The IndyCar Series veteran made his just his third series start – and first on an oval – in Saturday’s race at IMS, driving the No. 26 Toyota for Sam Hunt Racing.
He came home 14th – his best finish in a combined 10 starts in NASCAR’s three national series – Cup, Xfinity and Trucks.
The Indiana native’s weekend got off to a strong start as he ended up third fastest in Friday’s practice session and then qualified 16th for the race.
Before the first lap of the race was completed, Daly was among a dozen drivers caught up in a multi-car wreck triggered by an incident involving Sam Mayer and A.J. Allmendinger.
Watch: Big wreck strikes as Sam Mayer goes around on Lap 1
“I was literally in between the wall and two vehicles and thought, ‘This NASCAR thing was fun while it lasted,’ but the wheels were still somewhat straight,” Daly said. “The car was really fast. I honestly had a tremendous time.”
Daly’s No. 26 team made several repairs to his car and got him back in contention. At one point, with several drivers on different pit strategies, Daly ran as high as seventh in the race.
Then on his final pit stop, his team elected to take on just two new tires in order to retain as much track position as possible as several others stayed out.
“Honestly, when we were seventh, I thought we were stuck behind three of these guys. I thought we were much better. If we could have just cleared (Justin) Allgaier, I think we had much more momentum on that stint,” he said.
“Let’s say it ran all the way to the checkered – I thought we were going to be in really good shape. A bit of a gamble to take two tires at the end, which was tough because I had never experienced a car with just two tires.
“Definitely tightened me up more than I expected, so just part of a new experience.”
Conor Daly, Sam Hunt Racing, Polkadot Toyota Supra
Photo by: David Rosenblum / NKP / Motorsport Images
Daly, 32, is very familiar with the IMS oval. He has made 11 IndyCar starts in the Indianapolis 500 with four top-10 finishes. In the 2021 event, he led the most laps but finished 13th due to damage.
“Honestly. I think my experience here helped – but it is such a different car and there were so many moments that literally just ambushed me. I just didn’t know,” he said.
“I just hadn’t been moved (before) with just air. Austin Hill got to my left rear and didn’t touch me at all, and I was almost crashing. It was just one of those things that was just difficult.
“This team did a great job. They gave me a great car.”
Daly, who still has two more Truck races planned this season with Niece Motorsports, said he would welcome the opportunity for more Xfinity races.
“I think I got moved out of the way a little bit which I expected, but for the most part, I really enjoyed the racing,” he said. “Racing with Shane (van Gisbergen) was really fun. He’s awesome to race with – the other guys in this series, too.
“It was really fun to race up front with these guys. I watch every week and I enjoy watching the series. This Toyota was fast. It has a lot of character to it now.”