Former INDYCAR SERIES driver Derek Daly says that in motorsports, good results are always a combination of the team and the driver. This is what helped Conor Daly secure a podium finish with Juncos Hollinger Racing in race one of the Hy-Vee 250 at the Milwaukee Mile last weekend.
Speaking to Paddock Eye on Friday, Daly said that 99 percent of a driver’s performance comes from their confidence in the car, which gives them the confidence to make the moves they dare to make. He says that Conor has made those moves before, but not with the consistency that he had a Milwaukee on Saturday.
Derek says that Conor’s car on Saturday, compared to the competition, gave him the tools he needed to pull off the podium finish for Juncos Holinger Racing.
Daly said that when you have confidence in the car, it can show off your talent. That is what the team did with Conor on the race track in the pit stops, which helped him move through the field and finish the race in third place.
Daly says that motorsport is a cumulative sport, whereas, in Soccer, you play poorly for the entire game and then have one moment that can change the result. However, in racing, everything has to come together on race day, and that is what happened for Conor and Juncos Hollinger Racing in Milwaukee last weekend.
Daly says that in racing, you have to unload well, have good practice sessions, qualify at the front, and also have good pit stops. There also has to be mistake-free laps without getting caught in traffic.
Daly said seeing the smaller teams doing well makes the sport more competitive, but it also makes it difficult to break into it. Derek, who scored a third-place finish in Milwaukee in 1987, his first entire season back in INDYCAR following the crash he had in 1984, says that it was a nice coincidence to see Conor score his third place there last weekend.
When it comes to who he thinks will win the championship in 2024, Daly says that he feels that Will Power blew his chances of winning the championship following his spin in race two last Sunday as Alex Palou heads to Nashville next weekend with 33 point lead in the race to score his third title in four seasons.
When it comes to the series expansion, with Prema Racing coming into the sport in 2025, Daly says that it is a great opportunity to grow the sport outside of the United States, given that Prema is such a big operation in Europe. He hopes this will attract more fans to the sport.
Daly is also happy to see more Irish involvement in open-wheel racing here in the U.S., with James Roe and Jonathan Brown competing in INDY NXT by Firestone, as it is a viable alternative to Formula One.