Conor Daly hasn’t enjoyed too much success in IndyCar, and feared that there would be little more to come after dropping off the grid in 2023.
But he has proven to be Juncos Hollinger Racing‘s saviour after lifting them to their maiden podium at the Milwaukee Mile.
His performance may have secured them nearly £760,000 ($1 million) in extra prize money, which they looked set to miss out on before his oval heroics.
Prior to that, Daly had only stepped onto an IndyCar podium once in his 11-year career, back in 2016 at Detroit for Dale Coyne Racing.
Conor Daly reacts to ‘pretty crazy’ IndyCar statistic involving his father
He’s viewed as a bit of an ‘oval specialist’, and he proved his value well and truly, despite being only three races into a comeback.
Footage showed Daly gained 11 positions in two laps, as he carved through the field with ease and put his car in the perfect position.
But something else now stands out about his performance – something which even shocked the American driver.
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It has transpired that some 37 years after his father claimed a third-place finish at Milwaukee, he managed to do so as well.
In a post on X (formerly known as Twitter), he said: “This is actually pretty crazy funny how life works sometimes!”
Can Daly find his way onto the 2025 IndyCar grid full-time?
With one race left of the 2024 season, it would’ve been pretty fair to judge that Daly’s time to the sport may be coming to an end just a few weeks ago.
But that landscape has changed, and his Juncos Hollinger team are in need of two drivers for 2025 – his podium will have only boosted his chances of landing one of those seats.
He has a good relationship with team boss Ricardo Juncos dating back to his junior career, so why not keep the journey going?
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Current teammate Romain Grosjean has been offered a seat with the Argentine-American outfit, but he’s assessing other options too.
Daly will be fully focused on maximising his result at the season-ending Nashville Superspeedway – on oval track which should play to his strengths.
It has been off the IndyCar calendar since 2008, and so his competitors will lack prior knowledge of the circuit just as much as he does – levelling the playing field on a rare occasion.