BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Conor Daly has been seeking -- no, striving for -- such an opportunity since May 2013, when the Noblesville, Ind., native made his Verizon IndyCar Series debut for AJ Foyt Racing in the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race.
In a few short days, Daly will be driving the No. 43 Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Honda on the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval, the team announced at Barber Motorsports Park. The 99th 500 Mile Race is May 24.
“I am ecstatic to partner with Schmidt Peterson Motorsport for the 99th Running of the Indianapolis 500," said Daly, 23, who made his second series start in the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Bach on April 19. "I have had a great relationship with Sam Schmidt since driving for him in Indy Lights (in 2011) and I’ve always wanted a shot with his Verizon IndyCar Series team. It’s an honor to make my second attempt at running the Indy 500.
“I can’t thank everyone enough who have put in the hours to pull this program together. I am confident we will all benefit from this relationship going forward and I can’t wait to get to work on track.”
Full-season drivers James Hinchcliffe and James Jakes will be Daly's teammates. Hinchcliffe has twice started second (2014, 2012) in the race while with Andretti Autosport. A Promoter Test -- the first on-track activity with the new Chevrolet and Honda speedway aerodynamic bodywork packages -- is scheduled for May 3. Practice opens May 11.
"Obviously, James being in the front row a couple of times short of strengthens that and gives us a direction and we've been working all winter on Indy 500. So this is really good,” team co-owner Sam Schmidt said.
Daly tested alongside Hinchcliffe earlier this year at Sebring International Raceway.
“We did test him in the offseason and we were very impressed and just couldn't get the full season funding together. So that's what we're working toward," Schmidt added. "Conor raced for our team in Indy Lights in 2011for a partial season before heading off to Europe (to contest the GP3 Series), so we know what he is capable of. He deserves to be competing in the IndyCar Series full time and we’re honored to be providing this opportunity, so hopefully we can build upon it and it'll just add information, add a dimension and it'll just be a really strong effort."
Daly advanced nine positions relative to his starting spot to finish 22nd in the 2013 race, two laps down, in the No. 41 ABC Supply Co. Honda for the Foyt team.
At Long Beach, Daly was a late substitution for the injured Rocky Moran Jr. in the No. 18 Dale Coyne Racing Honda. He qualified 21st in his first outing with the Honda road/street and short oval aero platform and advanced a field-high four positions in the 90-lap race on the 1.968-mile, 11-turn street circuit.
"I'm excited to have more than 30 minutes to prepare for a practice session," said Daly, who was racing in the GP2 Series in Europe last May. "It was killer to miss it last year. I was watching every session on my computer. I cannot wait to just do the job, get to work and just start trying to do the best job that I can with the opportunity."
He is driving the "Fastest Seat in Sports" two-seat IndyCar, which leads the field to the green flag, in the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama on April 26.
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