Yahoo Autos Daly stars after frustrating run up to Indy
Conor Daly’s month of May had everything a veteran driver doing a one-off race didn’t want, with a persistent absence of speed from his No. 24 Dreyer & Reinbold Racing/Cusick Motorsports Chevy and, on occasion, mechanical issues that added to his mounting frustration.
Taking the start from a distant 29th on the grid – well behind teammate Ryan Hunter-Reay in 12th – Daly and the DRR/Cusick team took an aggressive approach to the 200-lap contest and committed to an alternate pit strategy that would, if the caution periods fell their way, propel the No. 23 Chevy towards the front of the field.
Fortune smiled on this son of Indiana who charged hard throughout the 500-mile race and led 22 laps along the way for the lone Indy-only team in the field. Daly’s run to 10th wasn’t his best finish at the Speedway; he took sixth in 2022 for Ed Carpenter Racing, but considering the circumstances at Dennis Reinbold’s part-time program, the result was a big deal as he outran his former boss Carpenter, his replacement at ECR, and entire teams like Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, among others.
“I’m super pumped,” Daly said after picking up 19 positions in the race. “So thankful to Polkadot and Chevrolet for working with us. We’ve had some trials and tribulations over the last week and a half, and we knew we were faster than where we started and we proved it. We got up front thanks to great strategy from Dennis and the crew.
“I love running at the front of this race. For what we had and the time we’ve spent together in this car, we have to be super proud.”
