LEXINGTON, Ohio -- Conor Daly will race in place of Simon Pagenaud on Sunday at Mid-Ohio after the Frenchman was not cleared to return to the cockpit by the IndyCar medical team after his massive practice crash Saturday, Meyer Shank Racing announced.

Sunday's 80-lap race will mark Daly's first IndyCar race since being pulled from his No. 20 Chevy ride with Ed Carpenter Racing following Detroit as team owner Ed Carpenter opted to begin preparations for 2024 and tapped Ryan Hunter-Reay to finish the year and help the team diagnose its significant performance deficit.

“Obviously I have to think about Simon, you hate to see someone wreck like that,” Daly said in a team release. “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 are here to do the best job that I can for this team. I’ve known (team owner 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.”

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After making his Nitro Rallycross debut two weekends ago in a last-minute ride with Dreyer and Reinbold Racing during IndyCar's visit to Road America, Daly had noted in his 'Speed Street' podcast his plans to attend Mid-Ohio this weekend just to be around the sport. Occasionally, as Oliver Askew (2021 Detroit) and other drivers have learned over the years, simply being present, ready and willing in the paddock can lead to new chances in the sport.

Following Pagenaud's crash, Daly was soon tapped to be Pagnenaud's potential replacement. His mother, Beth Boles, quickly gathered her son's personalized seat, helmet, racing shoes and other necessities in her car and made the three-plus hour trek to Mid-Ohio and delivered them around the end of qualifying Saturday afternoon.

Daly's debut with MSR, the seventh IndyCar team he will have raced for in some form during his career, comes after Pagenaud lost his brakes early in IndyCar's second practice Saturday morning at one of the worst possible places on the entire IndyCar schedule as he headed for Turn 4 of the 2.258-mile natural-terrain road course. Coming off the Turn 2 hairpin corner, drivers build an incredible amount of pace heading downhill and losing more than 100 feet of elevation, passing through the Turn 3 'kink' and reaching speeds over 180 mph before slamming on the brakes and yanking the steering wheel clockwise for the 90-degree right-hand turn.

Brake failure at 180 mph: Simon Pagenaud walks away from scary crash at Mid-Ohio

Having noticed no issues in Turn 2, Pagenaud told reporters after he emerged from the care center Saturday that he had the pedal to the floor with no brake pressure at all entering Turn 4 with what MSR later called "manufacturer brake failure." The 39-year-old, in the midst of a dismal second season with MSR that his him tied for 21st in points with a best finish of 13th (Detroit) and three DNFs, attempted to make the corner, rather than run off-track into the gravel run-off (and the ensuing tire barrier) head-on, putting himself in a rapid spin.

His No. 60 Honda swiftly slid off-track and went airborne as he traveled over an embankment just on the outer edge of the track. His Dallara chassis began to rotate clockwise before landing on the right-side wheels and made nearly seven rotations before coming to a stop upside down against the tire barrier. With the help of the AMR safety team, Pagenaud was able to release himself from his belts, crawl out of the cockpit and walk to the medical trucks under his own power.

“First and foremost, I have to speak to the safety of these cars,” Shank said in the 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.”

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After initial scans by IndyCar medical director Dr. Julia Vaizer, Pagneaud told reporters he had no complaints of significant bumps, bruises, scratches or soreness, but the significant impact had triggered IndyCar's policy on monitoring potential head injuries. When drivers are involved in crashes that eclipse a certain number of Gs, IndyCar requires them to undergo a follow-up evaluation for concussion-like symptoms, even if they don't have the tell-tale signs of a headache or light sensitivity, among others. They must pass that test, according to their preseason baseline metrics, in order to be cleared to return to the cockpit.

Pagenaud was not. The MSR driver will be reevaluated again ahead of IndyCar's trip to Canada for the Honda Indy Toronto to determine whether he can hit the track for opening practice July 14.

“I feel fine, but you have to be careful. The brain is something you can’t check, just like that,” Pagneaud said Saturday. “Obviously, (I have) no bruises, very safe, but when you roll like that, you’ve got to be careful with the brain.”

According to MSR's release, Pagenaud is "feeling OK" and "in good spirits and will support the team on Sunday."

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: IndyCar: Simon Pagenaud not cleared for Mid-Ohio, Conor Daly to sub