Conor Daly

KNOXVILLE, Iowa – Conor Daly wasn’t going to let an opportunity to win a race slip by – even if it was a friendly race between race car drivers and media.

The Dale Coyne Racing driver beat a field of 10 drivers – including sprint car racers McKenna Haase and Davey Heskin – to win the 20 lap A-Main at Slideways Karting Center not far from the sprint car racing capital of the world, Knoxville Raceway.

“The last time we had a fun race like this, we let the Supercross riders win, and we never heard the end of it,” said Daly, who joked that his victory was his second in Iowa after winning in Pro Mazda at Iowa Speedway in 2010. “Couldn’t let that happen again. We had a great time out here today.”

Daly’s exposure to sprint car racing didn’t end with the kart track. He toured Knoxville Raceway with Haase, the first female driver to win a feature at dirt track, as well as the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame.

While Daly was driving, Chip Ganassi Racing’s Max Chilton served as the driver coach for Iowa Speedway track president Jimmy Small, who failed to make it to the A-Main from the B-Main after winning the C-Main.

“It’s a lot like being a backseat driver in a passenger car,” Chilton said. “I’d rather be driving and in control. I’ve never seen this kind of racing before and it looks like everyone had fun. I never knew you could put talcum powder on a track to make the racing better.”