Conor Daly claims "driving standards are at their lowest" in IndyCar

Juncos Hollinger Racing's Conor Daly has come up with an extremely strong take on IndyCar 'driving standards' following his lap 1 incident at last week's Laguna Seca event. Daly started the 95-lap race from P23 in the close vicinity of the PREMA drivers Callum Ilott and Robert Shwartzman.

Going into a turn on the very first lap, Daly (#76 JHC racecar) made contact with Shwartzman's challenger and spun into the gravel. In line with this, the former has brutally slammed the driving standards in America's highest class of open-wheel racing.

Daly, via a recent episode of Speed Street, alongside Chase Holden, did not hold back and came up with an extremely strong stance. He said:

"That was just a really unfortunate situation and, you know, I definitely came on the radio and I was like, hey you know, I obviously can't see it, but the way I got spun, and the way I felt it is, yeah, it feels like I got hit. And I did, so, kudos to Race Control for not throwing any penalties out there. Obviously, it's very much, we talked to Christian about it. It's hit or be hit. Currently, in our sport, I would say the driving standards are at the lowest." [21:17 onwards].

Despite the incident on lap 1 in the Java House Grand Prix of Monterey, Conor Daly was able to come away with a P14 finish in the 95-lap race. He ended up behind AJ Foyt Racing's David Malukas.

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Conor Daly was 'really happy with the car' in Laguna Seca

Conor Daly has had a strong 2025 IndyCar season for a small team like Juncos Hollinger Racing. After the first 14 rounds, he currently sits in 17th place in the Drivers' standings with 215 points. In the process of doing so, he has secured three top-ten finishes.

As mentioned already, he secured a P14 finish in last week's Laguna Seca race, making up nine positions. He was quite ecstatic during the post-race interview, as he said (via Juncos Hollinger Racing's official website):

"Heading into the gravel on Lap 1 through no fault of our own was a shame. Luckily we managed to keep the car going, eventually going from last place to finish in 14th. I was really happy with the car once we got to the last stint. I think the team knew we had a decent car, and to be right up on the gearbox of the #4, #2, and #15 felt good for us."

The ongoing 2025 IndyCar season has only three Grand Prix events remaining on the race calendar. Considering how well Conor Daly has performed in the #76 JHC racecar, he would eye a strong finish to the 17-race campaign.