Conor Daly

Conor James Daly (born December 15, 1991) is an American-Irish professional racing driver who competes part-time in the IndyCar Series, driving the No. 23 Chevrolet for Dreyer & Reinbold Racing. He has previously competed in the NASCAR Cup Series, Xfinity Series, GP2 Series, ARCA Menards Series, Nitrocross and Road to Indy.

At the age of ten, Daly began competing in karting, and he won the World Karting Association Grand Nationals in 2006. The following year, Daly progressed to car racing in 2007 and began racing cars full-time in 2008 in the Skip Barber National Championship, winning first place with five wins in 14 races, and Formula Ford.

On October 10, 2010, Daly was the runner-up at the RoboPong 200 all-star kart event at the New Castle Motorsports Park with teammate Graham Rahal. He finished runner-up to a team driven by Jay Howard and Bill McLaughlin Jr. The 2010 IZOD IndyCar Series runner-up Will Power and ALMS driver Simon Pagenaud were fourth.

In 2009, Daly competed in the Star Mazda Championship for Andersen Racing and finished third in points with a win at New Jersey Motorsports Park. He returned to the series the following year, driving for Juncos Hollinger Racing. Daly became series champion after finishing in the top four positions in each of the 12 races, prior to clinching the title at Mosport International Raceway on August 28, 2010. He also set a series record of nine poles and seven wins en route to his championship.

In 2011, Daly competed part-time in the Indy Lights series with Sam Schmidt Motorsports. His best result of the season was a win at the Grand Prix of Long Beach.

In 2013, Daly returned to Indy Lights with a one-off appearance in the Houston race for Team Moore Racing, finishing third.

Daly at Sprint Race in Spa-Francorchamps 2013

Alongside his commitments in the Indy Lights series, Daly competed in GP3 in 2011 with Carlin Motorsport.

In 2012, Daly continued in GP3 driving for the Lotus GP team. He took his maiden GP3 win in the second race of the season at Barcelona. In the second race at Monaco, Daly made contact with the damaged car of Dmitry Suranovich which launched Daly into a catch fence and forced the race to be red flagged.

For 2013, Daly remained in GP3, racing with the ART Grand Prix team. Daly captured one win at the Valencia Street Circuit feature race and placed third in the championship.

Daly at Silverstone during the 2014 GP2 Series.

Daly competed in the 2013 GP2 Series season season-opener at Sepang International Circuit with Hilmer Motorsport. He finished seventh in the sprint race and scored two championship points.

In 2014, Daly competed with Venezuela GP Lazarus for 18 of the 22 rounds, with a best finish of seventh place in the sprint race at the Hungaroring.

Daly drove in the 2013 Indianapolis 500 for A. J. Foyt Enterprises. He finished the race in 22nd position.

In 2015, Daly subbed in for Rocky Moran Jr. at the Long Beach GP with Dale Coyne Racing. He then returned for the 2015 Indianapolis 500 in the Smithfield Foods "Fueled by Bacon" special run by Schmidt Peterson Motorsports, but was forced to retire before the green flag due to a mechanical failure. Daly replaced James Hinchcliffe for three rounds following Hinchcliffe's injury from a practice crash leading up to the Indy 500. Daly finished sixth at the second race at Detroit.

In 2016, Daly raced the full 2016 IndyCar season for Dale Coyne Racing. He led 56 laps at five different races and finished second in the first race at Detroit for his first career IndyCar podium. For the 2017 season, Daly raced the No. 4 car for A. J. Foyt Enterprises.

Daly lost his ride with Foyt for 2018, but was signed by Coyne for the 2018 Indianapolis 500. His No. 17 car, fielded in conjunction with Thom Burns Racing, was sponsored by the United States Air Force.

In 2019, Andretti Autosport signed Daly to enter the Indianapolis 500, where he finished 10th. On June 4, 2019, Daly replaced Max Chilton at Carlin for the Texas Motor Speedway race, finishing 11th. He replaced Chilton at the remaining oval races for the season with a best result of sixth place at Gateway. On August 29, 2019, Daly was announced as a replacement for Marcus Ericsson for the round at Portland as Ericsson had been called up by Alfa Romeo to be on reserve driver duty at the F1 race at Spa. Daly would also return to Andretti Autosport for the season finale.

On December 9, 2019, it was revealed that Daly was signed to contest the twelve road and street circuit races in the No. 20 Ed Carpenter Racing entry for the 2020 IndyCar Series season. He was also contracted to compete in the 2020 Indianapolis 500 in an additional Ed Carpenter Racing entry. On March 10, 2020, Carlin announced they have signed Daly to compete in the remaining oval races in the No. 59 entry, thus giving Daly full-time status for the 2020 season.

Daly during the 2021 Indy GP

Daly finished sixth at the 2020 season opener at Texas Motor Speedway. He claimed his first IndyCar Series pole position at the first race of a doubleheader at Iowa Speedway, which was the first pole for Carlin as an IndyCar team.

Daly and teammate Rinus VeeKay dominated the first half of the 2021 Indianapolis 500, leading 72 of the first 102 laps. However, damage to Daly's nose cone from an accident involving Graham Rahal on lap 119 prevented him from seriously challenging for the lead again, and he finished thirteenth. Daly led the most laps of any driver during the race, with forty.

In 2022, Daly would run full-time in the No. 20 for Ed Carpenter Racing. His best result that year was a fifth place at the IMS Grand Prix on May 14. He would go on to finish 17th in points.

In June 2023, following a 15th-place finish at the Detroit round, Ed Carpenter Racing parted ways with Daly, with Ryan Hunter-Reay announced as his replacement a day later.

Daly's car in the garage before the 2024 Hy-Vee Milwaukee Mile 250s

Daly ran the No. 24 entry for Dreyer & Reinbold Racing with Cusick Motorsports at the 2024 Indianapolis 500. After starting in 29th position, he finished 10th after switching to an alternate pit strategy. Daly led 22 of the 200 laps and was the race's biggest mover, gaining 19 positions.

After substituting for Jack Harvey in the No. 18 Dale Coyne Racing entry at the second Iowa race, Daly was announced as Agustin Canapino's replacement at Juncos Hollinger Racing for the rest of the season on August 14. Daly achieved his second career IndyCar podium - and the first for Juncos Hollinger Racing - at the first Milwaukee Mile race on August 31, finishing third.

On December 18, 2024, Juncos Hollinger Racing announced that Daly would compete full-time for the team during the 2025 IndyCar Series, piloting the No. 78 he drove at the end of the 2024 season. It was later announced that Daly would drive No. 76 car after signing gas station brand 76 as a sponsor.

Daly would lose his seat at Juncos after 2025, with the team electing to keep his teammate Sting Ray Robb, and sign Rinus VeeKay as his replacement for the 2026 IndyCar Season. Daly remained at Juncos in a development driver capacity, which he coupled with TV work for FOX and entry into the 2026 Indianapolis 500 with Dreyer & Reinbold Racing.

Conor Daly will be racing with Dreyer & Reinbold Racing as number 23, as an Indy-Only entry for the 2026 IndyCar Series. His teammate will be Jack Harvey (racing driver), who will be number 24.

In May 2012, Daly performed a straight line aero test for Force India at Cotswold Airport in Gloucestershire, England.

Daly won the 2012–13 MRF Challenge Formula 2000 Championship in India, claiming four wins and two further podiums.

Daly in his NASCAR debut at Road America in 2018

On May 11, 2018, Daly announced that he would be making his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut at Road America in August, driving the No. 6 Ford Mustang for Roush Fenway Racing with sponsorship from Eli Lilly and Company. Both Daly and his teammate, full-time Roush Xfinity driver Ryan Reed, are Type 1 diabetics, and that was how the deal was put together. Before the race, it was announced that Lilly would not be sponsoring Daly in the race when it was discovered that his father Derek had used a racial slur during an interview in the 1980s.

In 2020, Daly joined Niece Motorsports to make his second NASCAR start, and his first in the NASCAR Truck Series, where he competed in the race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in the team's No. 42 truck. Daly had a $1 bet with Niece teammate and iRacing rival Travis Pastrana on the outcome of the race, which Daly won by virtue of his eighteenth-place finish. Daly returned to Niece Motorsports to drive at Las Vegas for them again in 2021, although this time in the track's February race and in the No. 44.

Daly's No. 50 car at Daytona International Speedway

In September 2022, Daly announced on Twitter that he would make his Cup Series debut for The Money Team Racing in the fall Charlotte race. On December 5, 2022, TMT co-owner Willy Auchmoody revealed in an interview with TobyChristie.com that Daly would return to the team to drive their No. 50 car part-time in the Cup Series in 2023. Daly made the 2023 Daytona 500 starting lineup after finishing seventeenth in Duel 2 of the 2023 Bluegreen Vacations Duels, despite experiencing handling problems during the qualifying race. Daly became the 62nd driver to compete in both the Indy 500 and the Daytona 500. He eventually finished 29th out of the 40 car field. At the time of the race finish, Daly's No. 50 car completed 206 laps of the total 212 laps of the race.

Daly is the son of former Formula One, CART, and IMSA driver Derek Daly, and the stepson of Indianapolis Motor Speedway president Doug Boles.

Daly was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at age 14 in preparation for starting at Skip Barber School. He did not speak often about his diagnosis publicly until recently. Daly was sponsored by Lilly Diabetes in the 2016 and 2018 Indianapolis 500s and was going to again in his Xfinity start at Road America before the controversy involving his father Derek.

Daly appeared on the 30th season of The Amazing Race, teaming with fellow IndyCar driver Alexander Rossi where they finished in fourth place.

Daly co-hosts the motorsport podcast Speed Street with motorsport content creator Chase Holden. It is produced in partnership with Dirty Mo Media and features Daly and Holden interviewing drivers and industry figures across IndyCar and NASCAR, and other notable individuals, including Jaime Alguersuari, Milo Ventimiglia, and Danny Sullivan.

Daly's cousin, Nicola Daly, is an Ireland women's field hockey international and was a member of the squad that won the silver medal at the 2018 Women's Hockey World Cup. She also works as a data engineer for Juncos Racing.

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• Daly did not start the 2015 Indianapolis 500 due to losing an engine during the pace laps.

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

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(key)(Races in bold indicate pole position, Results are overall/class)

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

• Season still in progress

1 Ineligible for series points

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

• Official website
• Conor Daly driver statistics at Racing-Reference
• Conor Daly career summary at DriverDB.com