Conor Daly of Juncos Hollinger Racing expressed clear frustration after finishing eighth in the Milwaukee IndyCar qualifying session, just behind Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden, who claimed seventh. The qualifying took place ahead of the 250-lap oval race, with both drivers set to start in Row 4, side by side.
During his two-lap qualifying attempt, Daly maintained a strong pace but suffered a costly mis-shift exiting Turn 4 that impacted his speed. His average speed across the two laps was 160.181 mph, narrowly trailing Newgarden’s 160.330 mph in the #2 Team Penske car. Daly openly reflected on the close loss after qualifying, indicating his irritation with Newgarden’s performance.
“Josef’s pretty good on these things, and it makes me very angry that he got me once again like Iowa. Yeah, man, I feel really good, love this place, and we’ll see where we end up.” —Conor Daly, Driver
Top qualifiers and starting lineup for the Milwaukee race
The pole position for the Milwaukee race will be occupied by Alex Palou, the 2025 IndyCar champion, driving the #10 Chip Ganassi Racing car. Palou secured the top spot with a two-lap average speed of 162.971 mph, just ahead of AJ Foyt Racing’s David Malukas, who qualified second with 162.256 mph.
Row two will feature Pato O’Ward in third position alongside Scott McLaughlin, Newgarden’s teammate at Team Penske, starting fourth. Row three consists of two-time IndyCar champion Will Power in fifth and Andretti Global’s Kyle Kirkwood in sixth. Daly and Newgarden will be positioned immediately behind them, set to begin the race together in the fourth row.
Conor Daly’s recent challenges include major crash at Portland
Adding to his disappointment after Milwaukee qualifying, Conor Daly endured a severe crash earlier in the season at the Portland Grand Prix, Round 15 of the 2025 IndyCar season. Attempting to overtake Ed Carpenter Racing’s Christian Rasmussen on the outside of Turn 10, Daly was clipped and sent forcefully into the barriers.
Speaking about the incident during an interview with FOX, Daly expressed visible frustration and criticized Rasmussen’s racing behavior.
“Yeah, I mean, honestly, I saw him drive Colton almost into the wall on the back straight, and that’s how I got Colton and got his position. He was quite slow and, so I tried to pass him into 7 and then again, drove himself off the track to make sure I drove off the track.” —Conor Daly, Driver
“So again, I’m not really sure what was the point of that. It kind of seems stupid in my opinion. And then, he was really slow down the straight and I just went past him and he just never stopped.” —Conor Daly, Driver
As the season progresses, Daly’s current standing sits at 19th place in the driver rankings after the first 15 rounds.
The impact of recent events on Daly’s momentum and upcoming races
The narrow loss to Newgarden in Milwaukee qualifying and the dramatic crash at Portland highlight the difficulties Daly has faced during the 2025 season. Despite showing strong pace on ovals and road courses, these incidents have affected his progress and current positioning in the championship. Looking ahead, Daly will aim to build on his evident speed and reduce errors to climb the standings as the season continues.
