The start of the race wasn’t all that bad. I didn’t get the best start in the world but I didn’t lose any positions so it wasn’t terrible. Near the end of the first lap came the first caution flag of the race. There had been a big accident deep in the field in turn 1. After doing several laps behind the pace car the field was set for the first restart of the race. The leader led us down into the final corner flat out.

A bit of adversity in qualifying made Daly's efforts on Sunday all the more rewarding. (Daly)

However, as we all came out of the last corner the field suddenly slowed down considerably almost causing major collisions. I happened to be still exiting the corner with quite a bit of wheel lock in the car so as soon as I jumped off the gas pedal the rear of my car swung around and I did a complete 360 on track and as I spun I saw death staring at me with cars coming straight towards me at speed.

But the next split second, after facing the pack of oncoming cars, I managed to correct the spin and started heading forwards again. I went down a few gears and hit the gas! I think there were over 10 cars that went passed me on track through the grass. Heading into turn one right after the incident I was determined to gain back as many positions as possible. I out braked at least 6 or seven cars around the outside going into turn one.

This put me back up to 9th after falling way back. Then what do you know another yellow flag. After that restart I think we did one lap of green flag racing and then another yellow. There was only about 15 minutes left in the race and I really just wanted to race and make up positions!

After another restart I was able to make it by my two team mates who were running 7th and 8th. I was now into 7th position heading for 6th. I was able to pass 6th place right before the last lap. I then tried to get to 5th but by the time I caught him we were coming to the checkered flag. After the race however, I was told I got 5th place because Adam Christodoulou went off as he tried to pass Peter Dempsey on the last lap.

I was somewhat pleased with 5th position but my car was very good and I knew if I had more green flag laps I would have been able to challenge for the win.

So after a very interesting weekend I head home to a full week of school which I do not look forward too. However it is a necessity and I have to finish out high school before I can think about a career in racing.

~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