Born and raised in Dublin, Daly began his motorsport career in the Irish Formula Ford Championship. He progressed to the European Formula Two Championship in 1977.
In 1977, Daly competed in Formula Two, and in 1978 he debuted in Formula One at the United States Grand Prix West. He continued to compete in both Formula Two and Formula One in 1979, finishing third in the Formula Two championship in both seasons.
From 1980 to 1982, Daly focused on Formula One. His best year was 1980, where he achieved two fourth-place finishes and finished 11th in the Drivers’ Championship. The Monaco Grand Prix provided two memorable moments for Daly during his Formula One career. In 1980, he was involved in a significant crash at the first corner, vaulting over three other cars. Two years later, in 1982, Daly found himself in contention for a win with only two laps remaining, but a seized gearbox ended his race.
In September 1984, Daly suffered severe injuries in a crash during the CART PPG Detroit News Grand Prix 200 at Michigan International Speedway. He sustained a crushed left ankle, double compound fracture to the left tibia and fibula, a fractured left hip socket, severely fractured pelvis, several broken left side ribs, a broken left hand, third degree burns to the left arm, a dislocated right foot and ankle, deep abrasions and soft tissue damage to his right heel, and internal bleeding.
After Formula One, Daly moved to the United States and competed in CART from 1982 through 1989, starting 66 races and participating in each Indianapolis 500 from 1983 to 1989, excluding 1986. He achieved 21 top-ten finishes in CART, including a third-place finish at Milwaukee in 1987. He also found success in sports car racing, winning the 12 Hours of Sebring in 1990 and 1991 while driving for Nissan GTP ZX-Turbo. In 1990, he uniquely drove both the first and second-placed cars at Sebring.
Daly has worked as a driver, writer, broadcaster, racing advisor, and businessman. He runs a professional services company called MotorVation and has served as a commentator for American broadcasts of the Champ Car series. In 2018, Daly was terminated from a racing analyst position at WISH-TV following a dispute over a racial slur attributed to him, which he claimed was a misinterpretation of a colloquialism used in a 1983 radio interview. He subsequently filed a $25M lawsuit against WISH-TV and Nexstar Media Group, but lost the case, and was ordered to pay the station’s legal costs.
Daly became a US citizen on September 28, 1993, and currently resides in Carmel, Indiana. His son, Conor Daly, is also a racing driver, having competed in GP3, GP2, and the IndyCar Series, including a start in the 2023 Daytona 500. Daly’s niece, Nicola Daly, is an international field hockey player for Ireland and a data engineer for Juncos Racing.
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