Ed Carpenter Racing, Conor Daly 'mutually agree to part ways' for rest of 2023 IndyCar season
Ed Carpenter Racing and driver Conor Daly have "mutually agreed to end their relationship, effective immediately,” according to a news release from the IndyCar team, ending Daly's three-plus year tenure.
According to the release, the No. 20 Chevy entry will continue to run full-time the remainder of the 2023 IndyCar season by a driver (or drivers) to be named at a later date ahead of the next race on the calendar at Road America June 18. Given multiple references to the company as the primary sponsor on all three of ECR's cars, it appears BitNile.com -- the sponsor Daly delivered at the start of the 2022 season to secure his full-time ride -- will remain aligned with ECR.
"This is the most difficult decision I have made as a team owner because I respect Conor and know what he means to IndyCar and its fans," team owner Ed Carpenter said in the release. "Our team has not been performing at the level we are capable of this year, and despite making technical changes and investments in the offseason, 2023 has been extremely challenging.
"I have put a great deal of consideration into the current state of our team and realize it is my obligation to our employees, partners and supporters to do whatever is necessary to elevate our team's competitiveness. We sincerely wish Conor continued success and will cheer him on wherever he goes next."
Daly is 20th in points following his 15th-place finish in the Detroit Grand Prix on Sunday, just his third top-15 finish of the year. Last month, he logged his second consecutive top-10 in the Indianapolis 500 and for the second consecutive year put together ECR's best finish in the Greatest Spectacle in Racing. Teammate Rinus VeeKay worked his way back to 10th after spinning and crashing into Alex Palou in pitlane, after the Dutchman started on the front row, and Carpenter ended up 20th after getting collected in a late-race crash on the front stretch.
Through seven races this year, Daly has logged better finishes than his 22-year-old teammate four times and has done so 11 of the last 24 IndyCar races. VeeKay, though, has displayed a stronger ceiling during the pair's four seasons as teammates, with finishes in the championship of 14th (2020), 12th (2021) and 12th (2022), compared to Daly's 17th (2020), 18th (2021) and 17th (2022). They currently sit 15th and 20th in points, respectively.
"Although we've mutually decided that it's in our best interests to take different paths, I'd like to thank ECR for the past three-and-a-half seasons," Daly said in the release. "I'm grateful to everyone who has supported me -- past, present and into the future. I look forward to taking on the next opportunities that await, and I want to thank the fans for being with me on this ride."
In 46 starts with ECR since the start of the 2020 season, including two campaigns (2020 and 2021) where he ran a road and street course-only program with the team (along with the 500), Daly logged three top-10s, including his last two 500s (6th and 8th) and a 5th-place finish in the 2022 GMR Grand Prix on the IMS road course -- one of four top-5 finishes he has in his career, and his first since 2022.
Among the potential candidates to land the ride in the short and long-term, ECR has 2022 Indy Lights champion Linus Lundqvist testing with the team this week at Sebring.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: IndyCar: Conor Daly, Ed Carpenter Racing 'mutually agree to part ways'
