Niece Motorsports announced Tuesday that Conor Daly will return to the team for three NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series events later this season. Daly, a veteran of three NCTS races, all with Niece, will pilot the No. 44 Chevrolet Silverado RST at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park (IRP) on July 19, Kansas Speedway in September, and Homestead-Miami Speedway in October.
Daly will have backing from Power Plus at IRP and Polkadot, who sponsored him in this year’s Indianapolis 500, at Kansas and Homestead. The 32 year-old will have longtime crew chief Wally Rogers on top of the pit box, a veteran of 156 series races.
“I couldn’t be more excited to get back into a truck with Niece Motorsports!” Daly said in a press release. “Al Niece and Cody Efaw have always been great to me and supportive of my Indy 500 efforts as well over the years as we’ve got to know each other. We’ve been working on putting a program together for a while and I’m happy we could finally work out the details to go racing together once again. I have a lot to learn but I want to compete and I know these guys will give me a great chance at that. I am extremely thankful to have some great partners in Power Plus to make this happen. Everyone from Power Plus have been super willing to help out when I need it most and I love representing for them.”
In Daly’s three previous NCTS starts, he has a best finish of 18th, which he accomplished twice. This will be Daly’s first series race at a short track, with his previous starts being at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. This deal will also mark the first time that Daly will compete in multiple Truck Series events in the same season, with his previous three races being in three different years.
Niece is as excited to bring Daly back into the fold as he is. “Conor has been great to work with every time he’s stepped into one of our trucks,” said Cody Efaw, General Manager of the team. “It’s been fun to see his interest in NASCAR grow since he made that first start with our team in Las Vegas a few years ago. Now that we have him secured for multiple races this year, I think that will give him a chance to go out there and learn each week to get better for his upcoming starts.”
Power Plus founder and CEO Steve Bray echoes the team’s sentiment. “Power Plus is thrilled to be partnering once again with Conor Daly and this time in the NASCAR Truck Series,” Bray said. “One of the things we love about Conor is his enthusiasm, tenacity and passion for winning…both on and off the track. Whether it was in the P1 Boat races, in the dirt racing side by sides, or at the Indy 500, Conor exemplifies what it means to be a fierce competitor. We appreciate Conor’s perseverance and humility and we are proud to be associated with his winning attitude and his man-of-the-people persona.”
The race at Lucas Oil IRP will mark the first race of the season that Niece will field four trucks. The team’s No. 44 entry last made an attempt at Bristol Motor Speedway last season, failing to qualify with Danny Bohn behind the wheel.
Daly’s return to the Truck Series further diversifies his motorsports efforts for the 2024 season. The Noblesville, Indiana native earned his fourth career Indianapolis 500 top ten finish in May for Dreyer & Reinbold Racing and recently competed in the ARCA Menards Series event at Mid-Ohio for Rette Jones Racing.
