Ed Carpenter Racing
The cast: Drivers – Ed Carpenter, Mike Conway. Chief engineer – Matt Barnes. Race strategist – Tim Broyles.
Twitter: @edcarpenter20, Mikeconway26, @ECRIndy
The car: Chevrolet-powered No. 20
Snapshot: Carpenter, who has two Ind
yCar Series ovals victories and was the Indianapolis 500 pole winner last May, has brought in Conway to contest the road and street course races. Carpenter will compete on the six ovals. “I want to be able to race as long as I can and do it well,” noted Carpenter, the lone owner/driver in the series. “At the same time the race team is something that I see as my future beyond driving, whenever that day comes. It's certainly a business that I want to be successful for long after I'm driving. That's kind of where the decision came from, just to make sure that we're doing everything we possibly could to position the team well and in a strong place to deliver for all our current partners, Fuzzy's, Chevrolet, and hopefully to grow the team in the near future.” … Fuzzy’s Ultra Premium Vodka is the primary sponsor.
The stats: Carpenter, who won at Auto Club Speedway in the 2012 IndyCar Series season finale, was the runner-up on the 2-mile oval to close the 19-race 2013 season. He recorded two other top-five finishes (fourth at Texas and Iowa) and five top 10s overall. … Carpenter had a best finish of 13th (Toronto 1 after starting 23rd) on road/street courses. He qualified a season-best 14th (Sao Paulo) on road/street courses. … Carpenter had an average finish of 15.1 – two positions better than his average starting spot. … He led three races for a total of 56 laps, was running at the finish in 17 of the 19 races and placed 16th in the championship standings. … In seven races for two teams in 2013, Conway (left) earned his second IndyCar Series victory (Belle Isle 1 for Dale Coyne Racing) and career-first pole (Belle Isle 2). He added four other top-10 finishes, including seventh in both races on the streets of Exhibition Place in Toronto after qualifying 20th and 24th. … He led a field-high 47 (of 70) laps in Belle Isle 1 and was the lap leader (31) in Belle Isle 2, when he finished third.
The gist: Carpenter turns 33 on March 3. … The 500-mile race at Pocono Raceway on July 6 will be his 150th in the IndyCar Series. … Conway has 60 IndyCar Series starts with five teams since 2009. ... Conway has a busy racing season in general; he’ll be competing for the second consecutive year in the World Endurance Championship for the newly formed Millenium Racing. In 2013, he co-drove to four LMP2 class victories in the eight races and was awarded “Revelation of the Year.” He is also part of Toyota Racing’s LMP1 WEC program as a test and reserve driver.
They said it: “A lot of what we've been doing (in offseason testing) is really getting Mike comfortable with our team and at the same time us getting comfortable with Mike,” Carpenter said. “He's been in the car four days now since he joined us. I feel like he's made a lot of progress. He came to Fontana with us when I was in the car. I think that was a good exercise for him as well, just to see me not as a half driver/half owner standing on the timing stand, but to see me interact with the guys. I think it made him feel more comfortable seeing me in that element rather than seeing me as kind of an owner and a driver. I think it's been different for both of us figuring out that role, but it's been a fun process.
“I think that Mike and I are both capable of winning in our strong suits. I feel really strongly about the capabilities of our team. I feel like we should be in the mix everywhere we go. With that being said, the strength of the series, teams and drivers right now, is at a really high level. It's no easy feat, but we're definitely going to give it our best shot.”
Added Conway: “It’s a learning situation for me and the team. But Ed has been hands-on at the tests and working with the engineering staff to give me everything I need. I feel good about the potential here.”