Conor Daly has landed Indy 500 sponsorship from Polkadot. Here is what it is

If you heard that Conor Daly’s Indianapolis 500 entry was pink this year and was sponsored by a blockchain platform called Polkadot, and assumed it was going to look like a pink Dalmatian, trust me, you’re not alone.

No, Dreyer and Reinbold’s no. 24 Chevy machine isn’t leopard-spotted, but yes, as Daly often does, the IndyCar veteran has attracted an out-of-the-box, first-time sponsor to the sport.

Polkadot – and its technology – explained

So what is Polkadot?

It is essentially a blockchain made to support other blockchains. Blockchain, in turn, is at the heart of most cryptocurrency and, according to Forbes, is “a digital ledger that stores data” designed to be decentralized, and therefore much more secure. Polkadot thus serves as a fundamental tool that various crypto projects and other similar technologies can use as a starting point. It is at the heart of a movement for a more open and much safer internet system.

According to Tuesday’s release announcing DRR and Daly’s sponsorship deal for the 500, “Polkadot is positioned to serve as the powerful, secure core of Web3. (Its) decentralized management places the community at the center of decision-making processes; every holder of the Polkadot Token (DOT) has a voice to shape the platform’s future direction.”

In layman’s terms, Daly describes it as “the powerful core of tomorrow’s free and open Internet, called Web3. It is not controlled by big technology. This is where individuals control their own personal information and their own personal data and finances.”

Indy 500 field continues to grow: Katherine Legge lands Indy 500 ride with Dale Coyne Racing

What makes Daly’s sponsorship unique

So how is this Indy 500 primary sponsorship more than just an agreement to promote the latest hard-to-explain technological innovation?

Let’s let Daly explain again:

“‘Dot’ is essentially a currency, so Polkadot is a network, a blockchain network, and there’s a ton of Dot holders…so there’s an opportunity then (for Dot holders) to vote on what the community is doing,” Daly said. “This is not a corporate marketing team. It’s a community. This is a group of people who obviously want the Polkadot network to be seen by more people to understand where and what it is.”

A few months back, Polkadot community member Chris Wade DM’d Daly on X (the social media platform formerly known as Twitter) to gauge the driver’s interest in Polkadot becoming his 500 sponsor. Once Daly had educated himself on the platform – he wasn’t entirely familiar with it either – the ball started rolling. Eventually, Wade, Daly and the manager’s management team put together a proposal, and the deal went to a vote, open to anyone who likes ‘Dot’.

And it passed with an approval rating of 95.8%. The proposal, which Polkadot mailed to X in the wake of Tuesday’s announcement, called for $2.1 million in fundraising to make Daly a brand ambassador and sponsorship for the 500 as well as one race each in the NASCAR Truck Series and Nitro Rallycross to do.

Malukas still on the sidelines: Callum Ilott lined up to lead the Indy 500 open test for Arrow McLaren in no. 6 to run

“For us, it was like selling our event, selling ourselves,” Daly said. “‘Hey, this is the platform you (should) want to be able to push what this community is about, what the future of the internet looks like, and the future of how we’re going to interact with each other on the internet.’

“Everybody was excited about the Indy 500. People all over the world voted for it, even people who didn’t know what the Indy 500 was, and now they do. It was quite an incredible deal to put together, and we made it happen. We were able to show the power of what the Indy 500 is – the power of motorsport right now. We have an incredible amount of viewership at the Indy 500, and our sport is growing.”

According to the release, the group’s sponsorship deal is “the first time a major athlete’s sponsorship has been decided by a vote using blockchain technology.” For Daly, it’s a resounding level of approval and support.

“The fact that thousands of individuals in the Polkadot community – not a corporate branding team – used their voices to vote and choose me as their ambassador is an incredible honor and reflects the power of how a more free and open internet may look like in the future,” said Daly. “The fact that I’m chasing, not just for a brand name or logo, but representing developers, investors and regular people who are building tomorrow’s web is exciting and overwhelming.

“We are bringing power back to the people, while making sports history.”