During the 2025 Borchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix qualifying session at Nashville Superspeedway, Juncos Hollinger Racing’s Conor Daly encountered an unexplained drop in speed that left him puzzled. Despite a full qualifying session where all 27 drivers completed two timed laps, Daly was unable to secure a strong position, ending up in 25th place behind Louis Foster of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing.
On his initial lap, Daly clocked a time of 24.0761 seconds, but his performance declined on the second lap with a time of 24.2420 seconds. His #76 Juncos Hollinger car averaged just 198.187 mph, which was well below what he had hoped for during qualifying at the Nashville oval track.
Reflecting on his difficult qualifying runs, Daly addressed the issue on his X account, hinting at a technical problem that affected his performance.
“Bit of a mystery on where our speed went for qualifying. A massive balance shift hurt us big time. We’ve done well coming from the back on ovals before so we’ll do it again tomorrow.”
—Conor Daly, Juncos Hollinger Racing Driver
Practice Performance Contrast Highlights Issue
Interestingly, Daly’s earlier practice session suggested a better outcome might have been possible. In Practice 1 prior to qualifying, he showcased a stronger pace by finishing 15th, also trailing behind Louis Foster at that point. This stark difference between Practice 1 and qualifying lap times intensified the mystery surrounding his sudden loss of speed.
Meanwhile, several other drivers impressed during the qualifying session. Pato O’Ward, David Malukas, and Christian Lundgaard secured the top three starting positions, setting a competitive tone for the upcoming race at Nashville Superspeedway.
Review of Daly’s Season and Recent Milwaukee Race Performance
Conor Daly has experienced a challenging 2025 campaign with Juncos Hollinger Racing, a smaller team compared to some competitors. Despite this, he remains the team’s highest-ranked driver in the overall standings, positioned 19th with 237 points and three top-ten finishes.
However, Daly’s recent track results, including qualifying struggles at Nashville and a subpar finish at the Milwaukee Mile, have fallen short of his expectations. At Milwaukee, he finished 13th, an outcome that left him visibly disappointed.
After the Milwaukee race, Daly commented on the difficulties faced by the team, noting problems with their pit strategies and unresolved car issues.
“Wrapped up Milwaukee here, obviously a really fun start. I got a lot of positions right at the beginning of the race. But we have a lot to look at as a team. We had some difficult cycles in and out of the pits and we just have to figure that out. There were a lot of weird things going on with the car that we just have to analyze.”
—Conor Daly, Juncos Hollinger Racing Driver
Looking Ahead to the Season Finale at Nashville
The 225-lap Borchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix represents the final race of the 2025 season, making Saturday’s event critical for Daly and his team. Starting from 25th place on the grid, Daly aims to recover lost ground and improve his standing by making significant advances during the race.
Given his experience and past success in climbing through the field in oval races, Daly remains cautiously optimistic about his chances despite the recent qualifying setbacks. The team will work to resolve the balance issues and other complications to maximize performance at Nashville Superspeedway.
