With Darlington Raceway being a throwback livery event, Conor Daly had praised Wood Brothers Racing's classic livery to honor F1 champion and Indy 500 winner Jim Clark's 1965 victory. However, his praise seemingly jinxed Josh Berry's race as the 34-year-old retired in the final stage, leading to Daly admitting his "fault" in the whole saga.
WBR's Darlington Raceway paint job had turned heads in the NASCAR paddock and intrigued IndyCar driver Daly to compliment the No. 21 Ford. It was made in tribute to two-time F1 champion and 1965 Indy 500 winner Clark, who won the famous race in the iconic Lotus colors with a Ford powering his victory.
Daly wrote on X ahead of the Darlington race (formerly Twitter):
"I love throwback weekend for @NASCAR. Darlington looks like such a cool place to race as well. @joshberry‘s paint scheme is the best one out there! The Jim Clark #indy500 win recognition is just fantastic @woodbrothers21."
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Josh Berry started the race in 24th but made several overtakes throughout. He finished Stage 1 in 17th place and recorded a top-five finish in Stage 2. However, he couldn't stay on the road in the final stage. He had lost a position and aimed to get back into the top five with Tyler Reddick ahead.
Berry tried to stick a move around the outside of the 23XI Racing driver, but the gap soon closed up, and he was tagged by the No. 45 car's rear end, pushing him into the wall. This led the WBR driver to lose control of the vehicle and end his race prematurely. Conor Daly then tweeted:
"That could be my fault."
Daly was on the sidelines last year and made several starts in the NASCAR Truck and Xfinity Series.
Conor Daly has the expertise of racing in both IndyCar and the NASCAR ladder
Conor Daly has racing expertise in both the open-wheel and stock car worlds. With the two forms requiring different skillsets, the 33-year-old revealed how the two series are different, and said (via FOX Sports):
"The IndyCar is so, so stiff and so low to the ground, and it's such a knife-edge movement, whereas the Xfinity cars are actually quite fun to drive because there's a lot more roll, there's a lot more movement. But still, if you can end up being as smooth as you are in an IndyCar, that seems to be rewarding you with speed.
It's where's the limit of the tire grip, aero efficiency, and it's just a different art form. That's the only way I can describe it. And it's been fun to kind of understand — well, I won't even understand it until after the race."
Daly was able to land a full-time seat later in the 2024 campaign. His podium at Milwaukee for Juncos Hollinger Racing impressed the owners and earned him a full-time drive for the 2025 season.
