A karting and Star Mazda champion who has raced in IndyCar, GP2, NASCAR and Nitrocross, and who has been named for a full-time 2027 ride.
Conor Daly, born in 1991, is an American-Irish driver who races in IndyCar and has started the Indianapolis 500 several times. He won the 2010 Star Mazda title, has raced in GP2 and NASCAR, and will drive full time for Dreyer and Reinbold from 2027.
Conor Daly is an American-Irish racing driver who has built a career across open-wheel and stock car racing. He has competed in IndyCar, GP3, GP2, the ARCA Menards Series, NASCAR and Nitrocross. He is also a regular Indianapolis 500 starter, and in September 2026 he was named to drive the No. 24 car full time for Dreyer and Reinbold Racing from 2027.
How did Daly start his racing career?
Daly was born on December 15, 1991. He began competing in karting at the age of ten and won the World Karting Association Grand Nationals in 2006. The following year he moved into car racing full time, first in the Skip Barber National Championship in 2008, where he won five of 14 races.
He was runner-up at the RoboPong 200 all-star kart event in 2010 alongside his teammate Graham Rahal. Before that, in 2009, he had raced in the Star Mazda Championship for Andersen Racing and finished third with a win at New Jersey Motorsports Park. He returned to the series in 2010 with Juncos Hollinger Racing and won the championship.
A Star Mazda champion who has come close to big results at Indianapolis and is now set for a full-time seat.
How good was Daly in the Star Mazda series?
Daly was dominant in the 2010 Star Mazda season. He finished in the top four in each of the twelve races, and he clinched the title at Mosport International Raceway on August 28, 2010. He also set a series record with nine poles and seven wins on his way to the championship.
That title opened the door to the next rung of the ladder, and Indy Lights followed in 2011. He competed part-time for Sam Schmidt Motorsports and won at the Grand Prix of Long Beach, the best result of his Indy Lights season. He came back to the series in 2013 for a one-off appearance in Houston with Team Moore Racing and finished third.
How did Daly fare in Europe?
Daly raced in GP3 for several seasons, starting in 2011 with Carlin Motorsport. In 2012 he drove for the Lotus GP team and took his maiden GP3 win in the second race at Barcelona. At Monaco that year he made contact with the damaged car of Dmitry Suranovich, which sent Daly into a catch fence and forced a red flag.
For 2013 he stayed in GP3 with ART Grand Prix and won the feature race at Valencia Street Circuit. He finished third in the championship that year. He also made his GP2 debut at the season opener at Sepang with Hilmer Motorsport and scored two points in the sprint race. In 2014 he competed in 18 of the 22 rounds for Venezuela GP Lazarus, with a best finish of seventh in the sprint race at the Hungaroring.
| Season | Series and team | Notable result |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Star Mazda, Juncos Hollinger Racing | Champion, nine poles and seven wins |
| 2011 | Indy Lights, Sam Schmidt Motorsports | Win at Long Beach |
| 2012 | GP3, Lotus GP | Maiden win at Barcelona |
| 2013 | GP3, ART Grand Prix | Win at Valencia, third in championship |
| 2013 | Indianapolis 500, A. J. Foyt Enterprises | 22nd |
| 2016 | IndyCar, Dale Coyne Racing | Second at Detroit, first IndyCar podium |
| 2019 | Indianapolis 500, Andretti Autosport | 10th |
| 2021 | Indianapolis 500, Ed Carpenter Racing | Led 40 laps, 13th |
| 2024 | Indianapolis 500, Dreyer and Reinbold | 10th from 29th on the grid |
| 2024 | IndyCar, Juncos Hollinger Racing | Third at Milwaukee |
How did Daly's IndyCar career develop?
Daly's first IndyCar appearance came in the 2013 Indianapolis 500 for A. J. Foyt Enterprises, where he finished 22nd. In 2015 he stepped in for Rocky Moran Jr. at Long Beach with Dale Coyne Racing and later drove in the Indianapolis 500 for Schmidt Peterson Motorsports, but he was forced out by an engine failure before the green flag. He also replaced James Hinchcliffe for three rounds after Hinchcliffe was hurt in a practice crash, and he finished sixth at the second Detroit race.
In 2016 he raced the full season for Dale Coyne Racing, leading 56 laps at five different races. He finished second in the first Detroit race, which gave him his first IndyCar podium. In 2017 he drove the No. 4 car for A. J. Foyt Enterprises, but he lost that ride for 2018 and returned to the Indianapolis 500 with Coyne in a car sponsored by the United States Air Force.
Andretti Autosport entered him for the 2019 Indianapolis 500, where he finished 10th. Later that year he replaced Max Chilton at Carlin for several oval races and replaced Marcus Ericsson at Portland. His best result in those races was a sixth at Gateway.
What was the 2021 Indianapolis 500 like?
Daly and his teammate Rinus VeeKay dominated the first half of the 2021 Indianapolis 500 for Ed Carpenter Racing, leading 72 of the first 102 laps. Then damage to the nose cone from an accident involving Graham Rahal on lap 119 stopped him from seriously challenging for the lead again. He finished 13th, but he led more laps than any other driver in the race, forty.
The 2022 season was his full-time year with Ed Carpenter Racing in the No. 20 car. His best result was fifth at the IMS Grand Prix on May 14, and he finished 17th in points. Carpenter parted ways with him in June 2023 after a 15th-place finish at Detroit, and Ryan Hunter-Reay replaced him the next day.
How did Daly return to the Indianapolis 500 in 2024?
In 2024 he drove the No. 24 entry for Dreyer and Reinbold Racing at the Indianapolis 500, sharing the programme with Cusick Motorsports. He started 29th and finished 10th after switching to an alternative pit strategy. He led 22 of the 200 laps and was the race's biggest mover, gaining 19 positions.
He then substituted for Jack Harvey at the second Iowa race and was announced as Agustin Canapino's replacement at Juncos Hollinger Racing on August 14. On August 31 he took third at the first Milwaukee Mile race, his second IndyCar podium and the first for Juncos Hollinger Racing.
What happened to Daly after the 2024 season?
Juncos Hollinger Racing announced in December 2024 that Daly would race full time for the team in 2025, first in the No. 78 and later in the No. 76 after the team signed the gas station brand 76 as a sponsor. He lost his seat after that season, when the team kept Sting Ray Robb and signed Rinus VeeKay for 2026.
Daly stayed at Juncos in a development role and continued his television work for FOX. In March 2026 Dreyer and Reinbold named him as one of its drivers for the 2026 Indianapolis 500, partnering Jack Harvey. He qualified eighth and led four laps before coming home 12th.
What is Daly's full-time plan for 2027?
On September 5, 2026, Dreyer and Reinbold announced that Daly will compete full time from 2027 in the No. 24 car. The move gives him a regular seat after several years of part-time and development roles, and it returns him to the team he raced for at Indianapolis in 2024.
What else has Daly raced?
Force India gave Daly an aero test on a straight at Cotswold Airport in Gloucestershire in May 2012. He won the 2012-13 MRF Challenge Formula 2000 Championship in India with four wins and two further podiums.
In NASCAR he made his Xfinity Series debut at Road America in 2018, driving the No. 6 Ford Mustang for Roush Fenway Racing, although his sponsor withdrew before the race. In 2020 he drove a Niece Motorsports truck at Las Vegas and finished 18th. He also started the 2023 Daytona 500 after finishing 17th in Duel 2, and he finished 29th of the 40 cars in the field.
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