of tracks. I think we can work really well together.

CD: Yeah, I mean, I agree. Larry and A.J., they’re embracing the future. That’s one thing that I really want to see even more teams do. I believe there are a lot of other young drivers out there as well, who deserve to be in full-time. I’m happy that we’ve got this opportunity, Carlos and I, at the Foyt Racing team. I think we are absolutely going to push each other.

We want to win so badly. I haven’t experienced it. Carlos has. Carlos has won. It’s one of those things, I just think we are genuinely more hungry. We have to be more hungry to win because we haven’t experienced it yet, or as much as the veterans. They know what it’s like. We’re pushing at the absolute limit and even over the limit just to be perfect and try to get better, try and get better to take advantage of this situation.

It’s not easy to get a seat in IndyCar. It’s not guaranteed for a long time. So we know we have to do our best every time out there. We’re both going to learn from each other. We can only get better together. I think that’s really encouraging for us as we move forward.

BTF: Speaking of not being easy both of you have had battles on the business side. Can we speak to what that’s been like trying to even get to come back next year?

CM: I was really confident. I also had some options with other teams, even though it was not full-time, for a few races, especially at the Indy 500, to continue…I wasn’t worried about my future. I know it was my choice. It was my choice to say, I have to stop bringing the money. When it’s enough, it’s enough.

I would have the backing of my family next year if I was with Andretti, or the sponsor in Colombia would have been in a good position for next year to go to Andretti or another team. I said enough is enough. That was my personal choice.

I think we can show results. We have a really good example with Ed Carpenter. Five years ago no one was saying anything about his team. Now everyone wants to go to that team because they did a really good job with Josef [Newgarden], with the engineers and everything. I think we have a good example.

So, finally I see the light in the tunnel. I have improved. I still have to push a lot to stay in the light of the tunnel. I’m still pushing really hard, to show the team that I really deserve the position I am in right now.

CD: Yeah, man, it’s tough. We need more teams in the series. We need more cars, for sure. We need more drivers out there. But it’s just the current situation, the current state of affairs. I feel very lucky to be in this position where I do have a chance to continue racing.

I think it can only get better, obviously. We’ve got some young guys. We’ve got Josef going to Penske, got Alexander Rossi, got me and Carlos, which is sort of part of that next generation.

I’m excited to try and push and make sure that we as a group of young folks can prove to the other team owners that hey, we can do it. There’s a reason Formula One teams are hiring 17-year-olds and 18-year-olds; it’s because they can do it. It’s the will to really push absolutely at the limit. It’s something that I’m happy to be a part of.

BTF: Carlos, with the departure of Juan Pablo Montoya, you’re the only Colombian driver racing full-time in IndyCar next year. What does that mean to you?

CM: I don’t like this ‘You’re going to be the next Juan Pablo.’ I want to make my own path in motorsport. I think he’s been the best driver Colombia ever had in history. I think I want to have my own path.

They will be disappointed [that Montoya] isn’t a full season IndyCar driver, but it’s what he chose to do because of his son. But they were really happy to have one Colombian representative in the league. I think Colombia has really passionate IndyCar fans.

The last three or four years there have been so many Colombians in IndyCar. Because of the lack of support from Colombia, everywhere, we’ve seen that number going even lower and lower. Right now it’s only one Colombian full-time…I think we have to still fight and make fans more engaged with IndyCar, and the big companies to be more engaged with IndyCar.

But I’m really proud to represent my country. It’s a shame we don’t have the five Colombian drivers we used to have three or four years ago. Now it’s come down to one. I’m ready to show what I can do.

Next: Indy Lights Champion Ed Jones Joins Coyne's IndyCar Squad

The combination of Carlos Munoz and Conor Daly is an interesting one for the 2017 IndyCar season; both drivers have the potential to surprise people. However, as they’ve mentioned, their team is in the process of overhauling and improving. Will they be able to get back on track? This is a story to follow next season for sure.

What do you think of Carlos Munoz and Conor Daly’s chances in the next IndyCar season?

Interview: Carlos Munoz, Conor Daly Discuss Their Future At Foyt

By Brittany Frederick | Nov 17, 2016

Newly minted A.J. Foyt Enterprises drivers Carlos Munoz and Conor Daly spoke Tuesday about joining forces, financial struggles and their IndyCar futures.

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