Is Conor Daly the mercenary who finally found a home?
“The nomad that finally got a place to take residence,” was his response to Autosport in an exclusive sit down roughly an hour before the announcement that he would be returning to IndCar with Juncos Hollinger Racing for 2025.
The native Hoosier joined the team towards the back end of the recent campaign, contesting the final five races in an effort to push the team’s No. 78 Chevrolet-powered entry, originally piloted by Agustin Canapino before a midseason divorce, back into the Leaders Circle (top 22 in points) and crucial $1million prize. He accomplished the feat in style, scoring two top 10s that included the team's first-ever podium with a third-place finish in Race 1 at The Milwaukee Mile.
A journeyman by the purest of definitions in North America’s premier open-wheel championship, it’s easier to count the number of teams Daly hasn’t driven for than those he has. The opportunity at JHR, though, is one where the synergy between the two is obvious, and it’s because he feels the support.
“I’ve been through the ups and downs of raising money and through the ups and downs of different operations,” Daly said. “I think we’ve seen when a team really believes in you, there’s a lot of power behind that. Felix Rosenqvist is a really good example of that. You’re like, ‘Oh, what happened to Felix Rosenqvist?’ Then the guy gets with Meyer Shank and the guy is on pole, competing at the front. Well, the guy didn’t just remember how to drive, you know what I mean? It’s about the car, the environment, everything of that coming together. This is very much a team sport; you have to have all the elements. What we’re doing is very hard. It is the elite of the elite, with some of the best drivers in the world. So, that whole environment has to be right.”
Daly can recall the last-minute call-up by JHR and how he hitched a ride on Alexander Rossi’s plane just to get his race seat from the Dale Coyne Racing shop so he could make it back in time to test in St. Louis. From that very first test, he felt right at home, and rightly so considering several team members were familiar faces at other stops in his career. Also, though, he won the 2010 Pro Mazda (now Indy Pro 2000) title with Juncos (prior to Hollinger's involvement) during his junior formula career.
“There’s a lot of make up this whole story of who this works and it’s still going to be a lot of very hard work,” Daly said. “We still have a really tough time ahead of us, but it almost made sense to get a shot at this; let’s get a shot at the full season and see what we can do together, see how we can grow together as a team. It really does mean a lot to me. I really didn’t know if I’d have a chance like this again. For sure, was not at all confident in it unless we won the Mega Millions or got drafted into some situation… I wasn’t really sure, so to have a chance again is almost like a surprise.”
The 33-year-old also sees how JHR are punching above their weight, in many ways, with no technical alliance in an era that has become commonplace for many in IndyCar.
“It is really impressive what the group has done by themselves,” Daly said. “It’s very hard to do that in this current era because we’ve had the same car and the same stuff for a very long time. So, there are a few small things here and there, but you’re in the ultra fine-tuning mode now. What they are doing, and I think you also have to be realistic with things like, ‘Hey, these are areas we need to get better.’ And I believe that’s where they are focused, which is also very helpful. But, without a doubt, the speed they showed at the Indy 500 last year in qualifying before the plenum events that hit a lot of the Chevy teams; Canapino was on for being in the top 12, which is super impressive. The stuff that we were able to do on the short ovals is super impressive.”
Daly is hoping to help elevate the team to a point that the tough days aren’t finishing 10th at a place like Nashville, but rather further up the grid. He noted how two-time reigning series champion Alex Palou’s bad days are still top-five results.
“The Alex Palou’s of the world, him finishing fourth in Milwaukee, he was like, ‘Oh, okay, well we may not have had it today,’ but he’s finishing fourth,” Daly said. “How do you make those tough days a little bit higher, better and just bring an overall window of speed into a more consistently high range? If you nail it, though, you’re going to have a chance to win, a chance to compete at the front. We, obviously, want to nail it all the time, but no one is perfect in racing, so just trying to eliminate those small things.”
And the goals for 2025 are simple: make people remember his prowess on road and street courses - a statement to reflect on his Formula 2 experience - and win the Indianapolis 500, a race he currently carries three consecutive top 10 finishes.
“Going to the road and street course, I want to make people aware of why I even showed up here in the first place,” he said. “What we did at Detroit and Watkins Glen my rookie year, a different generation of car, which Simon Pagenaud talked about on my podcast (“Speed Street”) not too long ago, it’s a very different balance shift now. I believe that my focus is making sure that people are like, ‘Hey.’ If we’re finishing in the top 10 on the road and street course and continually pushing to get better there, that’s important for me, personally, because I feel that’s where people think I am weak for some reason, which is totally fine.
“I know where we’re going to be on the ovals, that’s not an issue for me; I’m the most confident there. But, we want to win the Indy 500. I don’t see any reason why we shouldn’t go into the Indy 500 and be like, ‘We want to win this race.’ So, that’s the goal. I want to get into June with a very happy, confident kind of point area, finishing all the races. But, the Indy 500 is a very big opportunity for us to succeed together, especially because we got to test together in October. They know a little bit about what I want and I know everything about what I want there.”
