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IndyCar
DALY: Ireland To Atlanta
The last three weeks have definitely been the busiest weeks of my life. So many things have been going on for me in racing and it’s been a lot of fun!
Conor Daly  |  Posted October 05, 2009   Noblesville, IN
Conor tested a Formula Renault in the weeks leading up to the penultimate Star Mazda race at Road Atlanta. (Daly)
The last three weeks have definitely been the busiest weeks of my life. So many things have been going on for me in racing and it’s been a lot of fun! I’ll start off at the beginning of the last three weeks.

I flew over to Ireland three weeks ago to test a Formula Renault. I arrived in Ireland a day early to see some family then went up to Kirkistown in Northen Ireland. Kirkistown has had a pretty long history, my dad even raced there! It was a three day test with Wayne Douglas Motorsport starting on Monday and ending Wednesday afternoon. The car was very different from the Star Mazda car I am used to driving. It was much smaller and lighter but it didn’t have as much horsepower. The steering was also very light.

I adjusted to the car fairly quickly and by the end of the test I was the fastest person they had run around the track! I felt pretty satisfied because they have run many really good drivers such as Adam Christodoulou, Martin Plowman, Ali Jackson, and Brunno Senna. After three days in Northern Ireland testing with the team, I set off on the ferry to England and a full day of travel. Snetterton was the venue for the next day’s testing.

Unfortunately it was a pretty frustrating day… It was a big public test day meaning every man, woman, and child was driving something on track at the same time as me. I think the entire day I got two clear laps. The rest of the time I was trying to pass Formula V’s, Formula Ford’s, Radical’s, and even a Caparo T1! (For those of you who don’t know what that is, just Google it and you’ll be very surprised) Looking on the positive side of things, I learned the track and had a good time passing a lot of cars. I really enjoyed ‘Snett’. There isn’t much to the track but I thought it was really fun!

After Snetterton, the next day (Saturday) I travelled north to Rockingham to see some Formula Renault teams in action. I want to be in Europe full time next year so I have to start talking with teams and try to figure out where the best place to race is! After about half a day at Rockingham, I decided to see if we could make it to Brands Hatch to see my friend Josef Newgarden. However, on our way to Brands we ran out of gas! The very frustrating thing was that our gas gauge said we still had a quarter of a tank left! So after sitting on the side of the motor a tow truck arrived to pick us up.

We were taken to a gas station but we still couldn’t go anywhere because Wayne, the team owner/team manager/my ride for the whole time I was in Ireland and the UK, decided to try and “fix” the gas gauge problem while we were on the side of the road. In doing so he snapped off a hose in the back seat that started spraying gas everywhere! So after riding from the gas station to a random parking lot on the back of a tow truck, we decided to try and fix what we had broken. With a small tool kit, a broken zip tie, and some hot water, we ended up getting the small pipe back onto where it needed to be. Then when we tried to start the car we discovered the battery was dead.

As if the day couldn’t get any worse! So we tried to bump start the car by pushing it down a hill and somehow that worked! Now we were back on the road again with no back seat in the car and me sitting on nothing in the back trying to keep the hose from flying off and shooting gas everywhere. All this took place in a BMW M5. I know, I didn’t expect us to have any issues in a car like that either. Unfortunately we never reached Brands Hatch. We just decided to head back to home base where the big team transporter was because it was already getting late at night and I had to be at the Birmingham Airport Hotel by that evening! I had an early flight to Atlanta the next morning so I had to get some rest.

Well, that covers my first week of crazy racing adventures, now onto week two! took place in Braselton, Georgia at the famous Road Atlanta track. It was the second to last Star Mazda race weekend of the season. Practice started on Tuesday so I had no time to go home in between trips. It definitely took me a little while to get used to driving the Mazda again because the car was so different from the Formula Renault. I find both cars enjoyable to drive and it was no problem transitioning after a few sessions. Practice went well and I really enjoyed the track. The track is unique with huge elevation changes and some amazing corners.

Once qualifying came around I knew I had a good shot at the pole. Unfortunately, I missed the pole by five hundredths of a second. I really wanted the top spot but I had to be pleased with my pace because pole sitter, Peter Dempsey and I were three tenths quicker than the field. During the race however I wasn’t able to keep up with pole man Peter and I was forced to watch him streak off into the distance as I held on to second place. It was actually a pretty boring race…

I had to stay sharp the first quarter of the race because third place was right behind me but once we got closer to half way I started opening up a big gap and ended up finishing second a good 4 seconds clear of the cars behind me. It was extremely hot during the race so I was absolutely drenched in sweat by the end. I was still pleased even though I really wanted a win but I still have Laguna Seca to try and get my second victory of the season!

So another successful race is in the books and now onto week 3 which is actually still going on! Week 3 involves ALL work and no play. When I say work, I mean school work and it has not been fun. Since I missed two weeks of school there was quite a bit to be done on my return. I am typing this on a Thursday so I still have some work to do on Friday but I’m looking forward to a weekend off to rest up and get ready to go to Laguna Seca on Tuesday!

~Conor

The opinions reflected herein are solely those of the above commentator and are not necessarily those of SPEEDtv.com, SPEED, FOX, or NewsCorp.

Conor Daly, a second generation race driver, is the son of former F1, IndyCar and Sportscar driver Derek Daly. Conor's lineage of speed also extends to his mother, Beth, a winner at the Jet Ski World Finals. He became the youngest driver in the country to win a Pro kart race when he won the Pro Invitational race at the TaG World Championships, and later won the Stars of Karting TaG East championship.

In 2008, Conor won the Skip Barber National Championship and the Canadian Formula Ford 1600 Rookie of the year title after winning a total of ten races in both series. Along the way he set three new lap records in Canada, and scored ten pole positions in three different classes.

In November 2008, Conor represented the Team USA scholarship when he won the prestigious Walter Hayes Formula Ford Trophy at Silverstone, England. He was the youngest driver to ever win the event and the first American.

Just 16 years old, Conor lives in Noblesville, Indiana with his parents and attends high school while competing in the 2009 Star Mazda open-wheel championship. Learn more about Conor at ConorDaly.net

Conor's columns are produced with SPEEDtv.com contributor Declan Brennan.
The opinions reflected herein are solely those of the above commentator and are not necessarily those of SPEED.com, FOX, NewsCorp, or SPEED
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