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IndyCar: Historical significance of Conor Daly’s Carlin deal

By Asher Fair

AUSTIN, TEXAS - FEBRUARY 11: Conor Daly, driver of the #20 U.S. Air Force Chevrolet, prepares to drive during NTT IndyCar Series testing at Circuit of The Americas on February 11, 2020 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
AUSTIN, TEXAS - FEBRUARY 11: Conor Daly, driver of the #20 U.S. Air Force Chevrolet, prepares to drive during NTT IndyCar Series testing at Circuit of The Americas on February 11, 2020 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images) /
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Conor Daly’s Carlin deal for the 2020 IndyCar season makes him the 21st full-time driver, a total that hasn’t been seen in nearly two decades.

As rumored last month, Conor Daly signed with Carlin to compete in the four non-Indianapolis 500 oval races on the 17-race 2020 IndyCar schedule. He is slated to drive the #59 Chevrolet, one of the 24 confirmed full-time cars, in these four races. Max Chilton had already been confirmed as the driver of the #59 Chevrolet in the other 13 events.

Daly had also already signed a 13-race deal to compete for Ed Carpenter Racing in the 12 road and street course races behind the wheel of the #20 Chevrolet, also one of the 24 confirmed full-time cars, and in the Indy 500 behind the wheel of a third car for the team.

So his deal with Carlin effectively made him a full-time driver for the first time since the 2017 season when he drove the #14 Chevrolet for A.J. Foyt Enterprises. As a result, there are now 21 confirmed full-time drivers for the 2020 season.

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Aside of Daly, there are five full-time drivers at Andretti Autosport, three at Team Penske, three at Chip Ganassi Racing, two at Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, two at Dale Coyne Racing, two at Arrow McLaren SP, one at Ed Carpenter Racing, one at A.J. Foyt Enterprises and one at Meyer Shank Racing.

This total of 21 full-time drivers is the highest since the NTT IndyCar Series was officially established in 1996 as the Indy Racing League. As of now, the highest single-season driver total to compete in every race is 20. This mark was set back in the 17-race 2010 season.

There have been seasons at American open-wheel racing’s highest level to feature more than 20 drivers who competed in every race on the schedule, but you have to go all the way back nearly two decades ago to the 2001 CART season to find one. A total of 21 drivers competed in every one of the 20 races on the 2001 schedule.

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Of course, it is entirely possible that not all 21 drivers will compete in every race on the 2020 IndyCar schedule, especially given the fact that Indy 500 Bump Day is likely to result in disappointment for somebody with more than 33 projected entries in the field.

But the fact is, the 2020 season is lined up to feature the highest number of full-time competitors in a long, long time, and that speaks to the fact that the series is clearly trending upward.