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IndyCar: Conor Daly to replace Max Chilton, drive for Carlin at Texas

By Asher Fair

INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - MAY 24: Conor Daly of USA, driver of the #25 Andretti Autosport Honda prepares to drive during Carb Day for the 103rd Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on May 24, 2019 in Indianapolis, Indiana (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - MAY 24: Conor Daly of USA, driver of the #25 Andretti Autosport Honda prepares to drive during Carb Day for the 103rd Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on May 24, 2019 in Indianapolis, Indiana (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images) /
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Conor Daly is set to replace Max Chilton at Carlin in this Saturday night’s IndyCar race, the DXC Technology 600, at Texas Motor Speedway.

Carlin’s Max Chilton is no longer set to compete in the IndyCar oval races, and four of the remaining nine races on the 2019 schedule are oval races, leaving the seat of the #59 Chevrolet open for nearly half of the season’s remaining races.

Conor Daly, who just drove for Andretti Autosport in the 103rd running of the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway last month, is set to replace the 27-year-old Briton behind the wheel of the #59 Chevrolet in the first of these four races, this Saturday night’s DXC Technology 600 at Texas Motor Speedway.

Here is what Daly had to say about the opportunity to drive in this 248-lap race around the four-turn, 1.44-mile (2.317-kilometer) high-banked Texas Motor Speedway oval in Fort Worth, Texas, according to IndyCar.

"“I want to thank everyone at Carlin and Gallagher for the opportunity to get back in a race car at Texas. I thoroughly enjoyed working with Carlin back in 2011 as I started my European racing journey, and to now drive for them in the NTT IndyCar Series is pretty special. I look forward to being able to contribute to the team as best I can.”"

Here is what Chilton had to say about the matter, according to IndyCar.

"“My focus remains on getting the best possible results for the No. 59 Gallagher Carlin crew, and I will be helping the team and Conor in any way I can to that end.”"

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Daly, who is coming off of a solid 10th place finish in this year’s Indy 500, has competed in 44 races over the course of his IndyCar career, which began in the 2013 season. Two of these 44 races took place at Texas Motor Speedway. He finished in seventh at the track in the 2017 season after he was involved in a massive wreck there with Josef Newgarden in the 2016 season.

As for the other three races that Chilton is set to miss throughout the remainder of the 2019 season, replacement drivers have not yet been named, but it would not be surprising to see Daly return to Carlin for at least one of them, especially since they must also replace rookie Patricio O’Ward in the races at Iowa Speedway and Gateway Motorsports Park (now World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway), two races in which he was originally slated to compete but no longer will.

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Conor Daly and the rest of the IndyCar field are scheduled to compete in the DXC Technology 600 this Saturday night beginning at 8:45 p.m. ET. This race is set to be broadcast live on NBC Sports Network from Texas Motor Speedway beginning at 8:00 p.m. ET.