Having made an impression at Honda Indy Toronto, Conor Daly will return to pilot the #88 Harding Racing Chevrolet for the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Daly’s continuation in the seat was confirmed by the team Tuesday morning.
The decision comes after a P13 finish in Toronto, the team’s highest finish of the season. Daly’s performance came in only his second start of 2018, having been unable to secure a full-time seat for the season. He then traveled with the team to Mid-Ohio for testing, although there was no confirmation as to whether or not Daly would continue to race with Harding.
As the team continues to pursue options for a second car in 2019, they have chosen to keep Daly behind the wheel with the assistance of regular driver Gabby Chaves.
“After the progress made during the Toronto race weekend, we had another successful outing in Mid-Ohio with Conor Daly," Harding Racing president Brian Barnhart said in an official team release. "Based on that and in the interest of continuity and moving forward, we are going to run Conor again this weekend for the Honda Indy 200. We still appreciate Gabby’s cooperation and interaction because he is still very much involved with downloads, team debriefs and dialogue.”
“In our search for more information and improvement, this will be our direction for Mid-Ohio, with an eye towards the future.”
Daly’s introduction to the team for Toronto was a welcome surprise for IndyCar fans, but left the future uncertain for the driver with no further dates confirmed at that time. At the time, all Daly had hoped for was a strong performance and a chance to show that he can still compete in the Verizon IndyCar Series.
“We’re going to do things day by day,” Daly told the TSN Racing Pod in Toronto. “At the the end of the weekend they want to keep me around, awesome. If not, and I’ve accomplished what I think I can accomplish, then we’re all happy.”
Conor Daly has made two starts in the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio, finishing P6 in 2016 and P10 in 2017.
