Simon Pagenaud Not Medically Cleared for Mid-Ohio, Conor Daly to Sub

Following a violent crash in practice for the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on Saturday (July 1), Meyer Shank Racing driver Simon Pagenaud was still not medically cleared for Sunday’s NTT IndyCar Series race, the team announced in a release.

In the opening minutes of practice Saturday morning, Pagenaud’s No. 60 machine suffered a “manufacturer brake failure” while approaching turn 4. His car went into the gravel trap and barrel rolled several times before coming to rest on its side along the tire barrier.

The 39-year-old Frenchman was treated and released from the infield medical center, but was not cleared to drive for qualifying. Follow-up tests Sunday morning did not provide the clearance necessary for Pagenaud to race.

IndyCar veteran Conor Daly will be in the car for the race and will start at the back of the field in the 27th position. The team decided to move to a backup car, and Daly will drive the car teammate Helio Castroneves piloted to his fourth Indianapolis 500 win in 2021.

“This is obviously not a scenario that we had planned for, but everyone at MSR has pitched in to get our backup car ready,” MSR team owner Mike Shank said in the release. “We have to thank Conor for stepping into this, he’s been super great through all of the chaos. Now we will get back on our feet to see what we can do in the race.

The 31-year-old Daly steps into the car after parting ways with Ed Carpenter Racing after the Detroit race last month. This will be Daly’s eighth start at Mid-Ohio, posting a best finish of sixth in 2016.

“Obviously I have to think about Simon, you hate to see someone wreck like that,” Daly said. “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.

“It’s an honor to be part of this group and fill in – we will just do the best job that we can.”

The green flag for Sunday’s 80-lap, 180-mile Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Presented by the 2023 Accord Hybrid will fly at 1:53 p.m. ET, with coverage beginning at 1:30 p.m. ET on USA Network and Peacock.