“We were on the Right Side of the Craziness!” Conor Daly Survives Duel to Make 500 Field

What’s Happening?

Despite a mechanical failure that prevented Conor Daly from attempting a single-car qualifying run, the Speed Street podcast host joined the field for the second of two Duels. When he did, though, his car was bouncing uncontrollably. On the team radio, Conor described the feeling as if he was running over Supercross woops. That description was quite ironic, given that he was racing Supercross champion Travis Pastrana for the chance to start in the Great American Race. As The Money Team worked to overcome the issue, the front of the field grew contentious. Then, the “craziness” that comes with Daytona struck as Kyle Busch was spun in front of the 21 car field. His spin affected Pastrana who crashed into Austin Hill, and both were too damaged to continue on. With the other two open qualifying contenders out of the race, Daly had a clear path to Sunday’s grid.

What You Need to Know:

• Popular INDYCAR driver Conor Daly signed a deal with The Money Team and his INDY sponsor, BitNile.com, to attempt to qualify for the 2023 Daytona 500.
• After being unable to make a single-car qualifying run, Daly found himself in a must-win situation of sorts; having to be the leading open entrant in his duel.
• With 36 charter entries guaranteed a starting position, smaller teams and part time Cup Series drivers were forced to compete for the final 4 spots on the grid. This battle brought special intrigue to the duels as everyone anticipated who was in and who was out.

Main Characters

Amid all the excitement, Daly celebrated with fans on Twitter.

In his interview on FS1, Conor said, “We were inherently unlucky for the last 36 hours, but we got luck on that one.” The team kept fixing during pit stops. “We were on the right side of the craziness.”

Around the Garage

NASCAR veteran and open qualifier Jimmie Johnson, a fellow INDYCAR driver with Daly, shared some advice which Conor attentively absorbed from his friend.

In the Stands

On social media, fans from all over could not wait to wait to comment on Conor Daly’s “miracle”

Ben from Canada uses the famous line to convey his outlook, “Do you believe in miracles?! Yes!”

Jamey216 shared his excitement with a touch of apprehension.

Luke Sebastian summed up the second duel’s open qualifiers with a little history.

In Your Ear

On his podcast prior to the qualifying rounds, Daly discussed his preparation and outlook. He even shared that his mom, popular in her own right, had already booked a flight out of Daytona for Friday morning, following the completion of the duels.

On your Screen

Out of the Groove’s Eric Estepp reacts to the duels and asks what most fans did after Daly’s duel.

From the Pressbox

Donut Media Racing Show host Alanis King had some fun with words to describe the moment.

After the race, Conor even admitted he had joined in on those plans to leave Daytona on Friday.

The Daly duo has some flights to cancel after they finish celebrating.

Nathan Brown of the IndyStar provided some quotes from Daly. After the Thursday night result, he called Conor’s words “prophetic.”

After the race, Matt Weaver caught up with the No. 50 crew chief Tony Eury Jr. Eury answered questions about the mechanical concerns apparent at the start of the race.

Daly, through his podcast and personal engagement, has proven to be a fun personality in motorsports. With his duel result, he will have his once-in-a-lifetime chance to have some fun in the Daytona 500.