Max Chilton bows out of ovals, Conor Daly drafted by Carlin at Texas

Conor Daly will drive the No. 59 Chevrolet for Carlin Racing in this weekend’s DXC Technology 600 at the Texas Motor Speedway as the team’s full-season driver Max Chilton elects to step out of the final oval rounds of the season.

Daly is fresh off strong impression in the 103rd running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge where he drove for Andretti Autosport. He raced in the top ten virtually the entire day before finishing tenth.

The 27-year-old American last competed in the NTT IndyCar Series full time in 2017 when he drove for fellow Chevrolet team AJ Foyt Racing. He also raced full-time for Dale Coyne Racing in 2017 and played as a substitute for Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports in 2015 as well as Harding Racing in 2018.

Daly and Carlin have a common heritage having worked together in 2011 in the GP3 championship.

“I want to thank everyone at Carlin and Gallagher for the opportunity to get back in a race car at Texas Motor Speedway, he said. “I thoroughly enjoyed working with Carlin back in 2011 as I started my European racing journey and to now drive for them in the NTT IndyCar Series is pretty special. I look forward to being able to contribute to the team as best I can.”

Chilton was unclear regarding stepping out of the remaining ovals at Texas, Iowa, Pocono and Gateway but his comments indicate that it was safety motivated. The Briton was among the three drivers that failed to qualify for the Indy 500 along with teammate Patricio O’Ward.

“I would like to thank Gallagher for being supportive of my decision to not compete in the remaining oval races this season – I am extremely fortunate to have such a supportive partner,” said Chilton. “Risk Management is a central consideration of both Gallagher and myself in how we operate.

“I’m excited and pleased by the outstanding proactive work being done by INDYCAR around driver safety and the innovation of the solution developed in partnership with Red Bull Advanced Technologies that has created a new aero screen.”

The team has yet to announce who will drive the No. 59 in the final oval rounds.