Conor Daly returning to Harding car at Mid-Ohio

Jim Ayello | IndyStar

INDIANAPOLIS — Conor Daly's comeback tour continues.

On Monday, Harding Racing team president Brian Barnhart confirmed that the young Noblesville, Ind., native will pilot its No. 88 car at this weekend's Verizon IndyCar Series race at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

Daly not only tested with the team last week at Mid-Ohio but has a pair of top-10 finishes there in his career (sixth in 2016 and 10th last year). He also is coming off a strong showing in his Harding debut on the streets of Toronto. Filling in for full-time driver Gabby Chaves as the team looks toward a possible two-car future, Daly qualified 11th and finished 13th -- Harding's top finish of the season.

Following that 11th-place qualifying run in a car with an aero package he had never driven competitively, Daly was "over the moon."

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Barnhart, too, was pleased with Daly's efforts — and not just during qualifying. Barnhart said Daly, who brought some funding to the table, had provided excellent technical feedback and had been a pleasure to work with all weekend.

But Daly said there is still plenty left for the two to accomplish together.

"After Toronto, we were both sort of pleased with how the weekend went, both the team and me," Daly told IndyStar on Monday night. "In racing these days, you can’t accomplish a ton in one weekend. That’s why people do it for the season. They hope to continue to progress every race. Realistically, you want to be getting better each race. ... We still think there's some unfinished business – get inside the top 10 and get better and grow as a team."

Daly revealed that Barnhart and Harding discuss the open seat with other drivers, but his solid rapport with the team and ability to bring some sponsorship to the table helped solidify his case.

Just as when he was named to the seat in Toronto, Daly said there were no promises made about a return to No. 88 car for a future race. But he's holding out hope.

"Right now, I think it's weekend by weekend. They know I can’t do Gateway," said Daly, who will make his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut that weekend of IndyCar's Bommarito Automotive Group 500. "But I'd love to do as many races as I can, obviously. I want to be in the car as much as I can. I love Pocono; I'd love a chance to do Portland because it will be a great race, but you can’t go wrong with Sonoma either. So it's one of those things where I'd like to do as many as I can, continue to prove my worth and hopefully find a couple different people to help along the way."

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