Conor Daly will drive for Meyer Shank Racing in place of Simon Pagenaud at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course after the 2019 Indy 500 Indy 500 winner wasn’t cleared by IndyCar medical staff Sunday morning a day after a terrifying practice crash.
Because of a brake failure, Pagenaud lost control of the No. 60 Dallara-Honda in Turn 4 and barrel rolled through a gravel trap before landing upside down against a tire barrier. The 2016 NTT IndyCar Series champion said it was definitely the wildest crash of his career .
Pagenaud was evaluated and released Saturday by the medical team but had to receive further medical clearance per IndyCar concussion protocols. In a release, Meyer Shank Racing said Pagenaud was “feeling OK and is in good spirits and will support the team on Sunday.”
INDYCAR AT MID-OHIO: Details for watching Sunday’s race
As Daly began turning laps in the Sunday morning warmup, Pagenaud spoke to NBC Sports’ Dillon Welch during the Peacock broadcast.
“I’m feeling good; everything’s fine,” he said. “Unfortunately, you’ve just got to follow what the medical staff is saying. We have an incredible medical team behind us. It’s quite incredible to see how in-depth they go. Their choice is for me not to race today. I respect it quite frankly. I’m a pro. I can tell them when a race car is good or not. They can tell me on my health. It’s what it is. I’m happy to be here following the team today. Seeing how Conor does. I hope he can bring a lot of points to the team.
“The toughest part was more the realization that it wasn’t happening today. I’m a racer, man. I just want to go race. I’ve raced feeling much worse. It’s part of what we do. It’s definitely going to be tough today to watch from the bench. It’s what is best for me and the team and I respect the doctors. I hope Conor can do a really good job today. As a leader of my team, I’ve got to show leadership.”
“I’m a racer. I just want to go race.”
— INDYCAR on NBC (@IndyCaronNBC) July 2, 2023
Simon Pagenaud will miss today’s race after he wasn’t medically cleared. #INDYCAR pic.twitter.com/Ovu0CsephU
Pagenaud had started 193 consecutive IndyCar races.
“First and foremost, I have to speak to the safety of these cars,” team owner Mike Shank said in a release. “To walk away from an accident like that is incredible, and we cannot thank everyone at IndyCar, the AMR IndyCar safety team and the IndyCar medical team for everything they did to get Simon out and evaluated as quickly as possible.
“This is obviously not a scenario that we had planned for, but everyone at MSR has pitched in to get our backup car ready for Sunday. It’s actually Helio’s Indy 500 car and the one he won the 500 with in 2021. We have to thank Conor for being here and stepping into this, he’s been super great through all of the chaos. Now we will get back on our feet and see what we can do in the race.”
Will do my best to fill in for @simonpagenaud today! Was happy to see him get out of the car safely yesterday. Tough to get in under these circumstances but I appreciate the chance to work with the incredible people @MeyerShankRac 🙏 #Honda200 https://t.co/4fZSin2mGE
— Conor Daly (@ConorDaly22) July 2, 2023
Daly started the first seven races this season before leaving Ed Carpenter Racing before the June 18 race at Road America. He was 12th fastest in the 30-minute practice Sunday morning.
“I’m still just getting used to things obviously,” Daly told Welch. “This team does a great job. They’ve helped me so much just studying stuff that I could look at that’s really helpful. It’s tough to just jump into this series, and that’s honestly probably the best warmup I’ve had all season. Felt pretty good. It’s something I enjoy but there’s so much more to unlock when you get into a new package like this. That’s what the race is for. It’s a long race, and we’ll just work on it.”
Daly will be making his eighth start at Mid-Ohio, where he finished a career-best sixth and led 22 laps as a rookie in 2016. He will be starting the 27th and final spot on the grid.
“Obviously I have to think about Simon, you hate to see someone wreck like that,” Daly said in an earlier statement. “The most important thing is to get him as healthy as possible, as soon as possible. This is his car and his group of folks and I am here to do the best job that I can for this team. I’ve known Mike (Shank) for a long time and I’ve tested for his sports car team many years ago. I’ve always had a lot of respect for this organization. It’s an honor to be a part of this group and fill in - we will just do the best job that we can.”