Conor Daly dismisses IndyCar short oval racing criticism by lauding drivers and teams for NTT weekend success 

Juncos Hollinger Racing driver Conor Daly recently spoke about the race at Iowa. He also highlighted the criticism faced by short oval tracks and praised the drivers and teams.

The 33-year-old drives the #76 Juncos Hollinger Racing car powered by Chevrolet. The Iowa race took place on "The fastest Short Track on the Planet" from 11-13 July. The short oval tracks have received a lot of criticism over the years, one of the reasons being that they produce less exciting races as compared to the other tracks on the calendar.

Conor Daly recently spoke about the same on his podcast, SpeedStreet, that he hosts alongside Chase Holden. He spoke about how the drivers and teams deserve praise for a great weekend at the NTT series.

"There was two races in the NTT IndyCar series that happened over the weekend.....And there was a lot of good racing honestly, to talk about...and I think a lot of people were negative nancies going into the race, fair, but as we've said multiple times on this program, don't discount IndyCar short oval racing right now...IndyCar deserves praise. I think the series, the technical officials, leadership, I think you know, a lot of people were complaining going into the weekend." Daly said (0:23 onwards)

"Even at the test I would say that we were unsure, but I think it ended up being two solid races. Not the best races, like the first stint race 1, when we weren't really sure yet what was really gonna happen yet. Were we gonna save fuel maybe that wasn't the most exciting, but then it got better, and the drivers got more brave, and we took it into our own hands, I believe, and we made it happen," he added.

The Indiana native had a decent weekend at the short oval. He qualified on the front row in the Synk 275 race alongside Josef Newgarden and finished the race in 7th place. During the Farm to Finish 275 race, he qualified in 7th place and finished the race in 16th place.

---

Conor Daly speaks about his battle with Pato O'Ward at WWTR

Conor Daly spoke about his race at World Wide Technology Raceway held on June 16. He reflected on his battle with Arrow McLaren's Pato O'Ward and praised the #5 car driver's talent.

Daly began his race at WWTR in 15th place and made his way up the grid, and at some point, was leading the race. He found himself in an intense battle for the lead of the race with O'Ward until he pitted for fresh rubber on lap 190. While talking to Frontstretch during his post-race, Conor Daly was questioned about his battle with O'Ward. He replied,

“We just kept working, every restart, moving forward. Battling with Pato felt really good for the lead. Thought we had a shot at it honestly but the last two pit stops really hurt us.” (0:33 onwards)

“He raced me clean. There's a reason that guy has got a plane and a bunch of money and he's one of the best drivers right now. He's really good, raced me clean and I gotta respect that,” he added.

Conor Daly currently sits in 18th place in the drivers' championship with 184 points to his name.