Polkadot-backed IndyCar racer Conor Daly achieved a top 10 finish at the prestigious Indianapolis 500.
Reports indicated that Daly led for 22 laps in the race but couldn’t maintain his lead due to his car’s speed limitations. Despite this, he managed a commendable top-10 finish, moving up an impressive 19 spots from his 29th-place starting position.
Reflecting on his performance, Daly noted that starting from the back impacted his ability to compete with the frontrunners. He reportedly said:
“We hadn’t run with (the frontrunners) the entire month, not even in practice because we were starting so far back. We usually were running with the other guys, so we weren’t geared long enough for when we had to trim out, so we trimmed out on the limiter in sixth (gear) when I tried to pass Scott (McLaughlin) a couple times. So that just hurt us a little bit, just kind of lacking just a little bit of speed, but the car was good.”
Nevertheless, Daly conceded that a top-10 finish was “a huge accomplishment” while flaunting the “biggest mover” trophy he got.
Polkadot’s official social media handle also praised the milestone, noting that the blockchain network was “well represented in the biggest single-day sporting event and motorsports race in the world.”
Daly was appointed Polkadot’s brand ambassador for the Indianapolis 500 race roughly a month ago — marking the first major athlete sponsorship through a blockchain-based community, receiving a 95.8% approval rating from the community.
The sponsorship aims to boost publicity for the Polkadot network and is the beginning of a one-year collaboration involving community events and digital campaigns to promote Polkadot’s technology.
Following Daly’s successful sponsorship, the Polkadot community has been exploring more sports-related partnerships, including a $8.8 million deal with Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami football club.