Conor Daly signs a full-time contract with Juncos Hollinger Racing for 2025

Is Conor Daly a mercenary who has finally found a house?

“A nomad who has finally found a place to live,” was his response to Motorsport.com during an exclusive meeting about an hour before the announcement confirming his full-time return to the IndyAutomobile Series with Juncos Hollinger Racing in 2025.

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The Hoosier native found himself in a last-chance situation for the small organization at the tip of the 2024 season, closing out the ultimate five races in an try and force the beginning of the No. 78 Chevrolet-powered team, originally previously piloted by Agustin Canapino. a mid-season divorce, a return to the leaderboard (top 22 in points) and a key prize of $1 million. He did it in style, earning two top-10 finishes, including the teams' first-ever podium finish (third) in the primary race on the Milwaukee Mile.

As a journeyman by the purest definition in North America's premier open-wheel championship, it's easier to count the teams Daly didn't ride for than those he did. But the chance at JHR is one where the synergy between the 2 is clear, and that's because he feels supported.

“I've been through the ups and downs of raising money and the ups and downs of different operations,” Daly said. “I think we've seen that when a team really believes in you, there's a lot of power behind it. Felix Rosenqvist is a really good example of this. You think, “Oh, what happened to Felix Rosenqvist?” Then the guy meets Meyer Shank and the guy is in pole position, competing from the front. Well, the guy didn't just remember how to drive, you know what I mean? It's about the car, the environment, all of it together. It is largely a team sport; you must have all the pieces. What we do is very difficult. This is the elite of the elite, including some of the best drivers in the world. So this whole environment has to be right.”

Daly remembers JHR's last-minute call and the way he hitched onto Alexander Rossi's plane to choose up a race seat on the Dale Coyne Racing shop so he could get back in time for testing at St. Louis. He felt right at home from the primary test, and rightly so, considering several of the team members were familiar faces at other stages of his profession. However, during his junior Formula 2010 profession, he won the Pro Mazda 2010 (now Indy Pro 2000) title with Juncos (prior to Hollinger's involvement).

“There's a lot of guesswork in this whole story about who's going to make it, but it's still going to be a lot of hard work,” Daly said. “We still have a really difficult period ahead of us, but it almost made sense to try; Let's try to use the whole season and see what we can do together, see how we can develop together as a team. It really means a lot to me. I really didn't know if I would have this chance again. I definitely wasn't sure about it, unless we won the Mega Millions or got sucked into some situation… I wasn't really sure, so getting the chance again is almost like a surprise.”

Conor Daly and Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet

Photo: Jake Galstad / Motorsport Images

The 33-year-old also sees JHR punching above his weight in lots of respects, with no technical alliance in an era that has change into commonplace for a lot of in IndyAutomobile.

“What the group has accomplished on their own is truly impressive,” Daly said. “It's very difficult to do that in this era because we've had the same car and the same equipment for a very long time. So there are a few little things here and there, but you're in ultra-tuning mode now. What are they doing? I think you also have to be realistic about things like, “Hey, these are areas where we need to get better.” I think that's what they focus on, which is also very helpful. But there's no doubt about the speed they showed at last year's Indy 500 in qualifying before the plenum events that saw multiple Chevy teams hit; Canapino finished in the top twelve, which is impressive. What we managed to do on the short ovals is impressive.”

Daly hopes to assist elevate the team to a degree where, on tough days, it's not a Tenth-place finish in a spot like Nashville, but fairly a spot higher within the standings. He noted that three-time series champion Alex Palou's bad days still rank amongst his top five results.

“Alex Palou's world team finished fourth in Milwaukee, and he said, 'Oh, OK, well, maybe we didn't do it today,' but he's fourth,” Daly said. “How will we make those tough days a little bit bit higher, higher, and just overall get the speed window to a more consistently high level? However, when you succeed, you should have a likelihood to win, a likelihood to compete at the highest. Of course we wish to achieve success on a regular basis, but no one is ideal in racing, so we just attempt to eliminate those little things.

The goals for 2025 are easy: make people remember his skills on road and street circuits – a press release that makes one reflect on his Formula 2 experience – and win the Indianapolis 500, where he currently has three consecutive top-10 finishes.

“When I go out to the road and street circuit, I want to make people aware of why I came here in the first place,” he said. “What we did in Detroit and Watkins Glen in my rookie 12 months, a special generation of the automobile that Simon Pagenaud talked about not too way back on my podcast (‘Speed ​​Street’), now means a totally different change in balance. I imagine my focus is on people saying, “Hey.” If we finish in the highest 10 on the road and street circuit and keep fighting to enhance, that will probably be vital to me personally because I feel like people think I'm weak for some reason, which is completely superb.

“I do know where we will probably be on the oval, it's not an issue for me; That's where I'm most confident. But we wish to win the Indy 500. I don't see any reason why we shouldn't go into the Indy 500 and say, “We want to win this race.” So that's the goal. I need to start out June in a really blissful and assured points area, having accomplished all of the races. However, the Indy 500 is a big opportunity for us to attain joint success, especially since we had the chance to check together in October. They know a little bit bit about what I need and I do know all the things about what I need there.