IndyCar: Daly to attempt 2023 Daytona 500 with The Money Team

IndyCar driver Conor Daly will attempt to qualify for the Daytona 500 with the NASCAR team owned by Floyd Mayweather.

The Money Team Racing raced its way into the Daytona 500 last year with driver Kaz Grala; Daly made his Cup Series debut for the team in October on The Roval at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

“The Money Team Racing shocked the world by making the Daytona 500 last year and I believe in this team and know we will prepare a great car for this year’s race,” Mayweather said Tuesday. “Like a fighter who’s always ready to face the best, Conor has the courage to buckle into this beast without any practice and put that car into the field.

“Conor is like a hungry fighter and my kind of guy. I sure wouldn’t bet against him.”

“I am thrilled to be given the opportunity to attempt to run in the Daytona 500,” said Daly. “It is the most prestigious race in NASCAR and to have the chance to compete in it is truly an honor. I am also excited to be running the entire IndyCar Series season and select NASCAR Cup events. I am looking forward to the challenge and can’t wait to get behind the wheel of whatever BITNILE.COM race car, boat, dune buggy, or vehicle they ask me to drive. Bring it on.”

Daly will be among six drivers vying for four open spots in the 40-car field. Among those also trying to qualify for an open spot in the Feb. 19 season opener is seven-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson and action sports star Travis Pastrana, a close friend of Daly’s.

BITNILE.com, which will serve as an anchor partner of Daly’s efforts in the NTT IndyCar Series, will also join the 31-year-old as a primary sponsor of his NASCAR Cup Series program in 2023.

In addition to attempting the season-opening Daytona 500, Daly will also pilot the No. 50 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in events at Circuit of The Americas (COTA), and Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s Road Course.

When speaking with TobyChristie.com in December, Auchmoody also placed a target on events at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Charlotte’s ROVAL, and the season-finale at Phoenix Raceway, with the potential of adding races at Watkins Glen, and Talladega.

“We are going all-in with the launch of BITNILE.com,” said BITNILE.COM’s Executive Chairman Milton “Todd” Ault, III. “Our next-generation marketplace launches just 10 days after the Daytona 500 and is going to offer incredible real and virtual experiences and products. To help promote our marketplace, we asked Conor to run a number of NASCAR events this year in addition to our sponsorship of his full-time job in INDYCAR.”

“We are looking forward to Conor’s ‘Texas Two-Step,’ where he will compete in the NASCAR Cup race at Circuit of the Americas in Austin on Sunday, March 19, and then the following Sunday in Fort Worth at Texas Motor Speedway in the BITNILE.COM #20 INDYCAR,” Ault continued. “Then in August, Conor will do the ‘Daly Double’ at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where he will be the first driver to race in both the NASCAR and INDYCAR events over ‘Brickyard’ weekend.”

Last season, The Money Team Racing contested four NASCAR Cup Series events – three with Kaz Grala behind the wheel of the No. 50 Chevrolet Camaro, and one with Conor Daly – in which the team secured a season-high 21st-place finish in the Coca-Cola 600.

“The Money Team Racing shocked the world by making the Daytona 500 last year and I believe in this team and know we will prepare a great car for this year’s race,” said team co-owner Floyd Mayweather. “Like a fighter who’s always ready to face the best, Conor has the courage to buckle into this beast without any practice and put that car into the field. Conor is like a hungry fighter and my kind of guy. I sure wouldn’t bet against him.”

Daly and the No. 50 Chevrolet Camaro will have Tony Eury Jr. on the pit box once again in 2023, and will look to rise above a crowded field of individuals to put the No. 50 Chevrolet Camaro in ‘The Great American Race’ for the second straight year.