IndyCar: Daly encouraged by Sebring test with SPM

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The times were unofficial during Tuesday's multi-team test on Sebring's short course, but according to most stop watches, Conor Daly was among the fastest drivers to lap the Floridian circuit.

Two years removed from his last road course outing in an Indy car, the Indianapolis-born, European-bred racer had three Andretti Autosport cars, two from CFH Racing, one from Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, and Schmidt Peterson Motorsports teammate James Hinchcliffe to use a benchmark.

"It was good to remind people I can drive!" he told RACER. "I don't just want to be known as the guy looking for a ride, and right away, we were really quick and providing good feedback for the team. James and I were within a tenth all morning long, I did longer runs in the afternoon, and it was one of my best days in a racecar, ever. I felt right at home, right there with the established guys, and everyone at the team seemed pretty excited."

Hinchcliffe has been a vocal advocate for Daly and his possible inclusion at SPM. After spending the day with Daly in the sister SPM entry, the Canadian was encouraged by the results.

"He did a great job and put himself on the radar," said Hinchcliffe, who took over the team leader role for 2015. "I think everyone there got a chance to see how quick he is, as if they needed reminding."

Lap times were tight – in the 52.7-52.9 range for many drivers – and Daly was able to shadow his friend and race-winning teammate during the one-day test run. He now joins a number of drivers who are gunning for the full-time seat alongside Hinchcliffe, and says he hopes the outing at Sebring will convince Sam Schmidt and Ric Peterson to keep him in the Honda-powered team throughout 2015.

"My whole goal was to give Sam and Ric a compelling reason to sign me, and I hope that's the conclusion they arrive at," Daly noted. "My chemistry with the team, the crew, with Hinch – it was right there, and after being out of an Indy car for a while, it really felt like everything snapped into place.

"The next step is to figure out the commercial side, the B2B side, and to keep pushing to make something happen. This was just a test, so we aren't signed or anything like that, but we want to be there if we can come to terms. One way or another, I want to be racing in IndyCar this year and the test with SPM can only help get me to where I'm trying to go."​