IndyCar: Why Conor Daly deserves a full-time ride in 2018

By Asher Fair | Jan 12, 2018

AVONDALE, AZ - APRIL 29: Conor Daly, driver of the #4 A.J. Foyt Enterprises Chevrolet walks to driver introductions before the Desert Diamond West Valley Phoenix Grand Prix at Phoenix International Raceway on April 29, 2017 in Avondale, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /

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AVONDALE, AZ – APRIL 29: Conor Daly, driver of the #4 A.J. Foyt Enterprises Chevrolet (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /

Among notable drivers without full-time rides in the 2018 IndyCar season is Conor Daly. Perhaps no one deserves a ride more than he does.

Prior to the 2016 season, Conor Daly, 26, who hails from Noblesville, Indiana, had driven periodically in IndyCar since 2013. In 2013, he raced in the Indianapolis 500 for A.J. Foyt Enterprises. He did not land a ride in the 2014 season, but he returned in the 2015 season.

In the 2015 season, he drove at Long Beach for Dale Coyne Racing before driving for Schmidt Peterson Motorsports in the Indianapolis 500. However, he lost an engine on the pace laps and did not end up racing in the 99th running of the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing”.

Following the Indianapolis 500, he ended up driving in three more races for Schmidt Peterson Motorsports as a substitute for the injured James Hinchcliffe.

In his lone 2013 race and his first three races of the 2015 season, Daly finished no higher than 17th place, a finish he recorded at Long Beach. He then finished in 6th place at Belle Isle and 12th place at Toronto before sitting out the remainder of the 2015 season.