Popular NTT IndyCar Series racer Conor Daly Returning to Dirt in BC39
NTT IndyCar Series driver Conor Daly will return to the Driven2SaveLives BC39 Powered by NOS Energy Drink on Sept. 4-5 at The Dirt Track at IMS.
Daly, 27, from nearby Noblesville, Indiana, will take the wheel of the Petry Motorsports No. 35 for the second running of the event on the quarter-mile dirt oval inside Turn 3 of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Daly’s ride, sponsored by Jonathan Byrd’s Racing, FK Rod Ends and Keizer Wheels, will be part of a four-car stable for the Petry team alongside USAC National Midget standouts Kevin Thomas Jr., Dave Darland and Jerry Coons Jr.
Daly is a veteran of 48 career NTT IndyCar Series starts, including six Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge appearances. He started 11th and finished 10th – both Indy 500 career bests — in May in an Andretti Autosport car. Last weekend, Daly recorded a season-best finish of sixth at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway for Carlin, and he will race this weekend in the Grand Prix of Portland for Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports.
Indiana native Daly has made two previous USAC Midget appearances, both in 2018. His first race came in the inaugural BC39 for Landon Simon Racing with the most recent coming in the season finale indoors at the Southern Illinois Center in Du Quoin, the Junior Knepper 55, for Jody Rosenboom.
Petry Motorsports, based in Greenfield, Indiana, has two cars and two drivers residing in the top 10 of USAC’s NOS Energy Drink National Midget standings. Thomas is fifth in the standings with one win during the Kokomo Grand Prix in April at Kokomo Speedway. Coons sits seventh in the standings with five top-fives and 14 top-10 finishes in 21 starts.
Coons also is one of eight USAC National Midget Champions in the BC39 field, joining Christopher Bell, Spencer Bayston, Darland, Russ Gamester, Logan Seavey, Tanner Thorson and J.J. Yeley.
Yeley also is the fifth driver who will perform “double duty” during the Brickyard week at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, racing in the BC39 and then in NASCAR events on the 2.5-mile oval, as he is scheduled to race in the Indiana 250 on Saturday, Sept. 7 along with fellow Xfinity Series drivers Bell and Chase Briscoe. Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series stars Kyle Larson and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. also will compete in the Big Machine Vodka 400 at the Brickyard Powered by Florida Georgia Line on Sunday, Sept. 8.
Another prominent entry is defending BC39 winner Brady Bacon, who will drive the No. 76E car fielded by FMR Racing. Two-time USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car champion Bacon led the final nine laps to capture the inaugural event last September.
Other top drivers previously entered include defending BC39 winner Brady Bacon, 2018 BC39 runner-up Chad Boat, 2018 Stoops Pursuit winner Zeb Wise, Gio Scelzi, Dillon Welch, Michael Pickens of New Zealand, Tyler Courtney, Chris Windom, Andrew Layser, Thomas Meseraull, David Prickett, Tyler Thomas, Brent Beauchamp, Justin Grant, Critter Malone, Shane Cottle, Matt Westfall, John Heydenreich, Cannon McIntosh, Zach Daum, Billy Wease and many others.
Another noteworthy driver racing in the BC39 is Karsyn Elledge, the granddaughter of 1995 Big Machine Vodka 400 at the Brickyard winner Dale Earnhardt. She is one of five female drivers entered for the BC39 along with Holley Hollan, Shannon McQueen, Randi Pankratz and Maria Cofer.
