Conor Daly waves to the fans just moments prior to the start of the 2022 Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach.

Early in the weekend, Daly’s car is clean and pristine!

Entering the fountain complex of turns at Long Beach requires accelerating through some twisty bits followed by a short braking zone before the hard right turn around the berm-lined gardens. Here Daly is on his way into the braking zone.

Daly’s peripheral view of the fountain and checkered flag motif flower garden is part of the charm and beauty of Long Beach. However, it doesn’t garner as much thought as his preparation to accelerate as soon as possible without hitting the concrete barrier that juts out in front of him (driver’s left) at the exit!

Part of lowering your lap time is to make sure that you’re on the proper line at the apex and pointed in the right direction to exit the fountain at maximum force. Daly’s nailed it here.

Just a couple of corners past the fountain, Turn 5 require a less subtle approach to extract lap time. Here, Daly flies over the curbing to cut the apex and increase the radius of this corner, which is off-camber at the exit.

With hot temperatures all weekend, note that Daly has opened his visor up to allow for a bit more cool air inside his helmet. He can thank his aeroscreen for making this possible!