Conor Daly reveals his sweet handwritten message for Colton Herta in BTS footage from Long Beach GP

IndyCar drivers Conor Daly and Colton Herta swapped their helmets during the 50th edition of the Long Beach Grand Prix weekend as a sign of mutual respect. In a recently released YouTube VLOG from that race weekend, Daly showed the heartwarming message he wrote for his fellow driver on his helmet.

Daly read out the message on his green and black Juncos Hollinger Racing helmet in the video, saying [0:56 onwards]:

"Here we go - 'To Colton, you are an absolute superstar behind the wheel! Never stop being you! Been an absolute pleasure sharing the track and many beers with you', because Colton can house some beers. So shoutout Colton Herta. Great trade."

Conor Daly had shared a photo with Colton Herta on Instagram after swapping their helmets. The caption to the post read:

"Great trade to start the weekend 🤝 this young lad is one of the best dudes in the paddock. Has the ability to annihilate some ice cold beverages to celebrate or commiserate. Here’s to many more races ahead my brother @coltonherta."

Team Penske's Scott McLaughlin made a witty comment on the post, emphasizing how Daly also has the ability to chug some beers.

"*both have that ability* 🍻🍻🍻," the No. 3 Chevy driver wrote.

A snapshot of Scott McLaughlin and Conor Daly's comments on the latter's IG post (@conordaly22)

This prompted the Juncos Hollinger Racing driver to ask McLaughlin to be the next driver to swap helmets with him. That weekend, McLaughlin was the best out of the aforementioned three drivers, with a P6 finish. Herta was right behind him in P7, while Daly suffered a challenging race to finish in a lowly P25.

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The unusual issues that tanked Conor Daly's performance at Long Beach

Conor Daly had a subpar qualifying session on the streets of Long Beach. He couldn't advance beyond Round 1, finishing 11th out of 13 drivers in Group 1. This meant he would start 21st on the grid.

Troubles mounted in the race as his No. 76 JHR squad failed to adequately refuel his car on the first pit stop. A separate ride control issue added another handicap. Daly eventually finished in P25, two laps down.

In a post on social media platform X, the 34-year-old explained his plight, writing:

"Really difficult day for us after not getting enough fuel in the car on the first stop. Also dealing with a ride control issue that basically wounded us terminally. Nothing we could do pace-wise. Congrats to the team and @sting_ray_robb on a great result!"

His teammate Sting Ray Robb had the best race of his IndyCar career, going from P19 to P9 to match his career-best result. Robb was elated after the brilliant showing that edged him past Daly for 20th in the championship standings.