Ed Carpenter says the Verizon IndyCar Series team that goes by his name is headed in the right direction. But like any competitor, he yearns to return to victory lane.
The only current owner/driver in the series, Carpenter shares driving duties in the No. 20 Fuzzy’s Vodka Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet with rookie Jordan King. The two have combined to rank 12th in the entrant standings after 13 races.
Meanwhile, Spencer Pigot, the full-season driver in the No. 21 ECR Chevrolet, is 15th in points – the same position that JR Hildebrand finished in the same car in 2017.
Carpenter laments some fast cars that didn’t finish stronger this season, results which could have pushed the team higher in the standings. And he reminds that ECR hasn’t won a race since 2016 with Josef Newgarden.
“Our performance this year compared to last year is better, for sure,” Carpenter said. “Last year, we were really inconsistent and struggled with pace at some of these road courses. I feel like we’ve definitely shored up some things and are improving with the work that we did over last winter and through the course of this season. I feel like we’re on the right track.”
The goal, with four races remaining, is to win at least once and get both cars into the top 10.
“That kind of section of cars we’re in, a lot can change,” Carpenter said. “It’s definitely not out of the realm of possibility to sneak into the top 10 with both cars. As much as anything, I’ll probably be disappointed if we can’t grab a win somewhere this year. We’ve had cars capable of winning races. It’s one thing to have cars capable of it, but it’s another to go do it.
“We feel like we’re a race-winning team. We’re going on two years now (without a win). It’s time to get back to where we need to be. It’s been a little bit of a drought, especially for me.”
The two biggest 2018 highlights have been Carpenter finishing second after winning the pole in the 102nd Indianapolis 500 presented by PennGrade Motor Oil, and Pigot earning a career-best second in the Iowa Corn 300.
“It’s hard to come in second there,” Carpenter said of the Indy 500, “but at the same time, I was pleased with the performance there. We didn’t really give anything away. We just got beat that day.”
Pigot, in his first full series season, has also placed eighth in the KOHLER Grand Prix at Road America and 10th in the first race of the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear.
“It felt really good to finally be on the podium in INDYCAR,” Pigot said. “Hopefully, it’s the first of many. It was a great day for me and the team. It gave everyone a boost that I think we needed.”
That said, he and King share Carpenter’s opinion that they can finish better.
“We should consistently be challenging in the top 10, the top five,” Pigot said. “In the second half of the year, we’ve been able to do that more often than not. You want to be as high up as possible. Obviously, top 10 is a good goal and a good stat, but if you’re outside of that, it doesn’t really matter a whole lot.”
In his first series season, King has had to learn all of the tracks. The 24-year-old Brit has had his best results in the last three races on street and road courses with a 12th, 11th and 12th.
“We’re not doing too badly,” King said. “We’ve had some good races where we’ve thrown away some high results. We could probably be well inside of the top 10 as a car, I think. That’s a positive.”
Carpenter is encouraged by Pigot’s recent pace.
“We want to be deep inside the top 10, not on the fringes of the top 10,” Carpenter said. “It was really good to see Spencer finally get a podium at Iowa. He’s really been coming on lately. His cars have been fast.
“It’s easy to get frustrated on any given day. But if you zoom out and look at the season, we’ve definitely had some good high spots. Both cars have been on the podium. That’s not the case for every team in the paddock. There are plenty of things to be proud of, but we definitely want a lot more than we’re getting.”
Carpenter and Pigot were among a small group of drivers who tested last week at Gateway Motorsports Park, site of the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 on Saturday, Aug. 25.
Ahead of that, however, is the ABC Supply 500 at Pocono Raceway on Aug. 18-19. It will be Pigot’s first Verizon IndyCar Series race at the 2.5-mile triangular oval. Carpenter’s best finish in five Pocono starts was ninth place in 2013.
Qualifying for the race airs live at 1:30 p.m. ET Saturday, Aug. 18 on NBCSN. Live coverage of the 500-mile race begins at 1:30 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 19 on NBCSN and the Advance Auto Parts INDYCAR Radio Network.