Derek Daly


Derek Patrick Daly is an Irish-American former racing driver. He won the 1977 British Formula 3 Championship, and competed as a professional racing driver for 17 years participating in 64 World Championship Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on 2 April 1978. He scored a total of 15 championship points, and also participated in several non-Championship Formula One races.

Racing history

After honing his skills in the Irish Formula Ford Championship, Daly had his first drive in the European Formula Two Championship in 1977. In 1978 and 1979, he competed in both Formula Two and Formula One, finishing third in the Formula Two championship in both seasons. From 1980 to 1982, he focussed on Formula One, his best year being 1980, when he scored two fourth-place finishes and finished 11th in the Drivers' Championship.
In 1982, Daly began driving in the CART series and continued through 1989. He started 66 CART races, including each Indianapolis 500 from 1983–1989, except for 1986. He finished in the top ten a total of 21 times, including one podium finish, 3rd position, at Milwaukee in 1987. In September 1984 he was nearly killed in a horrible crash in the CART PPG Detroit News Grand Prix 200 at Michigan International Speedway. The front end of his car was sheared off and he suffered multiple injuries including a crushed left ankle, double compound fracture to the left tibia and fibula, fractured left hip socket, severely fractured pelvis, several broken left side ribs, broken left hand, 3rd degree burns to the left arm, dislocated right foot and ankle, deep abrasions and soft tissue to right heel, and internal bleeding.
In 1990, Daly had the unusual result of finish both first and second at the 12 Hours of Sebring, driving for Nissan.

Racing results

Complete European Formula Two Championship results

YearEntrantChassisEngine12345678910111213PosPts
Chevron RacingChevron/B40HartSILTHRHOCNÜRVALPAUMUGROUNOGPERMISEST
5		DON18th2
Chevron RacingChevron/B42HartTHR
6		HOC
9		NÜR
Ret		PAU
9		MUG
1		VAL
1		ROU
11		DON
Ret		NOG
3		PER
3		MIS
9		HOC
Ret		3rd27
Project Four RacingMarch/792BMWSIL
2		HOCTHR
2		NÜRVALMUG
Ret		PAU
Ret		HOC
2		ZAN
11		PER
2		MIS
Ret		DON
1		3rd33
McMahon RacingMarch/822HartSILTHRHOCNÜRVALPAUJARDON
9		MISPERZOLMUG-0

Complete Formula One World Championship results

YearEntrantChassisEngine12345678910111213141516WDCPts.
1978Olympus Cameras/Hesketh RacingHesketh 308EFord V8ARGBRARSAUSW
DNPQ		MON
DNPQ		BEL
DNQ		ESPSWE19th1
1978Team Tissot EnsignEnsign N177Ford V8FRA
DNQ		GBR
Ret		GERAUT
DSQ		NED
Ret		ITA
10		USA
8		CAN
6		19th1
1979Team EnsignEnsign N177Ford V8ARG
11		BRA
13		ESP
DNQ		BEL
DNQ		NC0
1979Team EnsignEnsign N179Ford V8RSA
DNQ		USW
Ret		MON
DNQ		FRAGBRGERNC0
1979Candy Tyrrell TeamTyrrell 009Ford V8AUT
8		NEDITACAN
Ret		USA
Ret		NC0
1980Candy Tyrrell TeamTyrrell 009Ford V8ARG
4		BRA
14		RSA
Ret		11th6
1980Candy Tyrrell TeamTyrrell 010Ford V8USW
8		BEL
9		MON
Ret		FRA
11		GBR
4		GER
10		AUT
Ret		NED
Ret		ITA
Ret		CAN
Ret		USA
Ret		11th6
1981March Grand Prix TeamMarch 811Ford V8USW
DNQ		BRA
DNQ		ARG
DNQ		SMR
DNQ		BEL
DNQ		MON
DNPQ		ESP
16		FRA
Ret		GBR
7		GER
Ret		AUT
11		NED
Ret		ITA
Ret		CAN
8		CPL
DNQ		NC0
1982Theodore Racing TeamTheodore TY01Ford V8RSA
14		13th8
1982Theodore Racing TeamTheodore TY02Ford V8BRA
Ret		USW
Ret		SMR13th8
1982TAG Williams TeamWilliams FW08Ford V8BEL
Ret		MON
6		DET
5		CAN
7		NED
5		GBR
5		FRA
7		GER
Ret		AUT
Ret		SUI
9		ITA
Ret		CPL
6		13th8

CART results

24 Hours of Le Mans results

Personal life

Daly is known in motor sports circles around the world as a driver, writer, broadcaster, racing advisor, and businessman. He runs a professional services company called MotorVation, and had been a commentator for American broadcasts of the Champ Car series, as well as a public speaker. One of the agencies that represents him is the National Speakers Bureau.
He was also part of the ESPN Speedworld Coverage of the Grand Prix of San Marino in 1994, and therefore called the race in which Ayrton Senna was killed.
Daly later became a US citizen and now resides in Carmel, Indiana. He has three sons, Conor, Colin and Christian.
Daly's son, Conor Daly, is also a racing driver, starting in GP3 driving for the Lotus GP team in 2012, and then continuing on to GP2 in 2014 driving for Venezuela GP Lazarus, and then IndyCar, starting part-time in 2013 and full-time in 2016.
In 2018, Daly was fired from a racing analyst position he had at WISH-TV when WISH-TV erroneously attributed a racial slur that was uttered by Indianapolis Colts announcer, Bob Lamey, to him. Daly filed a $25M law suit as a result. WISH TV offered to retract its story, but only if Daly would agree not to take any legal action against them. In the aftermath, his son Conor had his sponsor, Lilly Diabetes, pull their support as he was set to make his NASCAR debut at Road America on August 25, 2018 due to the comments, even though Conor was not born for another 8 years after the fact.
Daly's niece, Nicola Daly, is an Ireland women's field hockey international and was a member of the squad that won the silver medal at the 2018 Women's Hockey World Cup. She also works as a data engineer for Juncos Racing.