Polkadot-backed IndyCar racer Conor Daly secured a top 10 finish at the prestigious Indianapolis 500.

Reports highlighted that Daly led for 22 laps but couldn’t maintain his lead due to speed limitations. Despite this, he impressively moved up 19 spots from his 29th-place starting position to finish in the top 10.

Reflecting on the race, Daly mentioned that starting from the back affected his ability to compete with the leaders. He 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.”

Despite these challenges, Daly acknowledged that a top-10 finish was “a huge accomplishment” and proudly displayed the “biggest mover” trophy he received.

Polkadot’s official social media praised this milestone, noting that the blockchain network was “well represented in the biggest single-day sporting event and motorsports race in the world.”

Daly became Polkadot’s brand ambassador for the Indianapolis 500 about a month ago, marking the first major athlete sponsorship through a blockchain-based community, with a 95.8% approval rating from the community.

The sponsorship aims to enhance Polkadot’s publicity and marks the start of a one-year collaboration involving community events and digital campaigns to promote Polkadot’s technology.

Following Daly’s successful sponsorship, the Polkadot community is exploring more sports-related partnerships, including an $8.8 million deal with Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami football club.