Conor Daly will not be returning to AJ Foyt Enterprises in the 2018 IndyCar season. He spent just one season driving for the team.
Conor Daly, 25, is reportedly out at AJ Foyt Enterprises as the driver of the #4 Chevrolet in the 2018 IndyCar season after spending just one season with the team. His 2017 season with the team was his second full-time season in the sport.
This past season, Daly finished in 18th place in the drivers standings, the lowest position among full-time drivers, but that was due in large part to the fact that the team’s Chevrolet cars simply were not very competitive at all throughout the year. His teammate Carlos Munoz, who is also likely on his way out from AJ Foyt Enterprises this offseason, finished just two spots ahead of him in the standings in 16th.
Daly came to AJ Foyt Enterprises before the 2017 season after a solid rookie season driving for Dale Coyne Racing in the #18 Honda car. In his rookie season, he also finished in 18th place in the drivers standings, but he racked up five top 6 finishes in 16 races, including a career-high 2nd place finish at Belle Isle, where he has recorded three of his six career top 6 finishes, along the way.
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As referenced above, Daly also finished in 18th place in the drivers standings this past season, but he only racked up four top 10 finishes in 17 races in doing so, and his best finish was just a 5th place result at Gateway. That finish is currently his lone top 5 finish on an oval track
The lone confirmed driver for AJ Foyt Enterprises in the 2018 IndyCar season is Tony Kanaan, who left Chip Ganassi Racing after four seasons with the team after this past season. It appears likely that AJ Foyt Enterprises will once again “clean house” for the second offseason in a row. In the 2016 season, Takuma Sato and Jack Hawksworth drove for the team before they moved on and the team hired Conor Daly and Carlos Munoz. For the 2018 season, the most likely driver lineup scenario for the team includes Kanaan and someone not named Daly or Munoz.
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Who will replace Conor Daly in the #4 AJ Foyt Enterprises Chevrolet in the 2018 season? That remains to be seen, but Matheus Leist is the most likely option as of now. And where will Daly end up, if anywhere, next season in IndyCar? That, too, remains to be seen, but Ed Carpenter Racing is certainly a good option.