"A lot that can't be said publicly": Conor Daly gives key update on IndyCar seat since $3.5 million sponsorship loss

Conor Daly has given an update on his IndyCar seat situation with Juncos Hollinger Racing since losing a major potential primary sponsor before the 2025 season began. Polkadot, a blockchain company, rejected his ask for a $3.5 million sponsorship less than three weeks before the season opener at St. Petersburg.

The negative development came on the final day of the 28-day window when his referendum was being evaluated and approved/rejected by the different voters in the Polkadot community. With a week left in that period, he had nearly 80% of 'Aye' votes, but a whale in the ecosystem, Mark Cachia of Scytale Digital, lobbied against Daly's sponsorship ask and rejected it.

Polkadot had plans to sponsor Conor Daly for eight races, including making new car liveries and race suits. However, it was not to be. In a Polkadot company meeting, he admitted that he could lose his seat because of this development. Rumors arose once the recording of the meeting was shared on X, which he cleared a few days later after IndyCar's preseason test at Sebring.

In his recent appearance on the Divebomb podcast, the No. 76 JHR Chevy driver reaffirmed his stay with the Argentinian-American team, but couldn't share a lot about the full-season commitment.

"There's a lot that can be said publicly and a lot that can't be," Daly said [6:17 onwards]. So we're still here, we're fighting the good fight every day. I live life one day at a time, one weekend at a time because that's how I realize that IndyCar has to be nowadays. So I'm with the team. We want to win together, we want to fight for this championship throughout the weekends, all the way to the end of it, but obviously, we still want to make it known to people, that 'Hey, there are opportunities here to support us and that will help us if people continue to come on board."

Conor Daly was supposed to start the 2025 season in his No. 78 car but had to change it to No. 76 after finding a new sponsor in Union 76 gas stations.

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Conor Daly has a "lot of positives" after IndyCar's Grand Prix of St. Petersburg

Conor Daly's No. 76 JHR Chevy at INDYCAR Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg - Day 1 - Source: Getty

Conor Daly had a decent first outing with Juncos Hollinger Racing. At the season-opening Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, the qualifying session didn't go in his favor. He got knocked out in Round 1 and started P22 on the grid.

However, a Lap 1 crash between Will Power and Nolan Siegel allowed Daly to make up eight places. He was on a three-stop strategy, the first of which came after in Lap 2. Daly's steady efforts made sure he finished P17, net five positive.

In an Instagram post summarizing his first race weekend of 2025, he wrote:

"Round 1 ✅ went from 22nd to 14th or so after lap 1. Stint 1 felt good running near the top 10 but had to go to used primaries for stint 2 which degraded far more than we expected and ended our chances at a decent result. More about that on @speedstreetpod this week! A lot of positives to take from the weekend and a lot learned. P17 at the end of the day. Onto thermal 🫡 "

Conor Daly earned 13 points for his P17 finish. He will be seen in action next at the Thermal Club IndyCar Grand Prix from March 21 to 23.