Tag: Conor Daly

UPDATED: Daly and Ed Carpenter Racing part ways

Conor Daly has split from Ed Carpenter Racing. Daly’s final race in the No. 20 Chevy was last weekend’s Detroit Grand Prix and a new, yet-to-be-named driver will join ECR’s Rinus VeeKay at Road America later in the month. “This is the most difficult …

Conor Daly has split from Ed Carpenter Racing.

Daly’s final race in the No. 20 Chevy was last weekend’s Detroit Grand Prix and a new, yet-to-be-named driver will join ECR’s Rinus VeeKay at Road America later in the month.

“This is the most difficult decision I have made as a team owner because I respect Conor and know what he means to IndyCar and its fans,” said team owner Ed Carpenter.

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“Our team has not been performing at the level we are capable of this year, and despite making technical changes and investments in the offseason, 2023 has been extremely challenging. I have put a great deal of consideration into the current state of our team and realize it is my obligation to our employees, partners, and supporters to do whatever is necessary to elevate our team’s competitiveness. We sincerely wish Conor continued success and will cheer him on wherever he goes next.”

Having started his IndyCar career in 2013, Daly joined ECR on a part-time basis in 2020 and was elevated to a full-time role with sponsor BitNile in 2022, when he placed 17th in the championship with a best finish of fifth at the May edition of the Indianapolis Grand Prix.

Presently 20th in the drivers’ standings, the Indiana native’s top result in 2023 was delivered with an eighth at the recent Indianapolis 500.

“Although we’ve mutually decided that it’s in our best interests to take different paths, I’d like to thank ECR for the past three and a half seasons,” said Daly. “I’m grateful to everyone who has supported me – past, present and into the future. I look forward to taking on the next opportunities that await, and I want to thank the fans for being with me on this ride.”

According to the team, the No. 20 Chevrolet will continue as a full-time entry. The full-time program for the No. 21 and the ovals-only program for the No. 33 are also unaffected.

This story has been updated since it was first published to include quotes from Ed Carpenter and Conor Daly.

ESPN confirms SRX announcing team

SRX and ESPN have unveiled the broadcast team for the 2023 Superstar Racing Experience (SRX) season. Allen Bestwick and Matt Yocum will return as lead announcer and pit reporter respectively, with a number of current and former drivers set to serve …

SRX and ESPN have unveiled the broadcast team for the 2023 Superstar Racing Experience (SRX) season. Allen Bestwick and Matt Yocum will return as lead announcer and pit reporter respectively, with a number of current and former drivers set to serve as analysts. SRX will air on six consecutive Thursday nights at 9pm ET on ESPN and the ESPN App, bringing back the iconic “ESPN Thursday Night Thunder” branding.

Reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion Joey Logano will serve as SRX’s lead analyst for three races — Stafford Motor Speedway on July 13, Berlin Raceway on August 3 and Eldora Speedway on August 10. Conor Daly will once again serve as a driver analyst for the series for two races — Motor Mile on July 27 and Lucas Oil on August 17. Retired NASCAR legend Darrell Waltrip will make his SRX commentary debut as an analyst at Thunder Road on July 20.

“We are thrilled to be on ESPN for season 3 of SRX and build off all of the success and growth we have had over the first two seasons,” said Pam Miller, SRX executive producer. “We are really excited about our broadcast team for 2023. We are thrilled to have Allen and Matt back with SRX, and couldn’t be more excited to have Joey Logano in the booth for three races this summer. Conor Daly will continue to provide the viewers unique insights given his experiencing racing across both NASCAR and IndyCar, and we are fired up to welcome Darrell Waltrip to the series and can’t wait for the fans to experience his passion, knowledge and love for racing.”

Additional talent may be announced before the start of the season.

2023 SRX schedule & broadcast teams (all times Eastern) 

Date 

Track 

Time 

Network 

July 13 

Stafford Motor Speedway (Stafford Springs, CT) 

Allen Bestwick, Matt Yocum, Joey Logano 

9 p.m. 

ESPN 

July 20 

Thunder Road Speedbowl (Barre, VT) 

Allen Bestwick, Matt Yocum, Darrell Waltrip 

9 p.m. 

ESPN 

July 27 

Motor Mile Speedway (Radford, VA) 

Allen Bestwick, Matt Yocum, Conor Daly 

9 p.m. 

ESPN 

Aug. 3 

Berlin Raceway (Grand Rapids, MI) 

Allen Bestwick, Matt Yocum, Joey Logano 

9 p.m. 

ESPN 

Aug. 10 

Eldora Speedway (New Weston, OH) 

Allen Bestwick, Matt Yocum, Joey Logano 

9 p.m. 

ESPN 

Aug. 17 

Lucas Oil Speedway (Wheatland, MO) 

Allen Bestwick, Matt Yocum, Conor Daly 

9 p.m. 

ESPN 

 

Indy 500 driver Oliver Askew ‘shaken up’ but OK after scary hit into the wall

Oliver Askew slammed hard into the wall during the 104th Indy 500.

IndyCar Series driver Oliver Askew is OK but, understandably, a bit “shaken up” after slamming into the inside wall at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

The rookie in his No. 7 Chevrolet was having a great Indianapolis 500 and even led laps at one point. But a caution sparked by Conor Daly just before the halfway point in the race led to a disaster for Askew.

As the 104th Indy 500 field restarted on Lap 92 of 200 after a caution flag, Daly lost control of his No. 47 Chevrolet and spun out. While he appeared to eventually gain control of the car and not his the inside wall, Askew looked like he was trying to avoid the could of smoke created by Daly’s spin and wasn’t so lucky.

Askew smashed into the SAFER barrier on the inside wall, bounced off it and ultimately did make contact with Daly’s car. Daly got out of the car himself fairly quickly, but it took Askew a moment to climb out.

Afterward, both Askew and Daly were evaluated and cleared by the infield medical center.

Speaking to NBC Sports, Askew explained his perspective of the accident. He said he saw Daly spinning and attempted to avoid the chaos before falling right into it. He said:

“I’m OK, but I was a little shaken up after that hit. I think I got the wind knocked out of me and banged up my knee a little bit. But I do want to say thank you to Dallara and IndyCar for making these cars so safe. and to our safety crew as well. A little shaken up by that, but a big sorry to the team. We were having a good run there being very aggressive on strategy, and the car felt really good.

“And the accident there, I saw a bunch of smoke in front of me, and I think I tried to avoid Hélio [Castroneves] and just lost the car and tried to avoid the accident. So it’s a shame.”

At first, Daly said he wasn’t “entirely sure” what happened on the restart. He told NBC Sports:

“It’s like my left front tire fell into a hole or something, so I’m just not really sure why that happened. That’s never happened before. Just very strange. … I thought I almost had it.”

But then Daly saw a replay of the incident and said it was “probably [his] mistake,” adding: “It looks like I just caught the curb, which is probably on me.”

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