By Dick Mittman
indy500.com
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Possibly the most overlooked contender for victory in this Sunday's 92nd Indianapolis 500 qualified in the 10th spot on Pole Day, yet he has more time around the Speedway - from the main offices, to the Museum, to the golf course and to the track - then all the other drivers combined.
Ed Carpenter, 27, quietly does his job in his race car and never ballyhoos his family ties to the track or that he has grown up at IMS. Carpenter is the stepson of Speedway CEO Tony George and son of IMS Staff Advisor Laura George, who both also are owners of Vision Racing.
This will be Carpenter's fifth Indianapolis 500. His best finish is 11th, in 2005 and 2006.
Driving for Vision Racing, Carpenter went out on Pole Day and turned in a 223.835-mph qualifying run that put him in the lineup just behind the drivers from powerhouse teams Ganassi Racing, Penske Racing and Andretti Green Racing. He varied only .145 mph between his fastest lap of 223.948 and his slowest of 223.753.
When the day was over, he was still standing among the elite first-day 11.
Now Carpenter is ready to take the next step. He thinks he's capable of being a contender and challenging for victory.
"Yes, definitely," said Carpenter, a soft-spoken Butler University graduate.
"I know I can run with those guys. I have all season and in the past. I know I have the speed with them this month and the car to do it, so I just want to be there, take the spots when I can get them.
"I'm not going to be able to make any mistakes. I know my team has been working very hard on pit stops, and I know they're going to do a good job all day. We should be able to work our way to the front."
The key for him, he said, is that now he feels like a veteran. He knows what he wants from his car and can offer precise feedback to the mechanical and engineering team at Vision.
"Around here, the place is so tricky that when you have past experience to fall back on, it just gives you a lot more confidence," he said.
Placing in the top 11 on the first day was a definite morale boost and met a goal for Carpenter.
Then he confessed he'd like to have qualified higher than 10th, but he was still pleased to stay in the field before the gun was fired to signal the end of Pole Day.
"I'm in a good place to be," he said. "I'm happy for the race, and I think we should make something happen."
Something did happen early in the month that could have disrupted the entire team's performance. Larry Curry, who has run the team since its inception, was released.
Still, Carpenter and teammates A.J. Foyt IV and Davey Hamilton all made the starting lineup. Foyt sweated out Bump Day qualifying to earn a spot in the last row, also occupied by Marty Roth. Curry was hired by Roth Racing earlier this month, helping driver-owner Marty Roth and John Andretti squeeze into the field.
Carpenter began racing quarter-midgets in Terre Haute when he was 8 and later raced at the Indiana State Fairgrounds. But he said it wasn't until he was 16 and started racing midgets at the 16th St. Speedway - at the old converted baseball stadium - that he became serious about making racing his career.
"That's when my focus became the Indy 500 and getting in Indy car racing," he said.
He raced in the Firestone Indy Lights series in 2002-03, winning the inaugural Firestone Freedom 100 while driving for four-time Indy 500 A.J. Foyt. Carpenter made a full-time jump to the IndyCar Series and his first Indianapolis 500 start in 2004 with Cheever Racing before he moved to first-year team Vision in 2005.
If Carpenter is to earn a spot on the Borg-Warner Trophy this year, pure speed should be the deciding factor. The race has become a 500-mile sprint, Carpenter said, because of the reliability of the Honda engine and the steadiness of the Dallara chassis.
"You have to be fast the whole race," he said. "Now if you're not pushing hard all day, you're going to be left flat. You have to race hard from the drop of the green flag if you want to be in the race."
That's what he intends to do next Sunday. And if he wins, would he want his mother to place the winner's wreath across his shoulders?
"I don't care who puts the wreath over my head … as long as I get it," he said.
***
Indy 500 tickets on sale: Tickets are on sale for the 2008 Indianapolis 500 on Sunday, May 25, the 92nd running of "The Greatest Spectacle in Racing."
Fans can order tickets online at www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com, by calling the IMS ticket office at (317) 492-6700 or (800) 822-INDY outside the Indianapolis area, or at the ticket office at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Parking and camping information also can be obtained through the ticket office.
Hours for phone orders and the ticket office are 8 a.m.-6 p.m. (ET) Monday-Sunday during May, with special hours of 6 a.m.-1 p.m. on Race Day, Sunday, May 25. Online orders can be made at any time. Race Day ticket prices start at just $20.
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