INDIANAPOLIS _ Conor Daly apologized to his crew after making a move that resulted in a crash and early end to his fourth Indianapolis 500 on Sunday.
Daly, who the Detroit Free Press is following from Indianapolis Motor Speedway to Belle Isle for the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix next Sunday, started 26th and finished 30th in the 101st running of the Indy 500.
Takuma Sato went on the win the race to become the first Japanese driver to win the Indy 500, holding off three-time race winner Helio Castroneves over the final hectic laps.
Daly was running 17th when he tried to make a pass on Lap 66. He had just completed his fastest lap of the race in the No. 4 ABC Supply Co. Chevrolet and ended up slamming into the wall after losing control in Turn 3.
"I'm so sorry guys," Daly said over the radio after the incident.
Daly had struggled earlier this month in practices and qualifying. His best two practice sessions came in the week before the race.
Even though he had moved up early, Daly had complained about the car to his team a couple times.
"It started to get a little greasy after the first stint," Daly said. "Sliding around a little bit more after the first half of the stint, but it was good. Made another adjustment and just got into a mess.
"So yeah, wrong place, wrong time really."
Asked if he was trying to be aggressive after having his fastest lap of the day, Daly said: "I was just trying to make the right moves."
Daly said he wasn't sure why the cars in front of him backed up as much as they did in Turn 3.
"Had to pop out to avoid Charlie (Kimball) on the inside line," Daly said. "Once I got to the high line it was just too much oversteer for us to handle, so that was a shame."
Asked about apologizing to the team, Daly said: "Crashing is the worst, especially at this race. You just hate it to happen because I probably could have avoided that situation. But it was just really hard to tell where to go, what to do. It all happened so fast."
Daly, from nearby Noblesville, Ind., had another disappointing effort at his home track. Daly's best finish came in his first Indy 500, when he finished 22nd for A.J. Foyt Racing. He finished 33rd after a mechanical problem in 2015 and 29th in 2016.
"Everything really has sucked here at the 500," Daly said. "We've had good cars the last two years. ... This year's was definitely more on my shoulders. That's why we come back every year. We really want to do well because this place is just so magical. But it sucks when it ends like this."
Daly's stepfather, Doug Boles, is the president of IMS. His mother, Beth Boles, was a former Indy 500 Festival princess. His father, Derek Daly, who worked the race as a local TV analyst, was a former Indy 500 participant and Formula One driver.
George Klotz, the race director for A.J. Foyt Racing, said they tweaked tire pressures on the first pit stop and put some downforce in on the second stop.
"That third stint we had the fastest race lap," Klotz said. "Things were going pretty good. Come off (Turn) 2, about four-wide. He just got in a bad spot. I think he touched wheels with Kimball, got on the high side of him. Touched wheels with him and shot him into the wall."
Did Klotz think Daly was too aggressive at that point in the race?
"Don't know if that's the word," Klotz said. "It's a circumstance that he was in. He said that Kimball had checked up a little bit, so he kind of went for it. You gotta make a split-second decision. Things happen quick out there. It's just one of those things."
Although he was still clearly frustrated by Sunday's early exit, Daly acknowledged he can look forward to going to Belle Isle, where he has a history of success at the Raceway at Belle Isle Park.
Daly's best Verizon IndyCar Series finish came at Belle Isle last season. He finished second in the first dual on June 4 and sixth in the second dual on June 5.
Daly also finished sixth in the second dual in 2015.
"Hopefully we can go try and get a win in Detroit or something," Daly said. "I've just always done well there. Love Detroit. Love the track. Love the two-race format. It's challenging but it's a great place."
Daly has been a very popular driver this month at his home track. He's been followed by multiple local and national TV stations. He was visited on the grid before the race by Marshmello, a costumed electronic dance music producer and DJ. Another musician who was hanging out before the race with Daly's family was Kevin Ray, a member of the band Walk The Moon, best known for the song "Shut Up And Dance."
