Conor Daly to race in 2019 Indy 500 for Andretti Autosport

Andretti Autosport has hired Conor Daly to drive in the 2019 Indy 500, bringing an IndyCar favorite back and completing a powerhouse lineup.

Conor Daly is returning to the NTT IndyCar Series, and it’s with his most high-profile team yet.

Andretti Autosport announced Wednesday morning that Daly will be their fifth driver for the 2019 Indy 500, with primary sponsorship from the United States Air Force.

It’s a huge development for the Indiana native, who has been an IndyCar journeyman working hard for several teams, but hasn’t gotten the career breaks he deserves. He finally got a full-time ride in 2016 with Dale Coyne Racing, but only lasted a season there.

A.J. Foyt Racing hired Daly and Carlos Munoz as full-time drivers for 2017, but the team dropped both of them after just one season as part of a complete overhaul.

That left Daly once again hustling for a drive despite being named IndyCar Fan Favorite Driver. He competed in the 2018 Indy 500 for Coyne, and was in three other races for Harding Racing. But he hadn’t been able to find a seat this year—until now.

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Joining Andretti Autosport will almost certainly be worth the wait, for him and for IndyCar fans. It’s the favored roster when it comes to the Indy 500; they’ve won the race five times, most recently in 2017 with Takuma Sato.

“it’s a fantastic opportunity,” Daly said on a Wednesday conference call confirming his plans. “No one doubts the fact that Andretti has had so much success at the track, at the event, [in] the whole series in general. I have two Indy 500 champions as teammates, just an incredible wealth of experience. It’s going to be awesome, certainly my best shot at the race ever.”

Andretti will reunite him with 2016 Indy 500 winner Alexander Rossi, with whom Daly competed last year in The Amazing Race 30. He’ll also compete alongside 2014 Indianapolis 500 champion Ryan Hunter-Reay, Marco Andretti, and Zach Veach.

That’s an outstanding lineup, not just in talent but also in chemistry. Rossi and Daly are friends who also work well together; Rossi was pulling for Daly to get a full-time drive in our interview while he was competing for the 2018 IndyCar championship.

Hunter-Reay is one of the most experienced drivers in the series, who always turns up strong at Indianapolis Motor Speedway; he should have at least two Indy 500 wins by now. And Andretti and Veach have also demonstrated exceptional speed, though Veach will want to avoid getting too hot at Indy this year.

Andretti Autosport knows how to win the Indianapolis 500, and having all their resources behind him, Conor Daly has an excellent chance to win the race—and possibly open doors to competing in future IndyCar races if he posts a strong result.

“I think it’s a real possibility,” Michael Andretti said on Wednesday when asked if Daly could stay with the team past May. “We’d love to still keep him in the family, not just for the one race. Hopefully we can work something out. Comes down to obviously sponsorship. But we are working on a few different things. We’ll see.”

And by hiring Daly, the team has brought in a driver who knows the league well and will work harder than anyone; this is a win for everyone involved, as well as the IndyCar fans who have missed having Conor Daly as part of the sport.

“Last year, heck, I was just trying to survive,” Daly reflected. “Make the race, take all the wing out we possibly could, see what happened. I think it will be a different situation this year. It makes me feel happy. I’m just a happier person, that’s for sure.”

The 2019 Indy 500 takes place on May 26. For complete IndyCar coverage, follow the Motor Sports category at FanSided.