NTT IndyCar Series driver Conor Daly is fully aware that he’ll arrive at Daytona Int’l Speedway for the Daytona 500 an underdog.
He’s almost adamant in his belief he’ll be the biggest underdog there.
With only one NASCAR Cup Series start under his belt — Daly finished 34th at the Bank of America ROVAL 400 at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway last October — his lack of seat time in the Next Gen car could be construed as a disadvantage.
Beyond that, as a non-charter entry for The Money Team Racing, Daly will be one of six drivers competing for four available positions on the grid. His confirmed, non-charter rivals include seven-time Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson, racing legend Travis Pastrana, Chandler Smith, Austin Hill and Zane Smith.
“We’ve got a big fight ahead of us. But for me, there’s a big upside to making it and not a lot of downside to not making it,” Daly admitted. While his Cup Series experience is limited, his debut in Charlotte proved fruitful in opening the door to the Daytona 500.
His performance might not have provided much to grade, as mechanical issues disrupted his qualifying run and tire issues plagued the race, but there were several positives to takeaway.
“Honestly, the thing I was most proud of is where we were in relation to some other guys in that series. We were coming out of the pits with guys like Martin Truex Jr., Brad Keselowski and William Byron, and no one was really going anywhere,” Daly said.
Part of the reason Daly has found himself pulled toward the NASCAR world in the first place is his admiration for the drivers, their talent level and the style of racing in the Cup Series. To not get “driven over” by the experienced veterans in his debut, Daly considered it a small victory. And lucky for him, so did TMT and his sponsor, BitNile.com.
“They saw a lot of things that at least they tell me were the right things,” Daly said. “So, if they tell me to go race something, I’m going to go race something. That’s kind of how it’s worked.”
The conversation about the Daytona 500 came up immediately following his showing in Charlotte. However, at the time, fellow IndyCar driver Helio Castroneves was planning to wheel the single-car entry for TMT at Daytona.
As fate would have it, two events helped advance Daly’s path to The Great American Race.
First, it was a discussion with Pastrana in November. Daly and the rallycross star were both racing the 24 Hours of LeMons in Houston, Texas, and the topic of Daytona came up in conversation between them.
“I found out he was trying to do the Daytona 500. And I was like, ‘Oh boy, that would be hysterical,’” Daly said. But Pastrana’s encouragement remained lodged in Daly’s brain until the second domino fell.
Castroneves decided not to race Daytona and TMT was looking for a driver to fill his spot.
On Feb. 7, Daly and the team announced their plans to compete at Daytona, with the support of BitNile.com.
“To be able to say that I’m 31 years old, but I’m getting to do potentially the Daytona 500 and the Indy 500 in the same year. I mean, there’s not a lot of people on Earth who have ever been able to say that,” Daly said. “So that’s a pretty special thing to think about.”
His picture-perfect year would include winning both of the legendary events, but on a realistic scale, his priority remains in the IndyCar Series where he drives for Ed Carpenter Racing.
“IndyCar is still the focus. There’s so much unfinished business that I have there,” Daly said. “But if we can have a few good performances across the board, whether it comes from being the super underdog team in the NASCAR Cup races that we do, you know, maybe that helps me in the long run.”
Since the IndyCar series only has 17 races on the schedule, Daly is planning to fill a few of his open weekends with trips to Cup Series events. He’s confirmed for at least four NASCAR races with TMT, but there is potential for more.
It all starts with qualifying for the Daytona 500, gaining experience in the Next Gen car and putting on a performance that illustrates why he belongs behind the wheel in NASCAR. It will be a serious endeavor at Daytona Int’l Speedway this weekend, but Daly hasn’t set too many standards.
“Just trying to do as much as possible, be as surprisingly impressive as possible,” Daly said. “But in the end, IndyCar is the focus.”