This is an obligatory post. Last year your humble host found the idea of having Indycar drivers participate on American Ninja Warrior positively blogworthy. And so it was that Helio Castroneves, Josef Newgarden, and Tony Kanaan took their crack at the arduous obstacle course, and none of them got past the third stage. Sad trombone. Now, another driver will be making his attempt on the show, and it is. . .Conor Daly?
I’m not saying he’s the worst idea, but. . .have you seen Conor Daly? The successful competitors on this show are usually lithe little rock climbers with negative body fat. Daly, on the other hand, is built a bit like a UPS truck. Dude has too much mass. The show is mostly about having enough grip strength to pull your bodyweight through several minutes of the world’s most bizarre monkey bars. If he hasn’t logged like 100 hours doing rock wall climbing then this is probably not going to end well. Instead, it will end quickly.
However, here is the upside: As anyone who has seen him in interviews knows, Daly can be a really fun interview. Dry and self-deprecating, it’s not too far-fetched to think his personality could carry him to media careers beyond his racing. If the good folks at ANW give him a chance to speak then he will likely make whatever happens quality television.
And here is the downside: If it’s anything like the last time Indycar drivers were features, it will be like 10 seconds of showing him failing on the second or third obstacle. Or maybe even the first. And then we’ll watch something like a dude in a dinosaur suit dominate the course.
The good news is it probably won’t be the most uncomfortable sequel of all time. Even if Daly slips and breaks his coccyx on national television it wouldn’t be as bad as say, “Honey I Blew Up the Kids”, or “Crocodile Dundee: Los Angeles”, or “Stayling Alive”. Or “Speed II”. That was just the worst.
Anyhow, despite the pessisim, best of luck to Conor. If you make it to the fourth stage you’ll be the reigning Indycar Ninja Warrior!
Final Lap: On second thought, THIS is the most uncomfortable sequel of all time.