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  • Conor Daly to make 100th IndyCar career start at Long Beach

    Conor Daly to make 100th IndyCar career start at Long Beach

    Nearly two months after competing in this year’s 65th running of the Daytona 500, Conor Daly is set to achieve a milestone start in his sixth full-time season in the NTT IndyCar Series. By taking the green flag in this weekend’s Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach at the Streets of Long Beach, California, the driver of the No. 20 Ed Carpenter Racing Dallara-Chevrolet will make his 100th career start in the IndyCar circuit.

    A second-generation racer from Noblesville, Indiana, Daly, whose racing career started with karts before proceeding to win the 2010 Indy Pro 2000 title, made his IndyCar debut in the 2013 Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where he piloted the No. 41 A.J. Foyt Enterprises Dallara-Honda to a 22nd-place result. Two years later, he competed in a total of five IndyCar events between Dale Coyne Racing and Schmidt Peterson Motorsports. Daly’s deal with Schmidt Peterson Motorsports occurred as he replaced James Hinchcliffe for three events following Hinchcliffe’s harrowing accident during a practice session leading up to the 99th running of the Indianapolis 500. During the five-race span, his best on-track result was a sixth-place finish at Belle Isle during a Chevrolet Indy Dual in Detroit.

    In 2016, Daly joined Dale Coyne Racing on a full-time IndyCar basis. Commencing the season with a 13th-place run at the Streets of St. Petersburg, Florida, the Indiana native notched five top-10 results throughout the 16-race schedule. He also achieved his maiden podium at The Raceway at Belle Isle Park during a Chevrolet Dual in Detroit by finishing second behind Sebastien Bourdais. When the final checkered flag of the 2016 season flew, Daly settled in 18th place in the final driver’s standings with 313 points. Throughout the season, he led a career-high 56 laps and notched an average-finishing result of 14.4, which is his best as a full-time IndyCar competitor.

    The following season, Daly joined A.J. Foyt Enterprises as a full-time IndyCar competitor in the No. 4 Dallara-Chevrolet. He concluded the season in 18th place in the final standings for a second consecutive season on the strength of four top-10 results, a season-best fifth-place finish at Gateway Motorsports Park and 305 points.

    For the 2018 season, Daly, who lose his ride at A.J. Foyt Enterprises, made his first IndyCar start of the season during the 102nd running of the Indianapolis 500, where he drove the No. 17 Dallara-Honda for Dale Coyne Racing in conjunction with Thom Burns Racing to a 21st-place result. He would then compete in three of the final six scheduled events for Harding Racign, where he notched a season-best 15th at Pocono Raceway.

    The 2019 IndyCar season featured Daly competing for three different organizations, starting with Andretti Autosport for the 103rd running of the Indianapolis 500. Piloting the No. 25 Andretti Dallara-Honda, he notched his first top-10 career result at his home track by finishing 10th. Three races later, he replaced Max Chilton in the No. 59 Carlin Dallara-Chevrolet for Texas Motor Speedway as he finished 11th. He returned to Carlin for the following three oval events at Iowa Speedway, Pocono and Gateway, where he notched a season-best sixth-place finish at Gateway. Then for the penultimate event of the season at Portland International Raceway, Daly drove the No. 7 Dallara-Honda for Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports in place of Marcus Ericsson, who was called up by Alfa Romeo to serve on a reserve driver duty for the upcoming Formula One event at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps. Finishing 21st for the Arrow Schmidt Peterson organization, Daly capped off the 2019 season by competing for Andretti Autosport at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, where he ended up 22nd.

    For the following two seasons, Daly competed between Ed Carpenter Racing and Carlin. In 2020, he recorded six top-10 results throughout the 14-race schedule and a season-best sixth-place result during the season opener at Texas and a 29th-place run during the 104th running of the Indianapolis 500 following a late wreck before finishing in a career-best 17th-place in the final standings with 237 points and an average-finishing result of 14.5. The following season, he led for the first time at his home track, Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the 105th running of the Indianapolis 500, as he led a total of 37 laps before finishing in 13th place while competing for Ed Carpenter Racing. The 13th-place run at Indy would also mark his highest-finishing result in 2021 as he averaged a 16.6 running spot throughout the 16-race schedule before settling in 18th place in the final standings with 235 points. Nonetheless, he accumulated 40 laps led, which marks his second-highest laps led in a season.

    This past season, Daly inked a full-time deal to pilot the No. 20 Dallara-Chevrolet for ECR. After finishing no higher than 12th during the first four scheduled events, he notched his first top-five result of the season in the GMR Grand Prix at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course. Two weeks later, he led seven laps during the 106th running of the Indianapolis 500 before settling in sixth place in the final running order, which marks his best result during the Indy 500. Daly, however, would proceed to finish no higher than 12th for the remaining 11 events on the schedule before tying his best result in the standings of 17th place and with 267 points.

    Through 99 previous IndyCar starts, Daly has achieved one pole, one podium result, 136 laps led and an average-finishing result of 15.5. He is currently ranked in 14th place in the championship standings after finishing no lower than 20th during the first two events on the schedule, with his best result being 14th during the 2023 season-opening Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.

    Daly is scheduled to make his 100th career start in the NTT IndyCar Series at the Streets of Long Beach for the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach on Sunday, April 16, at 3 p.m. ET on NBC.

  • Pato O’Ward to reach 50 IndyCar career starts at Iowa

    Pato O’Ward to reach 50 IndyCar career starts at Iowa

    Competing in his third full-time season in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, Patricio “Pato” O’Ward is primed for a milestone start. By competing in this weekend’s doubleheader feature at Iowa Speedway, the driver of the No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP Dallara-Chevrolet will achieve 50 career starts in the IndyCar circuit. 

    A native of Monterrey, Mexico, O’Ward made his IndyCar debut at Sonoma Raceway in September 2018, which marked the final race of the season. By then, he had achieved the 2018 Indy Lights championship title for Andretti Autosport. Driving the No. 8 Dallara-Chevrolet for Harding Racing, O’Ward started fifth and finished ninth in his debut.

    The following season, O’Ward, who departed Harding Steinbrenner Racing due to sponsorship issues that prevented him from competing with the team on a full-time basis, joined Carlin on a part-time basis in the No. 31 Dallara-Chevrolet. During his first start of the season at the Circuit of the Americas in March, he started and finished a season-best eighth. O’Ward returned for the next five of six events of the schedule, where he finished 12th at California’s Long Beach Street Circuit in April and 11th at The Raceway at Bell Isle, Michigan during a doubleheader feature in June. The low point for O’Ward during this span was failing to qualify for the 103rd running of the Indianapolis 500 in May. His seventh and final start of the season was at Road America in June, where he started 13th and finished 17th.

    For the 2020 IndyCar season, O’Ward joined Arrow McLaren SP as driver of the No. 5 Dallara-Chevrolet. Commencing the season with a 12th-place result at Texas Motor Speedway in June and two consecutive eighth-place results during the following two events, O’Ward came within striking distance of claiming his maiden IndyCar victory in the second of a Road America doubleheader feature in July. Starting on pole position for the first time in his career, he led a race-high 43 of 55 laps but was overtaken by future teammate Felix Rosenqvist on the penultimate lap as he settled in a career-best second place.

    Three races later, O’Ward notched a strong sixth-place result in the 104th running of the Indianapolis 500 in August, where he was named the Indy 500 Rookie-of-the-Year recipient. The following weekend during a doubleheader feature at Gateway Motorsports Park, he notched two consecutive podium results and was up in fourth place in the standings. When the season concluded at the Streets of St. Petersburg in October, O’Ward, who notched his third runner-up result, capped off his first full-time campaign in IndyCar competition in fourth place in the final standings along with a pole and four podiums.

    Remaining at Arrow McLaren SP in 2021, O’Ward started the season on a strong note by starting on pole and finishing in fourth place at Barber Motorsports Park in April. Three races later and during the second of a doubleheader feature at Texas Motor Speedway, O’Ward scored his maiden IndyCar victory following a late battle with Josef Newgarden. As a result, O’Ward became the first Mexican competitor to win in the IndyCar Series since Adrian Fernandez won at California Speedway in October 2004. He also recorded the first victory for the team that was once Schmidt Peterson Motorsports since James Hinchcliffe won at Iowa Speedway in July 2018. By winning at Texas, O’Ward fulfilled a deal made with McLaren CEO Zak Brown prior to the 2021 season, where the rising Mexican star would receive a McLaren F1 test at season’s end if he recorded a victory in the IndyCar circuit.

    Four races following his maiden IndyCar victory, O’Ward achieved his second career victory in the second of a Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix doubleheader feature at the Belle Isle Street Circuit in June following another late battle against Newgarden. By then, he emerged with a one-point advantage in the drivers’ standings.

    As the 2021 IndyCar season progressed, O’Ward remained in the cusp of a close championship battle against Alex Palou, Josef Newgarden and Scott Dixon. After finishing second at Gateway’s World Wide Technology Raceway in August, O’Ward was leading the standings by 10 points over Palou. During the following two events, however, Palou, who won at Portland during this span while O’Ward managed a fifth-place result at Laguna Seca, reassumed the championship lead and led O’Ward by 35 points entering the season-finale event at the Streets of Long Beach. During the finale, however, O’Ward was involved in an early incident with Ed Jones, where Jones spun O’Ward. Despite continuing, the Mexican eventually retired due to a broken driveshaft originating from his spin. The end result saw O’Ward conclude his sophomore season in a career-best third place in the 2021 final standings along with two victories, five podiums, three poles and an average-finishing result of 8.3.

    This season, O’Ward notched his third IndyCar career victory at Barber Motorsports Park in May following a late battle against Palou and Rinus VeeKay. To go along with a strong runner-up result in this year’s 106th running of the Indianapolis 500, a pole at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course during the Fourth of July weekend and an average-finishing result of 12.0, he currently sits in sixth place in the drivers’ standings and trails points leader Marcus Ericsson by 75 points.

    Through 48 previous IndyCar starts, O’Ward has achieved three victories, five poles, 11 podiums, 411 laps led and an average-finishing result of 9.7.

    O’Ward is scheduled to make his 49th career start in the NTT INDYCAR Series in the Hy-VeeDeals.com 250 at Iowa Speedway on Saturday, July 23, at 4 p.m. ET on NBC before achieving his 50th series start in the Salute to Farmers 300 at Iowa on Sunday, July 24, at 3 p.m. ET on NBC