It’s never too early for Conor Daly to get in tune with the team he’ll join for his next drive in the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge.
That’s why the 27-year-old Daly has been a familiar sight around the Andretti Autosport camp at the NTT IndyCar Series’ first two races this season and expects to be so again this weekend for the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama at Barber Motorsports Park. He will remain tight with the team until he climbs into an Indy car himself for his first test April 24 on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval, where he will attempt to qualify in May for his sixth 500.
Daly has spent much of his time on Alexander Rossi’s pit stand listening to radio conversations between the driver and team during practices and races, and he has attended many of the team’s meetings. It’s all aimed at getting himself up to speed with Andretti personnel, their tendencies and terminology.
“It puts your mind in the right spot,” said Daly, who finished 21st in the Indy 500 last year driving for Dale Coyne Racing with Thom Burns Racing. “You get familiar with how these engineers are interacting with the drivers. And listening with Alex gives me an idea of the right questions to ask come May and the right people to ask. More information never hurts a driver. To be here soaking everything in, to be one with the team already – or as much as I can be – that always helps.”
Daly has made 43 NTT IndyCar Series starts since 2013, including the 500 last year with Coyne/Burns and three others with Harding Steinbrenner Racing.
This year’s ride, in the No. 25 U.S. Air Force Honda, will be the best opportunity of Daly’s career – with an organization that has won the Indianapolis 500 five times. He finished 22nd in 2013 with AJ Foyt Racing, 33rd in 2015 with Schmidt Peterson Motorsports, 29th in 2016 with Dale Coyne Racing, 30th in 2017 with Foyt and 21st last year.
“The main thing I’ve learned so far is that this (Andretti) team operates at a very, very high level,” he said. “That’s not to discredit any teams that I’ve driven for because there are a lot of great people all across this paddock. But everyone knows what level of resources this team has access to and the people they’ve got running around here.”
He’s grateful to be included in so much of the team’s operation early this season, although there are meetings and information that he’s not privy to – at least for now.
“I’ll be at every race, be on the stand as much as I can be and soak in as much as I can,” he said. “But I’ve got to be respectful. They’ve got so much going on; that’s why they’re competing for championships. I’m not here full time so I can’t necessarily hear everything, but once we get closer to May, we’re going to be testing in April and I’ll want to start looking at some data from Indy.”
Until then, Daly will hang in Rossi’s pit while the cars are on track, listening and learning.
“The terminology for sure is at a new level, but it’s exciting,” he said. “It’s a little bit intimidating, obviously. But overall it’s exciting to know that I will be able to work at that level and gel with the team when I’m also out there trying to contribute. If I can help Alex or Ryan (Hunter-Reay) or Zach (Veach) or Marco (Andretti), who are fighting fulltime, and help myself at the same time, then it’s all worth it.”
It has taken a lot of perseverance to reach this point for Daly. He drove full time in 2016 for Coyne and 2017 for Foyt, but also has grinded to pull together funding to land one-off programs.
“The work definitely does pay off,” Daly said. “This is an opportunity that any driver would kill for. To drive for a top team in a top-level motor racing series is always special. I’m very excited for it. But my mind is already thinking, ‘How can we do more? How can we extend this run together?’ You never know what can happen in the (Indy 500). We’ve got to do our jobs the best we can, but there are a lot of outside elements that can affect it. The goal is to do the best job we can and hope that warrants another chance at operating with this team.”
Nothing is certain beyond the 500, but Daly is working to be back in the car later this season.
“I never close doors, that’s for sure,” he said. “I’d love to think we could do at least one or two more with this team. That’s my goal. I’ve got to work on building this program and building our relationships and hope to attract a few more financial partners to help make that happen.”
For now, he will stay as involved with the Andretti team as he can and be prepared to go fast once he buckles into the car.
“It’s hard to wait to get into the car,” he said. “But once I do get in, I’m going to enjoy every day as much as I can. I’m going to enjoy being involved with the team, for sure.”
Action at the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama begins with a pair of practices on Friday (12:15 and 3:50 p.m. ET) and a third on Saturday (11:45 a.m.). INDYCAR Pass on NBC Sports Gold livestreams all practices.
NTT P1 Award qualifying starts at 4 p.m. Saturday and airs live on NBCSN, NBCSports.com and INDYCAR Pass on NBC Sports Gold. Coverage of Sunday’s 90-lap race begins at 4 p.m. Sunday on NBCSN, NBCSports.com, the NBC Sports app and the Advance Auto Parts INDYCAR Radio Network.
RaceControl.IndyCar.com is your home for live timing and scoring accompanied by Advance Auto Parts INDYCAR Radio Network commentary for every weekend session. It is also available through the INDYCAR Mobile app powered by NTT DATA, which also includes select in-car cameras during the race and in-car radios for all drivers. INDYCAR Mobile is available free worldwide and may be downloaded to smartphones by clicking here.