Conor Daly shares 'inspiring' meeting with LA Chargers' Jim Harbaugh at IndyCar's Long Beach GP
The IndyCar and the NFL worlds came together as Conor Daly met Los Angeles Chargers' head coach Jim Harbaugh at the IndyCar Long Beach Grand Prix. The Juncos Hollinger Racing driver posted a story on her Instagram account while sharing a few words of appreciation.
Pato O'Ward and the Chargers' Denzel Perryman had earlier gone head-to-head against each other for a reaction testing game. The pair enjoyed their time together and laid down the foundation for the IndyCar and LA Chargers' collaborations.
With LA Chargers having found a home on the Long Beach paddock with the Arrow McLaren outfit, other members from the team were often seen in the papaya colors. Moreover, when Jim Harbaugh met Conor Daly on race day, the 61-year-old was decked out in McLaren gear but was ecstatic to meet the JHR driver.
Sharing an image from their meeting, Daly posted a story on his Instagram account on April 14 and wrote:
"Great to catch up with coach @jimharbaugh this weekend! Always has some inspirational words to share."
Conor Daly's start to the 2025 season has been mediocre, as he has not claimed a solitary top-10 finish yet.
Conor Daly reveals how tires have been a turning point during the 2025 IndyCar season
While the 33-year-old has not scored a top-10 finish, his teammate, Sting Ray Robb, achieved this feat at the Long Beach Grand Prix. However, aware of how tire-sensitive IndyCar races have gotten since the start of the season, Daly revealed how the grid has been shaken up since the changes made by Firestone.
The former podium-sitter elaborated how the new green-walled tires threw a spanner into the works and said, via Frontstretch Open Wheel:
"It's super important. I mean, tires right now are paramount. The way the tires have worked certainly thermal was a huge surprise, I think for everyone in the field. The way the race actually played out tire-wise and then St. Pete was again a crazy one we're like, 'Oh wow these greens don't last at all.' And it's a primary race, and so I think and then now once we get back to Long Beach."
"The tires are kind of back to the five and five sets instead of six and four like we had at Thermal [Club] so there's a few different things that are that are going on."
On the other hand, the Long Beach Grand Prix was won by Andretti's Kyle Kirkwood. The 26-year-old won the race after starting on pole and became the second driver to have won an IndyCar race in 2025.