x

ED CARPENTER RACING AIMING TO CONTINUE STREAK OF PODIUM FINISHES AT IOWA SPEEDWAY

00

Ed Carpenter and Spencer Pigot Focused on Extending ECR’s Tally of Four Podiums in Four Years

INDIANAPOLIS (July 16, 2019) – Race Preview

– Iowa Speedway, the shortest track on the schedule, has been a home of recurring success for Ed Carpenter Racing. For the past four years, ECR has left the Newton, Iowa oval with a podium finish and has had a driver inside the Top 5 for five consecutive years. Ed Carpenter and Spencer Pigot will work to continue that streak this weekend as they compete at the .875-mile track in a pair of Autogeek Chevrolets.

– An Ed Carpenter Racing driver has stood on the first or second step of the podium each of the last four years at Iowa Speedway. Last year, Pigot started 18th but raced all the way up to the second position. It was his first career podium finish in the NTT IndyCar Series. ECR earned two additional second place finishes with Josef Newgarden in 2015 and JR Hildebrand in 2017. In 2016, Newgarden qualified second, took the lead on the first lap and led a total of 282 laps on his way to the team’s most recent victory.

– Though Iowa will be the 12th round of the 2019 NTT IndyCar Series season, it will only be Carpenter’s third race this year as he competes exclusively in the oval events. At this year’s Indianapolis 500, the team owner qualified on the front row for the fifth time in seven years. After starting second, he brought home one of his best finishes in the 500-mile race with a sixth-place result. Carpenter managed a 13th place finish in a 248-lap battle of perseverance at Texas Motor Speedway in early June.

– Pigot competed in his 50th career NTT IndyCar Series race last Sunday in the streets of Toronto. All but four of Pigot’s starts have come with Ed Carpenter Racing and he is the team’s longest-tenured driver aside from his team owner. Pigot’s top finish of the year is currently a 5th place in the INDYCAR Grand Prix at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. The following weekend, he qualified on the outside of the front row for the Indianapolis 500 and started 3rd alongside Carpenter. With last weekend’s qualifying effort in Toronto, Pigot has earned career-best starting positions this year at each type of track the series races on – ovals, road courses and street circuits.

– Carpenter is in the midst of his 17th season of NTT IndyCar Series competition, making him one of the most experienced drivers in the field. Five of Carpenter’s last seven races at Iowa have concluded in Top 10 finishes. His highest result occurred in 2013, when he finished 4th after qualifying in the same position. With his 10th place finish last year, nine of ECR’s 11 starts at Iowa Speedway have concluded in a Top 10.

– For the first time in four years, the Iowa 300 will finish under the lights as the event moves back to an evening race. Qualifications will take place in between two practice sessions on Friday, July 19 with all streaming live via INDYCAR Pass on NBC Sports Gold. Additionally, qualifications will be shown live on NBC Sports, beginning at 1 p.m. local (2 p.m. ET). NBCSN will also broadcast Saturday’s 300-lap race with coverage starting at 6:10 p.m. local (7:10 p.m. ET).

ED CARPENTER, No. 20 Autogeek Chevrolet: “I am very excited to be getting back into the car and even more so for it to be under the lights at Iowa Speedway. Texas feels like it was months ago! I am looking forward to getting the No. 20 Autogeek Chevrolet back up front, we have had a good streak of strong finishes at Iowa as a team. I want to add another one to our resume on Saturday night!”

SPENCER PIGOT, No. 21 Autogeek Chevrolet: “We had a great result at Iowa Speedway last year with my first podium finish, so we’d love to match that or do one better this time around! 2018 was my first Indy car race at Iowa so it will be nice to go back knowing a bit more of what to expect. Moving the race back the evening should make it a great experience for our fans as well and hopefully the No. 21 Autogeek Chevrolet can put on a good show for them!”

Tags

Next Race

The Thermal Club

March 24 • 12:30 p.m. ET

NBC Broadcast