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Chaves, Harding impress with top five at Texas

Rainguard Water Sealers 600 - Practice

FORT WORTH, TX - JUNE 09: Gabby Chaves, driver of the #88 Harding Group Chevrolet, practices for the Verizon IndyCar Series Rainguard Water Sealers 600 at Texas Motor Speedway on June 9, 2017 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Sarah Crabill/Getty Images)

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One of the newest teams in the Verizon IndyCar Series is quickly making a name for itself as a surprise contender.

Harding Racing, owned by Indiana businessman Mike Harding (has a technical partnership with Dreyer and Reinbold Racing and shares its shop), with IndyCar veteran Larry Curry serving as team manager and competition director, had not contested a race prior to this year’s 101st Indianapolis 500 presented by PennGrade Motor Oil. Yet, with two races now on their resume, Harding Racing’s No. 88 Chevrolet, in the hands of 23-year-old Gabby Chaves, is making its presence felt.

The two races the team has contested, the aforementioned Indy 500 and Saturday’s Rainguard Water Sealers 600 from Texas Motor Speedway, saw a combined 20 caution periods (11 at Indianapolis, nine at Texas) for various incidents, with Saturday’s race in Texas especially filled with carnage.

Yet, in both races, Chaves survived the chaos to not only bring the No. 88 entry home in one piece, but in strong finishing positions. A ninth-place at Indianapolis was buoyed by a fifth-place run at Texas on Saturday night, completing a remarkable opening pair of races for the young outfit.

Chaves detailed after Texas that the reasons behind their success are actually quite simple: they’ve had solid preparation and have stayed out of trouble.

“We did what we had to do. We kept our nose clean. We had a solid car. I think before the accidents, we were inside the top 12. We had great Chevy power until the end, and just made the passes when we had to. Just really proud of the team effort,” Chaves said of Saturday night’s result.

Though the team is searching for sponsors and partners to secure a planned full-season effort in 2018, their third and final scheduled race of 2017 will be the ABC Supply 500 (August 20, NBCSN) at Pocono.

Follow Kyle Lavigne.