Young driver grateful for his hometown’s support
By RICHIE HALL
Conor Daly will soon be competing in his 11th Indianapolis 500.
The Noblesville native’s feeling towards the Greatest Spectacle in Racing is universally shared by everyone who has raced in or spectated at the race: “It never gets old.”
Daly spoke to the Reporter last Sunday, a day after officially making the Indy 500 field. He will start the race at the 29th position, in the middle of the 10th row. Once the green flag drops, Daly will attempt to notch his third consecutive top 10 finish at the 500. He placed eighth last year and reached a career-best sixth in 2022.
“I think I’ve gained a lot of experience as a driver,” said Daly. “I feel much more confident here every year. I know what I want. I know what it takes to run at the front now. It’s fun to attack it every time we get here. It’s an amazing experience. It’s at the absolute limit of control and mental capacity, but that’s why we all do it.”
Daly booked his place in the 500 last Saturday during the first day of qualifications. His qualifying speed of 231.243 got him safely inside the top 30, so he avoided the stress of the last-day shootout to fill the final three places in the field of 33.
The only thing that hampered Daly, among a few other drivers, was an engine problem during his last two laps of his second qualifying run.
“We know where we deserve to be after (Saturday),” said Daly. “Just that technical glitch, as other cars did too. We weren’t the only one. I made a mistake on the first run, but we knew we could have been much faster. So, we ran out, second run, and we were going faster until one corner to go. Bit of an issue there.
“Honestly, it just makes it slightly more difficult for us on race day, but we obviously know how long of a race this is. And I’ve gone from the back to the front there several times. We’re going to be able to do the same, I believe, with this car as well.”
Daly has slowly worked his way up the ranks from young newcomer to Indy 500 veteran – although at age 32, he is still young, especially when one considers that some drivers have competed in the race well into their 50s. One of them was A.J. Foyt, who was the first to give Daly a ride in the 500 back in 2013, when Daly was a fresh-faced 21-year-old.
Daly started 31st, working his way up to 22nd by the end of the race. Daly didn’t run in the 2014 Indy 500, but has competed in every race since 2015.
The young driver went through some growing pains during his early years at the Speedway. He qualified in 2015, but didn’t make it to the green flag, as a fire broke out under his car. Daly finished 33rd, sardonically saying he should get a “participation ribbon” at the next day’s victory banquet.
Daly’s next two races ended early, but things began to change at the 2018 race, where he placed 21st. In 2019, Daly qualified 11th, then moved up a spot to place 10th, his first-ever finish in the top 10. “I think we can be proud of what we did today,” Daly said after the race.
In the 2020 race, Daly’s day ended early after a Turn 3 crash. He rebounded in 2021 to place 13th, where he led 40 laps, the most of any driver during the race. Daly’s best place finish came in 2022, when he placed sixth, five seconds behind winner Marcus Ericsson. In 2023, Daly was just 1.88 seconds behind winner Josef Newgarden.
“It’s a tough business to be a part of,” said Daly. “You’re forgotten easily. You’re only as good as your last race, a lot of people say. If you don’t have the momentum on your side, you can get absolutely just dropped like a rock and that’s brutal.”
Daly got a reminder of that right after last year’s race, when – just one week after his 500 finish – he was let go from Ed Carpenter Racing after a 15th place finish at Detroit. He finished the season with stints for Meyer Shank Racing and Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, then signed on with Dreyer & Reinbold Racing; he will make his debut with that team at the Speedway.
“Dennis (Reinbold) just called me,” said Daly. “He called me two years ago, but I was already signed somewhere else. He’s always been close. He just called me and wanted me to drive. That’s the most easy thing possible. I’ve known Dennis since I was a kid because I’ve been in this sport for so long and I’ve been around this sport for so long.”
He’s been around the Speedway for a long time, and as an Indiana native, Daly has become a fan favorite over the years.
“It means so much to have the support here,” said Daly. “This is my hometown. It’s awesome to be representing for Indiana, for where I grew up in Noblesville. I’m proud to be an Indiana kid, Indiana guy. It would certainly mean the world to me to win the event for all those folks that shout our name and cheer for us.”