A new team arrived on the grid in 2012, Ed Carpenter Racing, with Ed Carpenter himself at the helm. Success came quickly for the new team as the owner/driver claimed ECR’s first victory in its debut season. Carpenter, an Indianapolis native, solidified his status as a hometown favorite when he won back-to-back pole positions for the 2013 and 2014 Indianapolis 500s.
After driving full-time in the 2012 and 2013 seasons, Carpenter shifted his focus exclusively to ovals. He hired Mike Conway to compete in the road and street course events, a move that quickly paid off as ECR won three races in 2014 - Carpenter at Texas Motor Speedway and Conway at Long Beach and Toronto.
ECR combined with Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing for 2015, forming a two-car effort known as CFH Racing. Josef Newgarden scored two wins, including leading teammate Luca Filippi to the team’s first 1-2 finish. Prior to the 2016 season, Carpenter resumed full ownership and ECR returned to the grid. Newgarden would secure another victory in 2016 before JR Hildebrand moved into the full-time role and recorded two podium finishes in 2017.
After two years as road and street course driver, Spencer Pigot was elevated to the team’s full-time driver for the 2018 season and claimed his first Indy car podium. British rookie Jordan King would take over Carpenter’s No. 20 for the road and street course events. ECR expanded to three cars for the Indianapolis 500 as Danica Patrick closed out her motorsports career. Carpenter would earn his third Indy 500 pole position and lead the most laps of all drivers before a runner-up finish.
Carpenter continued to lead his team in 2019, starting on the front row of the Indianapolis 500 for the fifth time in seven years. ECR Chevrolets qualified 2-3-4 for the “500” with Carpenter, Pigot and Ed Jones. In conjunction with Scuderia Corsa, Jones served as road and street course driver of the No. 20 car while Pigot remained full-time in the No. 21. Carpenter also scored the team’s best finish of the year as he stood on the second step of the podium at WWT Raceway.
Carpenter will continue in his 18th year of Indy car competition as the drives the No. 20 Chevrolet at the five oval events in 2020. Conor Daly will race the No. 20 U.S. Air Force Chevrolet in the 12 road and street course event and Dutch teenager and rookie Rinus VeeKay will race the full season in the team’s No. 21 Chevrolet. The trio will make up ECR’s three-car lineup for the 2020 Indianapolis 500.
A new team arrived on the INDYCAR SERIES grid in 2012: Ed Carpenter Racing. Ed Carpenter, the only owner/driver in the field, led his team to victory in its first year as he took the checkered flag in the season finale. Now with more than 250 race starts, 2023 will mark Ed Carpenter Racing’s 12th season of NTT INDYCAR
SERIES competition.
ECR began as a single-car team with Carpenter behind the wheel. After driving full-time in 2012 and 2013, he shifted his focus exclusively to ovals. Carpenter, an Indianapolis native, solidified his status as a hometown favorite when he won back-to-back pole positions for the 2013 and 2014 Indianapolis 500s. The team grew to two full-time entries in 2015 while competing as CFH Racing; prior to the 2016 season, Carpenter resumed full ownership and ECR returned to the grid with the Nos. 20 and 21.
In recent years, ECR has expanded to three cars for the Indianapolis 500. The team qualified at least one car on the front row seven out of the eight years. Carpenter earned his third Indy 500 pole position in 2018 and led the most laps of all drivers before a runner-up finish. In 2019, ECR Chevrolets would qualify
2-3-4, the highest average starting position of over a dozen teams in the race.
Carpenter continues to lead his team in 2023, competing behind the wheel of the No. 33 at the oval events in his 21st season as an NTT INDYCAR SERIES driver. Conor Daly returns as full-time driver of the No. 20 Chevrolet while Rinus VeeKay returns as the full-time driver of the No. 21 Chevrolet for the fourth consecutive season. The Dutchman earned the 2020 NTT INDYCAR SERIES Rookie of the Year title and claimed his first NTT INDYCAR SERIES win in 2021.