Conor Daly 1-on-1: On racing IndyCar and NASCAR at Indy, being real on his podcast

Conor Daly competed in three races over six days last week. That wouldn’t be so rare except that it was three very different vehicles — an IndyCar, a NASCAR truck and a NASCAR Xfinity Series car.

Not bad for a driver without a full-time racing job. 

The 32-year-old Daly, the son of former Formula 1 driver Derek Daly and stepson of Indianapolis Motor Speedway President Doug Boles, has 110 career IndyCar starts but just two this year — a 10th in the Indianapolis 500 and then July 14 at Iowa as he filled in for the injured Jack Harvey with a 27th-place finish after the car had a mechanical issue.

He has dabbled in NASCAR with 10 national series starts, including last week in the truck series for Niece Motorsports at Indianapolis Raceway Park (he finished 29th) and an Xfinity car for Sam Hunt Racing at IMS (he finished 14th).

Daly, who co-hosts an IndyCar podcast “Speed Street” on the Dirty Mo Media platform, chatted with FOX Sports prior to the Xfinity race about racing different vehicles at IMS, his podcast, why he hasn’t given up the full-time racing dream and being in Indianapolis to race NASCAR — and therefore missing the opportunity to possibly fill in Sunday in Toronto when Arrow McLaren IndyCar driver Alexander Rossi broke his wrist in practice Friday.

How busy was this week with a wild six days of an IndyCar, a sports-car test, a NASCAR truck and Xfinity car?

It’s been my most diverse week of driving, I would say. The IndyCar thing was obviously very last-minute, very random. But I love getting to drive so I feel very lucky to get to do it all. This weekend is definitely a huge learning experience for me. Two very different tracks — a short track last night [at IRP] and then the track that I know very well [at IMS], but in a very, very different and slower vehicle. It’s a different art form — I would say that’s the best way I can describe it.

Top speed in the corners around 235 mph in an IndyCar? 

We were hitting over 240 on the straight and in entry.

And in Xfinity car, 160?

We’re getting in the 170s.

There’s still a pretty big difference?

The IndyCar is so, so stiff and so low to the ground, and it’s such a knife-edge movement, whereas the Xfinity cars are actually quite fun to drive because there’s a lot more roll, there’s a lot more movement. But still, if you can end up being as smooth as you are in an IndyCar, that seems to be rewarding you with speed. It’s where’s the limit of the tire grip, aero efficiency, and it’s just a different art form. That’s the only way I can describe it. And it’s been fun to kind of understand — well, I won’t even understand it until after the race. 

Why are you still trying to try find a full-time ride? You could be a full-time podcaster?

I’m full-time podcaster and part-time motor racer. But I would love to be full-time both. It’s a tough sport. We all know how it goes with the finances and the opportunities. But I would love to create an opportunity for myself full-time somewhere. I don’t know where that is, whether it’s in IndyCar or not, I don’t know. I’m not trying to get away from that world. But this world over here [in NASCAR] is very exciting and there’s a lot of positive momentum. That’s very noticeable as someone who pays attention to every realm of the sport. I want to be a race-car driver. That’s what I’m trying to do, and if I can come out and prove myself in more ways than one, that’s usually helpful.

Will there ever be a time on your podcast when you don’t apologize for talking NASCAR on your podcast? 

No, I don’t think so. My IndyCar fans are very aggressive, like some people are “I can’t listen because I hear NASCAR.” I’m like, “What are you talking about? I just like racing. We had a NASCAR driver in the IndyCar race this year.” This is motorsport. We should all be watching all motorsports. I like to watch every single one because I like racing. I’m a racing fan.

Are you able to come into the Indianapolis Motor Speedway whenever you want?

Yes. I think.

A perk of having Doug Boles as your stepdad.

Doug Boles is a very handy connection. It’s an amazing place here. All the staff here honestly are tremendous as well. I like to respect the grounds more than anything else because this place just feels like a celestial piece of land. So it’s nice to be here.

Does your golf game respect the grounds (The IMS infield includes four holes of the speedway’s golf course)?

My golf game does not deserve to play here. But I definitely do.

When your podcast landed on Dale Jr.’s Dirty Mo Media, how different was that for you? And what was the impact of having a new audience?

It’s been huge because Dale has been super supportive. … Everyone over there wants to get the message of motorsport to more people, which what’s wrong with that? They wanted an IndyCar show because they love IndyCar as well. They’re racing fans there. Even Dale Jr. himself is a racing fan — he loves a ton of motorsport. It’s just helpful. I’ve got a lot of comments from people who have been solely NASCAR fans, and they’re like, “Hey, we only got into watching IndyCar because of this podcast.” And when you hear something like that, that means a lot because for me, this [sport] is what puts food on my table. I would like more people to be able to put food on their table because we’re in a popular motorsport in North America and the world. So one day at a time, I guess.

You’ve talked a lot about IndyCar financials on your podcast. Have any owners told you to shut up?

No one has yet, but I’m sure they hate it. But, sadly, that’s the reality of the game. I’m happy to be honest with people because, realistically, it still doesn’t change the numbers.

What about other drivers? Are they like, “Keep talking”?

I actually had Kyle Kirkwood text me the other day asking what the prize money was for the IndyCar race. He’s like, “Hey, you know this, right?” He was trying to buy a boat. And he was wondering if he could use some of his prize money that he won. And he realized he couldn’t. But he asked me because he wanted to know. It’s important to realize what goes into the sport because fans want to know more and more. People want to know because they’re interested in your sport. It’s not a bad thing to tell them certain financial things. It’s just like, “OK well, that’s interesting. I didn’t know that.”

Going back to wanting to be a full-time driver, is the podcast a little bit of therapy for that — for you to be able to talk out your feelings and all your thoughts?

Yeah, because I’ve got a lot of feelings. I’ve got to tell someone. But it’s also cool because I’m passionate about what I love to do, so it’s cool to be able to talk about it. But it’s also just cool to be real with people. And I think people appreciate that more than anything these days.

If I had to guess, last Sunday as a fill-in was somewhat satisfying before the car broke. And struggling in the truck was probably not that thrilling? 

It actually was for a while. We had one restart — Stevie Reeves, my spotter, he was awesome, he was like the most encouraging dude ever. We passed like 12 cars on a restart, I was following my teammate Bayley [Currey]. And then my right front [tire] started going down. Up to that point, we were running with cars and finished like their 14th-15th. We were in a good spot. And that was really fun. After that, though, it was just kind of a nightmare. Sunday was also fun because I thought the car was fun in IndyCar and we were in a good spot, but motorsport is hard, and things can happen that are out of your control.

Good to have a sprint-car guy like Reeves [who spots for Christopher Bell in Cup] as your spotter at IRP?

He was incredible. His knowledge and what he was telling me and coaching me through, it was fascinating. I think NASCAR spotters like them are truly outstanding at what they know and what they can communicate.

I wonder what Stevie’s track record is at IRP because he probably raced there a lot.

Yeah, he told me that in the middle of the race, “I grew up racing here.”

Racing the weekend racing in Indianapolis, if you’re not in Toronto being able to potentially sub, is that the best alternative?

I won’t say what I talked to [Arrow McLaren driving coach] Tony Kanaan about, but I was like, “Man, it’s hard to believe that the one weekend that something like that happens, I’m not there.” But I’m happy. I’m where I want to be right now. This is a great opportunity with great teams that I’ve had this week. So it’s cool. 

Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR for FOX Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsports, including over 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass.

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