"Sadly, IndyCar is a hard sell right now": Conor Daly admits challenge of raising $10M for a 2025 ride

IndyCar driver Conor Daly was featured on the Off Track with Hinch and Rossi YouTube channel for a podcast, which was uploaded on January 1, 2025. Former IndyCar driver James Hinchcliffe along with the active IndyCar drivers Alexander Rossi and Daly discussed the challenges of acquiring sponsors for the 2025 season

Daly detailed the sponsorship struggles as he said (via the Off Track with Hinch and Rossi podcast):

“They (JHR) were like, well, so the budgets have gone up and we're gonna need at least like 10 million per car to do this thing. And I was like, I have no idea how I'm gonna do that. Like, zero. I have not, not a clue. And I actually still don't know how that's going to happen, but I don't know.” (11:15 onwards)

“I have actually never in my entire life, and I've been doing this a long time now. I have never talked to more people about trying to be a supporter of this team and be a sponsor of this group in my life. It's every week, it's every day. It's at night, it's in the morning.”

“It's people on the West coast. You're almost asleep, 10:30pm CEOs, you're trying to talk to people. It doesn't matter when it is. You just have to talk to people. And sadly, you know, to be honest, IndyCar is a hard sell right now. It is. It's like, we all know that it's a hard sell when you're up against that amount of money,” Conor Daly continued.

2022 was Conor Daly's last season as a full-time driver in IndyCar. The 33-year-old secured the Indy 500 seat for the 2024 season with Dreyer and Reinbold Racing. However, after Agustin Canapino was sacked mid-season by Juncos Hollinger Racing, Daly was brought in as the replacement for the last five races.

Daly’s podium at the Milwaukee mile helped JHR push the No.78 car into the Leader's Circle. The American continued with the struggles of finding a sponsorship after the 2024 season as he looked to secure a job for the upcoming season. Nonetheless, despite now having solved the sponsorship puzzle, Daly was announced by JHR as its second driver for 2025 alongside Sting Ray Robb.

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“Most difficult offseason”: Conor Daly detailed the sponsorship issue before signing with JHR

Conor Daly was sponsored by Polkadot, a blockchain technology community, for the 2024 season. Daly reportedly received $2.1 million from Polkadot, which helped the American secure the Indy 500 seat and subsequently become the JHR driver for the last five races. However, as Daly detailed, things didn't go as smoothly with the sponsor for the upcoming season.

AUTO: AUG 19 IndyCar - Bommarito Automotive Group 500 - Source: Getty

“One of the most difficult offseasons I've ever gone through, and I've been through a lot. Last year, I pretty much knew all I'd have was the 500 (with Dreyer and Reinbold Racing). This one, I literally feel like I'm either in or so dead. I'll have no forms of income, and I have no idea what's going on, and it's just frustrating,” Conor Daly said via Indy Star in December 2024.

The JHR driver reportedly wannted $7.5M from Polkadot for a full-time 2025 IndyCar seat but his appeal was rejected by the company. The last reported proposal submitted by Daly was for $3M.