SALINAS,Ca. – Conor Daly is getting another shot at a full-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES season — and this time, he’s coming home.
Dreyer & Reinbold Racing announced Saturday that Daly will return to full-time IndyCar competition in 2027, signing the popular Indiana native to a multiyear deal to drive the team’s new No. 24 Honda. The announcement came at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca during the 2026 season finale.
The deal represents a major comeback for Daly, who spent the 2026 season without a full-time IndyCar ride after competing for Juncos Hollinger Racing in 2025. The 34-year-old veteran will now lead DRR’s return to full-season competition — a comeback that carries significant historical weight for the Indianapolis-based organization.
“We’re returning to full-time competition in 2027 with Honda engines, and Conor Daly is the driver we want leading that return,” DRR CEO Derek Reinbold said.
A reunion with a familiar team
Daly already knows the Dreyer & Reinbold organization well.
He drove for the team in the Indianapolis 500 in both 2024 and 2026, finishing 10th and 12th, respectively. In the 2026 race, Daly recorded the fastest race lap at 225.126 mph and led four laps.
That experience helped make Daly an obvious choice as DRR prepares for the biggest step in its recent history.
Dreyer & Reinbold has competed in the Indianapolis 500 every year since 2000, but the organization has not fielded a full-time IndyCar entry since 2012. The team purchased a charter from Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing in July, clearing the way for its return to the championship full-time in 2027.
Now Daly will be the driver tasked with carrying that effort.
“Conor has raced for us at Indianapolis, so we know how he prepares, how he works with engineers and how much he gets out of a car,” Reinbold said. “He has shown for years that he can win the Indianapolis 500, and our job is to give him a car that lets him do it.”
Daly’s road back
Daly’s return is notable not only because of the seat itself, but because of the path he took to get here.
A second-generation racer and the son of former Formula One and IndyCar driver Derek Daly, Conor Daly made his IndyCar debut in the 2013 Indianapolis 500. He has since accumulated 133 IndyCar starts, recording six top-five finishes, 26 top-10s and one pole position. His best career series finish is second, achieved at Detroit in 2016.
His 2020 season produced perhaps his most memorable qualifying performance when he captured the pole at Iowa Speedway.
But despite years of experience, Daly entered 2026 without a full-time ride.
His Indy 500 opportunity with DRR provided a chance to stay in the spotlight. Now, that one-race opportunity has turned into something much bigger.
“I am extremely grateful to get back to full-time IndyCar racing with my friends at Dreyer and Reinbold Racing and Honda,” Daly said. “The faith that this group has shown in me is something that makes me want to work harder than ever before to deliver.”
Indiana roots, Indiana team
Few IndyCar stories in 2027 will carry the local significance of Daly and DRR coming together.
Daly is an Indiana native, while Dreyer & Reinbold is based in Carmel, Indiana. The organization also carries a family racing legacy that stretches back roughly a century through the Dreyer and Reinbold families.
“An Indiana driver in an Indiana team’s car is exactly how we want to come back,” Reinbold said.
The team will also return to Honda power after previously using Honda engines from 2005 through 2011.
That gives DRR a completely new foundation heading into the next era of IndyCar competition: a new charter, a new full-season program, Honda power and an experienced driver who already understands the demands of the Indianapolis 500.
Can Daly turn the opportunity into a breakthrough?
The challenge will be enormous.
DRR will essentially be rebuilding its full-time operation while competing against established organizations with years of technical development, larger engineering staffs and multiple-car programs.
But Daly brings something valuable to the equation: experience.
He has raced IndyCar on street circuits, permanent road courses and ovals. He has competed in NASCAR, sports cars and international open-wheel racing. And, perhaps most importantly for DRR, he has already demonstrated an ability to extract speed from the team’s equipment at Indianapolis.
The goal now is to translate that experience into a full season.
For Daly, 2027 isn’t simply another opportunity to race.
It’s a chance to prove that his place in IndyCar never disappeared — and to help resurrect one of the series’ most recognizable independent teams at the same time.
Conor Daly is back. And this time, he’s got a full season ahead of him.
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