At the age of 10, he began competing in karting, and in 2006, he won the World Karting Association Grand Nationals. He progressed to car racing in 2007 and began racing cars full-time in 2008 in the Skip Barber National Championship, winning first place with 5 wins in 14 races, and Formula Ford.
On October 10, 2010, Daly finished 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 4th.[1]
Star Mazda Championship
In 2009, he 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 in 2010, driving for Juncos Racing.[2] He became series champion after finishing in the top four positions in each of the twelve races, prior to clinching the title at Mosport International Raceway on August 28, 2010.[3] He also set a series record of 9 poles and 7 wins en route to his championship.
For 2012, Daly continued in GP3 driving, for the Lotus GP team.[7] He took his maiden GP3 win in the second race of the season at Barcelona.[8] In the second race at Monaco, he made contact with the damaged car of Dmitry Suranovich which launched Daly into a catch fence and forced the race to be red flagged.[9]
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.
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,[11] but was forced to retire before the green flag due to a mechanical failure.[12] He replaced James Hinchcliffe for 3 rounds following Hinchcliffe's injury from a practice crash leading up to the Indy 500.[13] He finished sixth at the second race at Detroit.
Full-time with Coyne and Foyt (2016–2017)
In 2016, Daly raced the full 2016 IndyCar season for Dale Coyne Racing.[14] He led 56 laps at 5 different races and finished 2nd in the first race at Detroit for his first career IndyCar podium. For the 2017 season, Daly raced the number 4 car for A. J. Foyt Enterprises.[15]
In 2019, Andretti Autosport signed Daly to enter the Indianapolis 500, where he finished tenth. On June 4, 2019, he replaced Max Chilton at Carlin for the Texas Motor Speedway race, finishing 11th.[17] Daly would replace Chilton at the remaining oval races for the season, with a best result of 6th 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.[18] Daly would also return to Andretti Autosport for the season finale.
Split schedule with Carpenter and Carlin (2020–2021)
On December 9, 2019, it was revealed that, for the 2020 IndyCar Series season, Daly was signed to contest the 12 road and street circuit races in the No. 20 Ed Carpenter Racing entry. Daly was also contracted to compete in the 2020 Indianapolis 500 in an additional Ed Carpenter Racing entry.[19] 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.[20]
Daly finished 6th 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 13th. Daly led the most laps of any driver during the race, with 40.[21]
Full-time with Carpenter (2022–2023)
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,[22] with Ryan Hunter-Reay announced as his replacement a day later.[23]
Conor 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. He led 22 of the 200 laps and was the race's biggest mover, gaining nineteen positions.
On May 11, 2018, Daly announced 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.[27] 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.[28]
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.[29] 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 18th-place finish.[30] 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.[31]
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.[32] 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.[33] Daly made the 2023 Daytona 500 starting lineup after finishing 17th in Duel 2 of the 2023 Bluegreen Vacations Duels, despite experiencing handling problems during the qualifying race.[34] Daly became the 62nd driver to compete in both the Indy 500 and the Daytona 500.
[35] 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.[36]
Daly was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at age 14 and 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.[38]
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