Daly: I’d be a great fit with Foyt

Daly completed his first full season in the Verizon IndyCar Series this year, driving for Dale Coyne Racing-Honda, but has yet to nail down a ride for 2017. The Indiana native, who scored one runner-up finish, a fourth and two sixths this year, told Motorsport.com that his hopes now center on AJ Foyt Racing or a return to Coyne.

“Foyt is the team I’m pushing hardest for,” he said, “because I have a great relationship with AJ – we speak almost every week – and with Larry too. But right now they’re focused on finalizing their engine deal.

“But I’ve known most of those team guys since 2013 [when Daly made his IndyCar debut with the Texan team at the Indy 500]. I think it would be a good fit, and it would make a lot of sense to have at least one American driving for one of the most red, white ‘n’ blue American teams out there.”

However, Daly said that Coyne would also offer a strong opportunity and that he’d thrive on the opportunity to partner with the already-confirmed Sebastien Bourdais.

“I still think there’s a chance I could end up back with Dale,” he said. “I’d like to be there, because we achieved good things together, working with Mike Cannon was great and I do like continuity. I’d say it was the best deal around but I don’t have enough sponsorship for that yet.

“But definitely having Sebastien there would be a great help, to see the way he worked and be able to share data with someone who’s got a lot of experience and a proven track record.

“The team did a great job in 2016, and I’d like to think I contributed to that… but it means there are a lot more drivers coming after that seat now. That’s the way things go, right? There are still a lot of people in play out there right now.”

Asked if he had spoken with Ed Carpenter about joining the team, Daly said they had talked about road/street course driving in the #20 car that Carpenter races on ovals, “but I’m aiming to be full-time again.

“The problem is, we’re basically short on teams. Dreyer & Reinbold, Sarah Fisher, Conquest, HVM – they all disappeared over the past five years, and there’s a lot of young drivers who don’t have an opportunity, or don’t get the opportunity for long enough.”

On the subject of looking beyond IndyCar, Daly said: “I’ve tried to reach out to some Global Rallycross teams and I’ve started to ask around the NASCAR world, too. I have a couple of friends there and so I’ve been finding out about the Xfinity Series and Trucks. NASCAR understands about getting young drivers onboard.

“As for IMSA… maybe I don’t talk to the right people but I haven’t seen a lot of interest. And my sponsors are only committed to IndyCar so I wouldn’t have a lot to bring there.

“Plus, to be totally honest, I don’t have a lot of personal drive from my heart to be anywhere other than IndyCar. After this year, I can say it’s the only thing I want to do.”