Will the success had by Conor Daly in 2016 transfer over from Dale Coyne Racing to AJ Foyt Enterprises this season?
Ordinarily, an 18th place finish in the Verizon IndyCar Series would be looked upon as a down year for the average IndyCar driver. However, that was not at all the case for Conor Daly, the 24-year-old rookie from Noblesville, Indiana, a season ago.
Daly, now 25, came into the 2016 IndyCar season having driven in just six IndyCar races over the previous three seasons. He hopped into the cockpit of a Dale Coyne Racing Honda-powered machine at St. Petersburg just looking to log some valuable experience in his first race as a full-time driver.
He did far more than gain experience running in the pack. He gained experience running in front of the pack in front of all the big-name drivers, as he led 15 of the race’s 110 laps, the third highest total among all drivers in the field.
Although he only finished in 13th place in the race, it was pretty clear that this impressive drive was no fluke. And, in fact, it was not. Despite not having a full-time teammate to bounce information and data off of, Daly continued his rookie season success with a career-high 6th place finish at the Grand Prix of Indianapolis after leading 14 of the race’s 82 laps, the second highest total among all drivers in the field. Only the race winner Simon Pagenaud led more (57).
Daly continued logging solid results all season long, proving that he really could compete with some of the best drivers in the sport. A 2nd place and a 6th finish in the Belle Isle doubleheader showed just that.
While so much was going well for Daly, he did experience a terrible crash at Texas, one of the worst the series has seen in a long time.
It is how he bounced back from this wreck that makes Daly’s 2016 all the better. A 6th place finish at Mid-Ohio and a 4th place finish at Watkins Glen following the accident show just that. The 2016 season showed just how good Daly could be even when driving for one of the series smallest teams, and it showed how good he is even when faced with adversity.
What’s Next?
Now driving for AJ Foyt Enterprises in a Chevrolet car with a full-time teammate in Colombian rising star Carlos Munoz, Daly looks poised to continue his success from the 2016 season in the 2017 season. Keep in mind that in the five seasons since Chevrolet rejoined the series as an engine manufacturer, the drivers of the Chevrolet cars have won 57 of the 84 races, a large advantage over the drivers of the Honda cars. This should definitely bode well for Daly moving forward.
So what can we expect from Daly this season? The one thing that should remain the same are his high results. His five top 6 finishes in 2016 should only be improved on this season. After all, he is more experienced now and has proven to himself that he can finish races towards the front of the field.
One thing that could really change for Daly for the better is his consistency. Despite such an impressive rookie season, there were five races during which Daly did not finish. These races accounted for over 30% of the season’s races. Now driving for a team with more resources and being a teammate with a fellow full-time driver, Daly should be able to string together some more consistent results.
Again, an 18th place finish in the Verizon IndyCar Series championship standings is nothing to write home about. But take into account what went into that 18th place finish for Conor Daly in his rookie season. There are really nothing but positives that can be taken from it. Those positives can definitely transfer over to 2017.
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Daly’s strong efforts in 2016 should definitely carry over into 2017 with his new team. It will be interesting to see how well Daly can perform in a new car with a different engine with a new owner and a real teammate. Based on how well he did last season, seeing him run up at the front this season should not shock anybody.