Conor Daly will return to Ed Carpenter Racing for the 2022 NTT IndyCar Series season with a new sponsor and a full-time ride for the first time at the team.
The team announced Friday morning that BitNile Holdings, Inc. had signed a multiyear deal to become the primary sponsor of the No. 20 Chevrolet that will be driven by Daly, who had driven the majority of the past two seasons for ECR in road and street courses and the Indy 500. Daly also had made eight oval starts with Carlin Racing to complete full schedules in 2020-21.
“Being chosen to represent BitNile is without a doubt one of the most important opportunities of my career,” said Daly, who turned 30 last month. “This is an incredible partnership that we look forward to being able to strengthen and grow as we go after race wins together.”
“To be able to come back to Ed Carpenter Racing for the full season is incredible. I haven’t had the chance to be with one team for the entire year since 2017, so this is something I am very, very thankful for. I have a lot of faith in ECR and each year we continue to get better together. I couldn’t be more excited to get on track in the BitNile Chevrolet.”
Your full-time driver of the No. 20 @BitNile Chevrolet for the 2022 @IndyCar Season - @ConorDaly22!
— Ed Carpenter Racing (@ECRIndy) January 14, 2022
Welcome back, CD!https://t.co/oyEdSVS4iX #Bitcoin $NILE pic.twitter.com/3yGPHFSj9g
After scoring the first pole position of his IndyCar career in 2020, Daly finished a season-best 11th twice last year and led a race-high 40 laps in the 105th Indy 500 (finishing 13th after an incident with a loose wheel from Graham Rahal’s car). Daly is racing in the Chili Bowl Nationals this weekend.
Team owner Ed Carpenter also will race a third car at the Indy 500 and could appear in other oval races at Texas Motor Speedway Iowa Speedway and Gateway.
BitNile specializes in “disruptive technologies, including cryptocurrencies and innovations in the field of Decentralized Finance,” according to a team release. “I’ve been a fan of Indy car racing for a long time, and we are proud to have the opportunity to team up with Ed Carpenter Racing,” BitNile founder and executive chairman Milton “Todd” Ault, III said in a release. “It’s a natural fit for BitNile to join an Indiana business like Ed’s as we have a number of investments in the Midwest, including our mining facilities. BitNile operates with a ‘Risk On’ philosophy where risk is an integral element if you want to win. Conor Daly and ECR share that mindset, making us in perfect alignment.”
ECR is familiar with cryptocurrency backing as Bitcoin was the primary sponsor of Rinus VeeKay’s No. 21 Chevy in the 2021 Indy 500.