Author Topic: TAR 30: Alexander Rossi & Conor Daly (IndyCar Drivers/Friends) #TeamIndyCar  (Read 42660 times)

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Offline cbacbacba1

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Re: TAR 30: Alexander Rossi & Conor Daly (IndyCar Drivers/Friends) #TeamIndyCar
« Reply #25 on: February 18, 2018, 06:44:29 AM »
Conor is hilarious  :funny:
At first I thought they are dumb cause they constantly making silly mistakes  :funny:

Online Maanca

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Re: TAR 30: Alexander Rossi & Conor Daly (IndyCar Drivers/Friends) #TeamIndyCar
« Reply #26 on: February 23, 2018, 08:22:39 AM »
Conor went through some personal hell started from the time they were eliminated :( He tweeted out this article.

https://www.indystar.com/story/sports/motor/indy-500/2018/02/22/conor-daly-heartbreaking-24-hours-and-where-unemployed-indycar-driver-goes-here/364375002/

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Conor Daly — a heartbreaking 24 hours and where an unemployed IndyCar driver goes from here.

Jim Ayello, jim.ayello@indystar.com Published 7:06 p.m. ET Feb. 22, 2018 | Updated 9:12 a.m. ET Feb. 23, 2018

INDIANAPOLIS — Phil Keoghan just wanted him to smile. Normally, the fun-loving Conor Daly would have happily obliged “The Amazing Race” host, but right then, he couldn’t muster the strength.

It wasn’t just that he and Alexander Rossi had come heartbreakingly close to completing their quest to win one of TV’s most-watched reality game shows — though that didn’t help. It was that during the length of their incredible journey around the world, Daly had to endure the constant presence of a pit in his stomach.

“I just hope when I get home, I can get back on my team and get back to work,” Daly woefully confided to Keoghan after being eliminated . “So we’ll see what happens.”

Even as he was uttering the words, Daly didn’t seem to believe them. Hard to blame him. He’s been down this road before. A few times, actually. A short lifetime spent in racing has turned his worldview sour.

Just before Daly, who is from Noblesville, embarked on his journey, he let his bosses at A.J. Foyt Enterprises know what he'd be up to for the next few months. By way of response, they told him they weren’t yet sure if they’d still be his bosses upon his return.
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Left with that uncertainty, Daly spent every spare moment he could find while on location for the show typing his name into Google's search, fearing the day he’d see a story about Foyt opting to take the team in a different direction. 

Daly had a sinking suspicion that’s exactly what they’d do, and upon arriving home, learning he had been right all along was no consolation.

“I’m sort of a good judge of how these things are going to go, because I’m realistic and I’m used to being shafted,” Daly told IndyStar recently. “It’s happened so many times. So, when I got back from the show, the first call I made was to my manager. The second call I made was to Larry (Foyt) and, well, yeah.”

Neither call went well. While Foyt was upfront with his disappointing news, Daly would learn from a series of unanswered calls and texts that he was without a manager, as well as a team. Within a gut-wrenching 24 hours, Daly had been eliminated from “The Amazing Race” and lost the only job he’s ever wanted.

"That period of time was really tough for him,” said his stepfather and Indianapolis Motor Speedway President Doug Boles. “He was so thrilled to be back home, but that was not the welcome he had hoped for when he got home.”

Daly isn’t bitter about what happened with Foyt or his manager. It’s hard to manage a driver who doesn’t have a team, Daly said with a smirk, and at Foyt, well, he doesn't fully understand why they did what they did, but he's not holding a grudge.

“It’s a business, and I respect their decision,” Daly said of team leaders at Foyt. “They gave me my first chance to be in an Indy car, but I just hope they didn't give me my last. It’s a good group of people there. But I certainly don't feel like I got a fair opportunity, especially if a guy like Jack Hawksworth got another year. … It’s just tough to process that information.”

Hawksworth returned for a second year with Foyt in 2016 after registering an averaging finishing position of 17.5, last among drivers with at least six races. Daly, meanwhile, recorded an averaging finishing position of 14.8 last year, including a top-five run at Gateway near the end of the season.

 Daly concedes his results were less than exceptional in 2017. Still, he believed that after a rough start to the season for the rebuilding team, his No. 4 car program made great strides late — three top-10s in the final five races — and was in line to take a step forward in 2018. Instead, Foyt chose to show Daly and teammate Carlos Munoz the door while bringing in veteran Tony Kanaan and, later, rookie Matheus Leist.

“I remember speaking with AJ after (the season finale at) Sonoma, because I felt like that was my best race performance of the year,” Daly said. “I know we only finished 10th, but I was saving fuel that entire race. I was hanging over the car, fighting for every inch that I could, because we knew we didn’t have a very fast car. We knew it’d be tough; we had trouble the whole weekend. But I pulled the best lap of my life out of you know where to try and get a decent qualifying spot (13th).

“At the end, I was like, ‘Hey, I think we made a lot of progress, and I think together and as a group, I like where we’re going, especially with TK (Kanaan) next year. I thought it was all heading in the right direction. But as I learned in racing, the thing that makes the most sense will never happen."

After learning he was out at Foyt, Daly pursued the lone full-time seat available — with his former boss Dale Coyne — but without a major sponsor backing him, he couldn't make it happen.

Instead, for the first time since 2015, Daly is entering a racing season without a job. That was a tough pill to swallow, he admitted -- the pain was only exacerbated while watching his friends working at the open test in Phoenix and especially while he was touring the country promoting #TeamIndyCar at "Amazing Race" watch parties.

Yet Daly kept a smile on his face while on tour. He takes seriously the responsibility of being an IndyCar ambassador — a full-time driver or not. And he wants his friends, family and fans to know that he’s not sulking behind the scenes either. He's working his tail off to ensure that the “unemployed” part of resume doesn’t stretch beyond 2018.

For six hours, nearly every day, Daly said, he makes dozens of phone calls to prospective partners and sponsors, using “every connection I have.” He’s traveled to NASCAR races and spoken to sports car teams in the hopes of diversifying his racing portfolio or meeting someone willing to help him find an IndyCar ride. He’s also kept  himself in racing shape while still mapping out plans to attend every IndyCar race this season.

The plan is to drive IndyCar's two-seater, and he’s working on a deal with Honda to occasionally pilot the “Fastest Seat in Sports.” Daly figures that if he's at every race, he'll be top of mind if a substitute is needed.

"His attitude throughout all of this has been amazing," said Boles, who frequently reminds Daly that drivers such as Ryan Hunter-Reay and J.R Hildebrand were once forced to step away from full-time racing for a year or more before returning. "That's been the best part for me, the part I'm most proud of. His head is still up, and he's still digging. He's going to figure it out. All of this hard work is going to pay off."

Daly, of course, is not altogether giving up on racing Indy cars in 2018. He has his sights set on competing in his fifth Indianapolis 500, as well as taking cracks at the Indianapolis Grand Prix and at the Bommarito Automotive 500 on Aug. 25 at Gateway Motorsports Park.
How close is Daly to a deal to drive in the 500? Boles said Thursday he's zeroing in, but Daly is hesitant to put odds on anything anymore.

"Close? With all that’s happened in the past two three years, I don't even want to say anything," Daly said with a laugh while shaking his head. "Yeah, I'm close, but I could also be 100 miles away. I had some guy promise me on my birthday he was going to give me two million bucks to be there for the full season — then I never heard from him again. That’s the sort of thing we deal with on a daily basis. It’s like, 'OK that sounds cool,' but I don’t believe anyone as far as I can throw them. So we’ll see."

Daly may sometimes sounded jaded, but he's not. He just aware of the harsh realities of his profession. He knows there's likely a hundred more "No's" on the other end of his phone calls before there will be a "Yes." And that's OK with him. That will just make his return all the sweeter.

"In Phoenix, I talk to people I've worked with at Coyne and Foyt, and they still believe in me," Daly said. "They know I can do it. And that feels really good and motivated me to get back in. I'm actually content with where I'm at right now, because I know that when the right opportunity finally does present itself, I know I'm going to take advantage of it."


Offline theschnauzers

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Conor has a new racing deal so he will be in the Indy 500 this year after all:

https://www.google.com/url?rct=j&sa=t&url=https://www.foxsports.com/motor/story/conor-daly-gets-indy-500-ride-with-dale-coyne-racing-030618&ct=ga&cd=CAEYACoUMTQzODY3NzQwMTA1OTEwNDIyMDcyGjZkM2NkNzc1MjJmODFmYmE6Y29tOmVuOlVT&usg=AFQjCNF5CKitJZ9zfOBlYTQ08rltRUAIoA


Conor Daly gets Indy 500 ride with Dale Coyne Racing
AP
Mar 6, 2018 at 5:26p ET

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) Conor Daly will drive for Dale Coyne Racing in this year’s Indianapolis 500 in a joint entry with Thom Burns Racing.

The effort for the American driver also includes a partnership with the Air Force intended to help recruiting efforts at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and in the buildup to the May 27 race.

Daly is trying to make his fifth start in the Indy 500. He will be one of three drivers in the Coyne lineup.

Daly just concluded a popular stint on the reality show ”The Amazing Race” with fellow IndyCar driver Alexander Rossi. The publicity hasn’t led to a full-time ride for Daly in 2018 but he’s not given up trying to find a seat beyond Indianapolis.
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In his first win of the season, Alex won the Long Beach Grand Prix after starting the race in pole position.

http://www.espn.com/racing/indycar/story/_/id/23190228/alexander-rossi-wins-grand-prix-long-beach-third-career-indycar-victory

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Alexander Rossi pulled away after a late restart to win the Grand Prix of Long Beach on Sunday, completing a dominant weekend by holding off Will Power for his third career IndyCar victory.

Rossi claimed the first win of his standout season from the pole, and the native Californian thrived amid the usual excitement on this beloved downtown street course just off the Pacific Ocean. Rossi led 71 of 85 laps in his Andretti Autosport Honda before taking charge on the restart with nine laps to go, pulling away from Power and moving into the IndyCar points lead after three races.

Ed Jones finished third, and Zach Veach was a career-best fourth. Graham Rahal was fifth after an opening-lap collision with Sebastien Pagenaud, who was knocked out of the 44th edition of the Long Beach race.

Rossi comfortably earned the second pole of his three-year IndyCar career during qualifying, and his pace was still there in the race. The 2016 Indianapolis 500 winner and veteran of five Formula One races hadn't won since Watkins Glen last year, but he had put his speedy Honda in position to win this year both in St. Petersburg -- where he instead made late contact with rookie Robert Wickens -- and again last weekend in Phoenix, where he finished third.

Rossi was a contestant on the most recent season of the CBS reality show "The Amazing Race" alongside fellow driver Conor Daly, who attended the race in Long Beach despite not currently having an IndyCar ride.

The result also was encouraging for Power, the former series champion and 32-time race winner. He had been off to a discouraging start to the season, with his Team Penske Chevrolet back in 14th in the points standings before his standout drive in Long Beach.

Defending series champion Josef Newgarden finished seventh, and defending Long Beach champion James Hinchcliffe was ninth.

Power took the lead when Rossi pitted on the 25th lap, but Rossi moved right back in front on the 32nd lap. Rossi opened a nine-second lead after the first cycle of pit stops, and he stayed in front even after a full-course caution erased the lead with 40 laps to go.

Rossi pitted again on the 56th lap, but got a break when Sebastien Bourdais and Dixon were penalized for entering a closed pit lane during a caution. Bourdais drove through and lost position, while Dixon later had to serve a drive-through penalty for taking a full pit stop.

The Long Beach street course is popular both for its friendly California atmosphere and the opportunities for remarkable racing created by its dimensions. Those opportunities were seized by many drivers -- particularly Bourdais, who executed a jaw-dropping move to pass diagonally through three drivers.

Bourdais was ordered to give back the position to Dixon because he apparently used the pit lane to make his move, but Bourdais then caught and passed Dixon for second place again anyway. But Jordan King then spun Bourdais while curiously trying to pass on the hairpin turn, and the former champion finished 14th.

Newgarden also set a race lap record midway through, turning a lap on the streets in 1:07.551.

Pagenaud started third, but the Frenchman was spun and knocked out of the race on the first turn of the opening lap by Rahal, who braked far too late and tapped Pagenaud from the rear. Rahal got a drive-through penalty.

Ryan Hunter-Reay also had to come in early for a new nose after opening-lap contact with Scott Dixon. Hunter-Reay fought his way back up to fifth, but got a puncture on contact with Jordan King.


Offline Plaidmoon

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Alexander Rossi and Conor Daly will be side by side again this Sunday. They qualified 32nd and 33rd (last and next to last) for the Indianapolis 500, so they will be next to each other in the back row of the field.


Offline chill_sd

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Alexander Rossi and Conor Daly will be side by side again this Sunday. They qualified 32nd and 33rd (last and next to last) for the Indianapolis 500, so they will be next to each other in the back row of the field.
Even starting from the back, Rossi finished in fourth place.

Offline theschnauzers

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Conor will be the lead driver on a fully sponsored car at the Indy 500 this year. He’s definitely in a better spot career wise, and has managed his popularity in the Indy fan base to that level.
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Offline Hubickichibi

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Even starting from the back, Rossi finished in fourth place.

he's a world class, can get seat on F1
« Last Edit: June 06, 2019, 07:44:25 AM by Hubickichibi »
Swarm stupidity

Offline theschnauzers

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Ales came in second in today’s Indy 500 by .02 seconds, Conor finished tenth, both one spot higher than their starting order in the race.
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http://www.espn.com/racing/indycar/story/_/id/26827385/despite-indianapolis-500-loss-alexander-rossi-rising-american-racing-star


Hopefully there will be a time where both Alex and Connor return to TAR, though the scheduling will be quite difficult.