By alley - Oct 4, 2016, 5:40 PM ET

INDYCAR: Daly honored as series' top passer

Verizon IndyCar Series rookie Conor Daly is set to receive the prestigious "Don't Crack Under Pressure" award from watchmaker TAG Heuer as a result of passing more cars than any other driver last season.

The Dale Coyne Racing ace was credited with 87 passes during the 16-race championship season to earn the award; Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing's Graham Rahal was second in the competition with 81 passes.

"I have to thank TAG Heuer for being a part of this series and offering this award," Daly said prior to Tuesday's IndyCar banquet. "The No. 18 DCR Honda was always well equipped for the race distance and gave me a chance to move forward. It was always going to be tough to compete for Rookie of the Year after Alex [Rossi] won the Indy 500 but to still come out of the year with an award for our race performance means a lot. That said; my next goal is to improve on my qualifying performance!"

Daly finished second in the rookie of the year standings on the strength of five top-six finishes and a fine second place in Detroit. His pass-happy ways became a necessity after the aforementioned struggles in qualifying; the promising Hoosier started 20th or worse in half of the 16 IndyCar races, and with so much ground to make up, Daly built a reputation as one of the series' hardest chargers.

The 24-year-old started his rookie campaign by improving seven positions at St. Petersburg, moved forward an incredible 16 spots at the Grand Prix of Indy, went from 16th to second at the first Detroit round and mirrored his GP of Indy performance by marching from 22nd to sixth at Mid-Ohio.

Daly had one more stellar performance to come at the penultimate round in Watkins Glen, where he vaulted from 17th to fourth. As one of IndyCar's top young free agents, Daly's penchant for forward motion could be of value to a number of teams – including DCR – as they look to assemble a stronger lineup in 2017.