Posted on August 27, 2018

Conor Daly’s Lilly Sponsorship Decals Removed Because of Father’s Use of Racial Slur in 1980s

Jenny Green and Jim Ayello, Indianapolis Star, August 24, 2018

Conor’s father, Derek Daly, on Thursday admitted he had used a racial slur in a live radio interview in the early 1980s. Connor Daly was born in 1991.

On Friday, Lilly Diabetes pulled its sponsorship decals from Conor Daly’s No. 6 NASCAR ride, saying that it didn’t want the distraction from their cause.

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Around 8 p.m. Friday, Conor Daly tweeted: “The last 24hrs have been quite an unnecessarily difficult ride for my family. There is A LOT I want to say… but I’m still here and still racing. I appreciate the support from @roushfenway and ALL of you. @LillyDiabetes has been a big part of my career and Im very thankful. #6”

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Derek Daly used the word more than 30 years ago in a live radio interview at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. WISH-TV reported late Wednesday that it had dismissed Daley as its freelance auto-racing analyst.

Lilly Diabetes had announced on May 11 that it would sponsor Connor Daly at the Indy 500 and the NASCAR Road America race, which is this weekend in Milwaukee. It will be Daly’s NASCAR debut.

Conor Daly has Type I diabetes, and at the time, Lilly Diabetes’ consumer brand sponsor Ashley Brewer said: “Currently, we are partnering with Conor … in the capacity to be a platform to educate and inspire fans with diabetes to take action to better manage their health.”

As part of the sponsorship, Daly was to be working with Lilly Diabetes on its Drive Down A1C initiative, which works to motivate fans with Type II diabetes to manage their health. Daly worked with Lilly Diabetes in 2016, but this was the first time they were sponsoring him.

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