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DALY: My First Star Mazda Win
Written by: Conor Daly   
06/22/2009
Noblesville, IN
 
On returning from Utah, I spent every day looking forward to making amends at the next event at the New Jersey Motorsport Park. My weekend at Miller was very frustrating and it ended with me having to make a pit stop with a broken front wing and valuable championship points slipping away. New Jersey was where I was going to turn all of that around.
It was a family affair on the podium at New Jersey as Conor was surrounded by his team, his friends and his father to celebrate his first win in the Star Mazda series. (Daly Family) » More Photos

The race weekend in New Jersey was the first double header weekend of the season meaning there are two completely separate races all on the same weekend. Practice on Thursday did not go as well as we would have liked. I was struggling for pace and the car was not good. The car just didn’t have enough overall grip and it always felt “sloppy”. After that start on Thursday it was looking like Miller Motorsports Park all over again. I was chatting with my engineer for quite a while that night as well as looking at onboard video, looking at data, and just talking about what I felt the car needed. We made some major changes over night hoping to finally get the car in a competitive position.

Friday morning started off rainy and humid. Our first session was at around 9am and we were hoping the track would be dry by then. The beginning of the first session was very wet but it quickly dried with the help of clearing skies and warming sun. Our plan was originally not to go out because we would just tear up a set of rain tires but since it looked like the track wouldn’t actually dry out completely we went out towards the end of the session to do a few laps. After the session I was very pleased to hear that I was fastest.

It had been a long time since I was on the top of the time sheets but we finally made it back on top. Since that was a damp session I was hoping that our pace would continue to hold up in the dry. The next session was completely dry and hot and again I was fastest. I was extremely happy with my car and very pleased to be setting the pace. Next up was qualifying and I was very confident going in that I had a good car. The session was 40 minutes long so we went out to burn off fuel for a while and fine tune the set up. Once we got the car just right we put on a new set of tires so I could make a run for the pole. The first 2 to 3 laps are supposed to be the best laps on the new tires and for the first three laps there were cars coming on track from the pits right in front of me messing up any chance I had at throwing down a quick lap.

So I backed off and tried to get a massive gap on track to do some quick clean laps. I now had no idea whether there was a good time left in the tires or not. My first flying lap was very quick. Then I went quicker and quicker and I was throwing down faster laps than anyone was running at the time but I hadn’t quite got pole. Then I put together a really good lap and just got the pole by under a tenth of a second. I was absolutely over the moon when I got to the pits and was told I was on pole. I was so happy for the team, my mechanic Dave and my engineer Mike.

Saturday was the biggest day of the year so far for me. I was starting on the pole for our first race that was being broadcasted on live TV. I was really excited and also a bit nervous. When I pulled up to take my position on the grid I was 100% committed to winning the race. This was my best chance I
had all season and I wasn’t going to let it slip away. As soon as the lights started lighting up I put the car in gear and it started to creep. I immediately hit the brakes because I could not risk a jumped start penalty. I had to be on the clutch, gas, and brake simultaneously.

I wasn’t able to get a good start and Adam Christodoulou was able to get by me into turn one. However he slid a little wide and I went right down the inside of him into turn two and got first position back. The rest of the race was smooth sailing. My car was consistently fast and was handling incredibly. I crossed the finish line with a big lead and a big smile! I was so happy for everyone on my team because we had all worked so hard. After the celebration it was time to focus on the next day’s race.
Daly made the most of his Anderson Racing car at NJMP and continues to impress in his rookie season. (Daly Family) » More Photos

The next day did not start off well. In qualifying the car was perfect again but when we went to new tires the car was very loose. The session was a short 20 minutes and we didn’t have enough time to come in and make adjustments so I ended up 9th. The race was very difficult. The layout of the track meant it was near impossible to pass. All the corners are medium to high speed corners and there aren’t any significant straights to get a good run and draft by someone. I spent the entire race doing my best to pass the car in front of me but I just couldn’t get along side of him.

I felt as though my car would have been very good in clean air but its racing and you don’t always get clean air. So after battling hard with the championship leader Peter Dempsey I ended up finishing 8th with my teammate Richard Kent winning. It was a great weekend for Andersen Racing and we plan on keeping the momentum going to the first oval race of the season this weekend at the Milwaukee Mile!

~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.
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