IndyCar: Conor Daly looking to prove himself worthy of a full-time ride

By Jacob LeBlanc | Jul 2, 2019

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - MAY 24: IndyCar driver Conor Daly appears at the SiriusXM Radio stage on Indy 500 Carb Day at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on May 24, 2019 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images for SiriusXM) /

Conor Daly, one of the bright young stars of the motorsports world, is still looking to prove himself and find funding to fulfill his goal of landing a full-time ride in IndyCar.

I was able to attend this past weekend’s Sahlen’s Six Hours at the Glen at Watkins Glen International and spend the weekend at the track. I was lucky enough to see Conor Daly while I was walking through the paddock one night after he raced in the Lamborghini Super Trofeo race.

The 27-year-old Noblesville, Indiana native was nice enough to answer a few of my questions I had for him, and we had an awesome conversation with him for about 20 minutes.

Daly has raced in only two IndyCar races so far this season, the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the DXC Technology 600 at Texas Motor Speedway.

In the Indy 500, he drove for Andretti Autosport and recorded a 10th place finish. In the DXC Technology 600, he raced for Carlin, a smaller team with a lot fewer resources than Andretti Autosport, but he still ended up with an impressive 11th place finish.

The first question I asked him was if he thought his 10th place finish at the Indy 500 could potentially turn some heads and maybe lead to more opportunities to have a ride in IndyCar. He responded by saying that it is really important to bring in your own money, which is something that he is struggling with at the moment.

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Without a sponsor that follows him and without a ton of funding at the moment, its difficult for him to find rides, especially for the entire 17-race season.

Another question I asked him was since he is racing in an IMSA support series in Lamborghini Super Trofeo so much, is he interested in sports car racing if a full-time IndyCar ride doesn’t present itself in the near future?

He did say that racing in a sports car series such as IMSA would be something that would interest him, and in the end, he just wants to race in something that he can make a living from.

Daly has run in eight IMSA Weathertech SportsCar Championship races throughout his career. He has recorded three podium finishes and also a fourth place finish in the 2017 Rolex 24 at Daytona International Speedway. So if he were to switch over to a series such as IMSA on a full-time basis, it is something that he is at least familiar with.

While talking to Daly, the biggest point he made and repeated a few times is that the most important thing is to have your own money to race in a series such as IndyCar, which is where he has made it is main goal to continue his racing career.

Another thing I noticed while taking to him was how nice of a guy he is. When he came over to talk to me, he had just finished debriefing with his team about his third place finish in the Friday night Super Trofeo race, and he had to have been tired after a day full of practice sessions, qualifying, and racing. He easily could have just gone into his team’s trailer and not talked to anyone else.

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But when he was done talking to his team, he walked right up to my family and I and after I asked him if he minded if I asked him a few questions, he seemed more than willing to answer them. I really appreciated that he talked with me and I wish him nothing but the best in his search for a full-time IndyCar ride.