Apart from his usual strong run at the Indianapolis 500, where he finished eighth, Daly has struggled for speed elsewhere this year, with a next-best result of 14th at the St Petersburg opener. He finished 15th in Sunday’s race at Detroit.
Daly, 31, began his IndyCar career in 2013 and has hopped between its smaller teams ever since. He scored a remarkable pole position with Carlin at Iowa in 2020 and has a best finish of second at Belle Isle in 2016, driving for Dale Coyne Racing.
He first joined forces with Carpenter’s team in 2020 before getting a full-time opportunity in ’21 and finished sixth in last year’s Indy 500 with the team, having also taken fifth in the Indy GP on the road course that season.
“This is the most difficult decision I have made as a team owner because I respect Conor and know what he means to INDYCAR and its fans,” said Carpenter. “Our team has not been performing at the level we are capable of this year, and despite making technical changes and investments in the offseason, 2023 has been extremely challenging.
“I have put a great deal of consideration into the current state of our team and realise it is my obligation to our employees, partners and supporters to do whatever is necessary to elevate our team’s competitiveness.
“We sincerely wish Conor continued success and will cheer him on wherever he goes next.”
Daly also released a statement about the split.
“Although we’ve mutually decided that it’s in our best interests to take different paths, I’d like to thank Ed Carpenter Racing for the past three and a half seasons,” he said.
“I’m grateful to everyone who has supported me – past, present and into the future. I look forward to taking on the next opportunities that await, and I want to thank the fans for being with me on this ride.”
A further statement from the team read: “Information regarding the driver of the No. 20 Bitnile.com Chevrolet for the upcoming event at Road America will be released in due course.”
