Beyond the Flag
Fansided

IndyCar: In one race at Carlin, Conor Daly ties Max Chilton’s best finish

By Asher Fair

FORT WORTH, TEXAS - JUNE 08: Josef Newgarden of the United States, driver of the #2 Fitzgerald USA Team Penske Chevrolet, leads a pack of cars during the NTT IndyCar Series DXC Technology 600 at Texas Motor Speedway on June 08, 2019 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)
FORT WORTH, TEXAS - JUNE 08: Josef Newgarden of the United States, driver of the #2 Fitzgerald USA Team Penske Chevrolet, leads a pack of cars during the NTT IndyCar Series DXC Technology 600 at Texas Motor Speedway on June 08, 2019 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

Max Chilton has driven for Carlin in 24 IndyCar races. Conor Daly, in his first race driving for the team at Texas Motor Speedway, tied Chilton’s top finish.

Prior to this past Saturday night’s IndyCar race at Texas Motor Speedway, the DXC Technology 600, Carlin’s Max Chilton, who failed to qualify for the 103rd running of the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, decided that he will no longer compete in IndyCar’s oval races.

As a result, Conor Daly was named his replacement behind the wheel of the #59 Chevrolet for this 248-lap race around the four-turn, 1.44-mile (2.317-kilometer) high-banked Texas Motor Speedway oval in Fort Worth, Texas.

Daly qualified for this race in 19th place, and he went on to finish in 11th, one lap off the lead lap.

More from IndyCar

Chilton began driving for Carlin last season, which was the team’s first season competing in IndyCar. In his 24 races driving for the team thus far, his best finish is his 11th place finish in last year’s second race at the Raceway on Belle Isle.

Daly matched Chilton’s top finish in one race.

This is nothing new, however, for the 27-year-old Noblesville, Indiana native, who entered the DXC Technology 600 after driving for Andretti Autosport in the Indy 500 and finishing in 10th place.

Last season, after Gabby Chaves drove the #88 Harding Racing Chevrolet in each of the season’s first 11 races and recorded two top finishes of 14th place, Daly, who has become known as a “super–sub”, drove the #88 Chevrolet to a 13th place finish in the race at Exhibition Place.

Having competed in both of the oval races that have been contested so far this season and recorded the results that he has recorded, Daly sits in ninth place in the oval championship standings.

With Chilton no longer set to compete in any of the season’s remaining three oval races at Iowa Speedway, Pocono Raceway and Gateway Motorsports Park (now World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway), Daly should get some serious consideration as his replacement.

Additionally, Carlin rookie Patricio O’Ward was initially scheduled to compete in the races at Iowa Speedway and World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway, but he is no longer set to do so, so the team will have to fill two seats for both of these races, which should improve Daly’s odds of returning to the team at some point before the season ends.

Next. Top 10 IndyCar drivers of all-time. dark

Will Conor Daly be back behind the wheel of the #59 Carlin Chevrolet for any of the remaining three oval races on the 2019 IndyCar schedule? Carlin would be hard-pressed to find a better driver than he is for any of these three races.

The race at Iowa Speedway is scheduled to take place on Saturday, July 20 while the race at Pocono Raceway is scheduled to take place on Sunday, August 18 and the race at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway is scheduled to take place on Saturday, August 24.