Conor Daly remembers dad Derek Daly's framed F1 memory in emotional confession about 50th Long Beach GP

Juncos Hollinger Racing's Conor Daly came out and shared his clear opinion about the upcoming IndyCar race at Long Beach. The 2025 Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach will be the 50th running of an IndyCar event being hosted on the track. While speaking about the same, Daly recalled his dad Derek’s framed F1 memory.

Derek Daly is a former F1 and IndyCar driver, who raced in F1 from 1978-1982 and competed in 64 events. During this era, the Long Beach circuit was a part of the F1 calendar.

Conor was featured in the recent episode of the Pit Pass Indy podcast and when he was questioned about the 50th running of the Long Beach IndyCar race, he recalled the photo of his father Derek from the F1 race at the circuit and spoke about the same.

“I think the coolest part about it is I have a photo hanging in my house of my dad in a Formula One car at the Long Beach race in the 80s. It's a cornerstone event for us. It's a cornerstone event for motor racing in general,” said Daly (17:45 onwards)

Conor Daly then went on to highlight the other significant achievements that he accomplished at Long Beach as he emphasized why it's a special race for him. He said:

“My 100th IndyCar start was at Long Beach. So the fact that I could do that there and then be a part of the 50th is special. And one of my Indy Lights wins was there too. So everything about Long Beach to me is special.”

Conor Daly's dad Derek drove for multiple teams during his short stint in F1 which included Hesketh Racing, Team Ensign, Candy Tyrrell Team, March Grand Prix Team, Theodore Racing Team, and TAG Williams Team. The P4 results during the 1980 season at Autodromo Municipal Ciudad de Buenos Aires and Silverstone was Derek's career-best finish.

Conor Daly reflects on a “tough” Thermal Club IndyCar race

Conor Daly started the Thermal Club GP from the mid-pack after qualifying P15. The JHR driver finished the race in P16 and took to social media platform X to share his feelings about the grueling 65-lap-long race at the circuit in California.

“Really tough, long day. Got a bit fender blasted on lap 1 and had to recover from there. Had really good pace on reds just need a bit more on the primary tire. Good steps forward overall for us this weekend, P16 @juncoshollinger #indycar”, tweeted Daly.

All the drivers including Conor struggled with tire degradation at the Thermal Club, and it was the tire conservation and strategy that decided the finishing order. Daly’s teammate Sting Ray Robb finished the race in P23.