American racing driver (born 1981)
Everette Edward Carpenter, Jr. (born March 3, 1981) is an American auto racing driver, currently competing in the IndyCar Series for his team, Ed Carpenter Racing. He is the stepson of Indy Racing League founder Tony George.
Career history.
Carpenter was born in Paris, Illinois, and grew up in the town of Marshall until the age of 8. He then moved to Indianapolis. He is a graduate of Butler University.
Early career.
Carpenter has had a successful career in midget racing dating back to 1989. Carpenter would win national quarter-midget events in Xenia, Ohio and Hagerstown, Maryland in 1996.
United States Automobile Club.
USAC Regional Series.
Carpenter drove in the USAC Regional Series in 1998 in the midget division. Carpenter drove the No. 3 TG Racing car at 16th Street Speedway. At the track event on June 27, 1998 Carpenter qualified with the 11th fastest time. Carpenter won the third heat race and finished the feature in 3rd place.
USAC National Midget Car Series.
Carpenter drove in the USAC National Midget Series in 1999 for TG Racing in the No. 3 Ed Pink Beast in fifteen races. Carpenter won a race at Louisville Motor Speedway and finished 13th in points. Carpenter returned in 2000 to drive the No. 3 TG Motorsports car. Carpenter achieved four top five finishes with a best finish of 2nd at the Belleville Nationals at the Belleville High Banks and finished 9th in the final point standings. In 2001, Carpenter drove the No. 2 Steele car at South Boston Speedway, where he started 11th and finished 8th. In 2002 Carpenter returned to the series to drive for Klatt Enterprises. Carpenter competed in three races and finished 44th in points.
USAC Silver Crown Series.
Carpenter competed in the United States Auto Club#USAC Silver Crown Series in 2000. Carpenter originally competed for former Indy car driver George Snider in car No. 111 at the season-opening Copper World Classic at Phoenix International Raceway; Carpenter finished in 9th place to claim the Rookie of the Race award. Carpenter started driving for George Snider's relative Debbie Snider in the No. 7 Chevrolet-powered Beast, with George Snider and Jimmy Sills acting as mentors to him and giving him advice about tracks. Carpenter had a best finish of 6th in the Southern Illinoisan 100 at the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds Racetrack. Carpenter started on the pole position in the A. J. Foyt's True Value Hulman Hoosier Hundred at the Indiana State Fairgrounds Speedway, the series' most prestigious race. Carpenter led the first 80 laps before crashing and finishing in 20th place. Carpenter also won the Rookie of the Race award at Nazareth Speedway with a 7th-place finish. Carpenter finished 12th in the final point standings. In 2001 Carpenter returned to drive for George Snider in the No. 11 – numbered 111 at Gateway International Raceway – car. Carpenter's best finish was sixth at the Coca-Cola 100 at Indianapolis Raceway Park, and he finished ninth in the final point standings.
In 2002 Carpenter drove the No. 44 Sinden Racing car. At the season-opening Little Trees 100 at Phoenix, Carpenter started 2nd and finished 21st after suffering an engine failure after 85 laps. Carpenter also drove for Hoffman Auto Racing in the No. 69 Dynamics car at the Golden Hoosier Hundred at the Indiana State Fairgrounds Speedway – starting 17th and finishing 24th due to a crash after 59 laps – and the No. 67 Zarounian car at the Ted Horn 100 at the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds Racetrack; Carpenter started from pole position and finished 25th due to an accident after 58 laps. Carpenter's best finish of the season was at the Dominic's of New York 100 at Richmond International Raceway where he started 7th and finished 2nd, leading for 12 laps. Carpenter finished the season ranked 22nd in the final point standings. For 2003 Carpenter again drove for Hoffman Auto Racing in the No. 69 Dynamics car. Carpenter's best finish of 3rd place came at the Dominic's of New York 100 at Richmond after starting 10th. Carpenter finished 35th in the final point standings.
USAC Sprint Car Series.
In 2001 Carpenter began competing in the USAC Sprint Car Series in the No. 1111 TG Racing car. At the season-ending USAC Sprint Legends Classic at Salem Speedway, Carpenter had the 3rd fastest qualifying time, finished 6th in the first heat and won the "Semi" race. In the feature race Carpenter took the lead with 10 laps to go and won. Carpenter finished 12th in the final point standings. In 2002 Carpenter drove for Sinden Racing, where he took one win during the season, and finished 19th in the final point standings.
North American Auto Racing Series.
In 2000 Carpenter competed in the North American Auto Racing Series-sanctioned NAMARS National Midget Championship series in the No. 3C TG Racing car. Carpenter attempted to qualify for the Chili Bowl at Tulsa Expo Center, considered to be the "biggest Midget race of the year". Carpenter failed to qualify for the qualifier and missed the feature race as a result.
IndyCar.
Indy Lights Series.
Carpenter joined the then-new Indy Racing League sanctioned Infiniti Pro Series in 2002, driving the No. 2 Sinden Racing car. At the season-opening Kansas 100 at Kansas Speedway, Carpenter started and finished 5th. Carpenter's best finish of 2nd came in the Kentucky 100 at Kentucky Speedway, and he also achieved a pair of 3rd-place finishes in the Michigan 100 at Michigan International Speedway and the Gateway 100 at Gateway International Speedway. Carpenter finished out the season ranked 3rd, with 226 points. In 2003 Carpenter moved to A. J. Foyt Enterprises to drive the No. 14 car. Carpenter won his only Indy Lights race at the series' most prestigious race, the Futaba Freedom 100 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Carpenter qualified on the pole position at the Aventis Racing for Kids 100 at Kansas Speedway and the Chicagoland 100 at Chicagoland Speedway, finishing 2nd in each race. Carpenter again finished the season ranked 3rd, with 377 points. In 2005 Carpenter returned to the series for Vision Racing to drive the No. 9 car on a one-off basis; he competed at the Liberty Challenge on the road course at Indianapolis. Carpenter qualified 13th out of 14 cars and finished 11th, the last car on the lead lap; the result saw him finish 26th in the drivers' championship, with 19 points.
IndyCar Series.
Carpenter's first experience in the IndyCar Series came in 2001 at Atlanta Motor Speedway when he tested a car for Panther Racing.
2003–2005.
In 2003, Carpenter began competing in the IndyCar Series for PDM Racing in the No. 18 Dallara-Chevrolet. Carpenter made his debut at the Delphi Indy 300 at Chicagoland Speedway; he started in 16th place and finished in 13th place. Carpenter then competed at the Toyota Indy 400 at California Speedway, starting in 17th place and finishing in 13th place, two laps down. At the season-ending Chevy 500 at Texas Motor Speedway, Carpenter started in 22nd place and finished in 21st place due to alternator problems after completing 69 laps. Carpenter finished the season ranked in 26th place, with 43 points. In 2004, Carpenter ran his first full-time season for Red Bull Cheever Racing in the No. 52 Dallara-Chevrolet. At the season-opening Toyota Indy 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Carpenter started in 9th place and finished in 12th place. During the season, Carpenter struggled to match the results of teammate Alex Barron. Carpenter's best finish was 8th place at the Belterra Casino Indy 300 at Kentucky Speedway. Carpenter qualified for the Indianapolis 500, starting in 16th place and finishing in 31st place due to a crash after 62 laps. Carpenter finished the season in 16th place, with 245 points. For 2005, Carpenter's stepfather Tony George started a new team called Vision Racing after purchasing the equipment from Kelley Racing. Carpenter drove for the team in the No. 20 Dallara-Toyota. During the year, Carpenter and the team struggled; his best start was 16th place at the SunTrust Indy Challenge at Richmond International Raceway. Carpenter's best finish was at the Firestone Indy 200 at Nashville Superspeedway with a 10th-place finish, one lap down. Carpenter qualified for the Indianapolis 500, starting in 26th place and finishing in 11th place, one lap down. Carpenter finished the season in 18th place, with 244 points.
2006.
Carpenter returned with Vision Racing in 2006 in the No. 20 Dallara-Honda. On March 26, 2006, during the warmup practice session for the season-opening Toyota Indy 300 at Homestead, Carpenter was involved in a crash with Paul Dana, who died soon after from his injuries. Carpenter was reported to be "awake and alert," airlifted to Jackson Memorial Hospital and was released the next day suffering bruised lungs. Carpenter returned to the series for the third race of the season, the Indy Japan 300 at Twin Ring Motegi, starting in 19th place and finishing in 20th place due to a crash after 25 laps. At the Indianapolis 500, Carpenter and his teammates acquired sponsorship from Rock and Republic for the race. Carpenter started in 12th place and ran in the top 10 late in the race; he finished 11th, a lap down, after a late-race pit stop. At the following race, the Watkins Glen Indy Grand Prix at Watkins Glen International, Carpenter started in 18th place and finished in 6th place after his team decided to put on rain tires for the wet conditions. At the Firestone Indy 400 at Michigan International Speedway, Carpenter started in 4th place and finished in 7th place. At the season-ending Peak Antifreeze Indy 300 at Chicagoland, Carpenter started in 12th place and finished in 5th place. Carpenter finished the season ranked in 14th place, with 252 points.
2007.
In 2007, Carpenter again competed with Vision Racing to drive the No. 20 Dallara-Honda. Carpenter started off the season with a 6th-place finish at the season-opening XM Satellite Radio Indy 300 at Homestead. The team acquired sponsorship from Hitachi Power Tools for the Indianapolis 500 onwards. At Indianapolis, Carpenter started in 14th place and finished in 17th place after being involved in a crash with Marco Andretti, Dan Wheldon and others which resulted in Andretti flipping down the back straightaway. Just after the crash, the race was stopped due to rain. Carpenter's best finish in the remaining races was at the Iowa Corn Indy 250 at Iowa Speedway with a 6th-place finish after starting 5th. Carpenter finished the season ranked in 15th place, with 309 points.
2008.
For 2008, Carpenter returned with Vision Racing to drive the No. 20 Dallara-Honda. At the season-opening Gainsco Auto Insurance Indy 300 at Homestead, Carpenter qualified in 2nd place, but his time was nullified as his car – as well as the car of teammate A. J. Foyt IV – failed technical inspection. Despite starting at the rear, Carpenter worked his way through the order to finish in 6th place. Carpenter added another 6th-place finish at the Indy Japan 300 at Twin Ring Motegi. At the Indianapolis 500, Carpenter qualified in 10th place and finished in 5th place, leading 3 laps. After eight races, Carpenter ranked eighth in points, however, Carpenter only achieved top-ten finishes in the Firestone Indy 200 at Nashville and the Meijer Indy 300 at Kentucky. Carpenter finished out the year with a fiery crash in the Peak Antifreeze Indy 300 at Chicagoland while running in the top five. Carpenter finished the season ranked in 15th place, with 320 points.
2009.
In 2009, Carpenter returned with Vision Racing in the No. 20 Dallara-Honda and started with poor performances in the first two races – both street circuits – at the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg and the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. Carpenter then achieved back-to-back top 10 finishes on the ovals at the RoadRunner Turbo Indy 300 at Kansas Speedway with a 9th-place finish, and at the Indianapolis 500, Carpenter qualified in 17th place and finished in 8th place. The day after the ABC Supply Company A. J. Foyt 225 at the Milwaukee Mile – where Carpenter finished in 16th place, 6 laps down – Carpenter's wife Heather gave birth to their second child, Ryder. Carpenter got his best finish of the season at the Meijer Indy 300 at Kentucky, leading 34 laps before finishing 0.0162 seconds behind Ryan Briscoe following a pitched side-by-side battle. Carpenter finished out the season ranked in 12th place, with 321 points.
2010.
In 2010, Vision Racing lost its sponsors and as a result, shut down as a full-time team. Therefore, Carpenter