Spencer Pigot and Jordan King to Race in Road Course Event This Saturday at the Historic Indianapolis Motor Speedway

INDIANAPOLIS (May 8, 2018) – Race Preview

– Opening weekend at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is home to the INDYCAR Grand Prix, the road course race which winds through the infield and incorporates portions of the famed oval. Ed Carpenter Racing will begin the month of racing activity with a two car effort in the INDYCAR Grand Prix before moving to three cars for the Indianapolis 500. Spencer Pigot and Jordan King, both 24, will compete for ECR in Saturday’s 85-lap race.

– Though this is Pigot’s first year of full-time Indy car competition, he has competed in the INDYCAR Grand Prix each year since becoming a Verizon IndyCar Series driver. He raced for Rahal Letterman Lanigan in the 2016 event, only his second career Indy car start. As road and street course driver of the No. 20 for the latter half of 2016 and all of 2017, he competed in the 2017 race for ECR. Now elevated to ECR’s only full-time driver, he will be behind the wheel of the No. 21 Preferred Freezer Services Chevrolet in his third INDYCAR Grand Prix.

– King will race at the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the first time in his career. As the new road and street course driver for the No. 20 Fuzzy’s Vodka Chevrolet, King will compete in this weekend’s INDYCAR Grand Prix before team owner Ed Carpenter steps back into the No. 20 for his 15th Indianapolis 500. The IMS road course is the first track where King has completed a full day of testing prior to the race weekend.

– Pigot was one of the fastest drivers during the 2017 edition of the INDYCAR Grand Prix. He passed six cars on the first lap alone, moving into the Top 10 before crossing the Yard of Bricks for the first time. After making his first pit stop from the 6th position, car misfired and stalled on the launch, dropping him to 15th. He worked his way back up to 9th before his second stop, a stint that had to be spent on black tires. Though he ran the entire second stint in the 11th position, Pigot had saved a set of sticker reds for the end of the race and quickly gained back the position he had lost while on the black tires. A late race penalty to another car helped Pigot claim the 9th position at the checkered flag.

– British newcomer King immediately turned heads in his Indy car debut in March. He set the track record during qualifying for the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg and went on to secure the fourth starting position. Within the first five laps of the event, King had raced to the front and taken the lead. King’s results have not yet matched his speed as a myriad of unfortunate circumstances have limited his finishing positions, including broken suspension later in the race in St. Petersburg, a brake malfunction in the Streets of Long Beach and heavy rains that interrupted the No. 20’s strategy at Barber Motorsports Park.

– Pigot’s Chevrolet will return to the striking blue and white Preferred Freezer Services livery for both events at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the INDYCAR Grand Prix and the 102nd Running of the Indianapolis 500. PFS was also featured on Pigot’s car at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach and will re-emerge at the Honda Indy Toronto, the only international stop on the Verizon IndyCar Series schedule. 2018 is the fifth consecutive year that Preferred Freezer Services has backed one of Ed Carpenter Racing’s entries. 


– The No. 20 of King and Carpenter will remain as it has appeared in the first four events of 2018; the black and chrome scheme a nod to this year’s Legends Tribute Victory Editions bottles of Fuzzy’s Vodka. The Legends Tribute bottles honor the iconic career of A.J. Foyt, with four different 750ml bottles each showcasing one of Foyt’s four Indianapolis 500 wins. Throughout the month, the drivers of the No. 20 and No. 21 will be found across Indianapolis at bottle signings for Fuzzy’s Vodka. A full list of dates, times and locations is available at edcarpenterracing.com.

– Ed Carpenter Racing has already begun the process of moving operations from their Georgetown Road workshop to the garages of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The Indianapolis-based team has already spent ample time at their home track this year in preparation for the Month of May. Pigot and King participated in a one day open test on the 2.439-mile road course in late March while just last week, Pigot, Carpenter and Indianapolis 500 teammate Danica Patrick were part of a testing program that spanned three days.

– On-track activity for the INDYCAR Grand Prix will take place over the course of two days. On Friday, May 11, all practice sessions and qualifications will be streamed live on indycar.com. The television broadcast of the INDYCAR Grand Prix will run from 3:30-6 p.m. ET on Saturday, May 12 on ABC.

JORDAN KING, No. 20 Fuzzy’s Vodka Chevrolet: “I feel confident going into the INDYCAR Grand Prix this weekend and there is definitely a bit of buzz around Indianapolis about it as well! This is the first circuit I have been able to spend a day testing at prior to the race weekend so I am sure that will help. We were really quick at the test and we are looking to continue where we left off with the Fuzzy’s Vodka car!”

SPENCER PIGOT, No. 21 Preferred Freezer Services Chevrolet: “It is always the best time of the year when we get to race around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Obviously, we have the Indianapolis 500, but first we get to race the road course for the INDYCAR Grand Prix. Ed Carpenter Racing is really excited to go back to the GP where we had a really strong race last year. Hopefully we can have similar pace and competitiveness this year in the Preferred Freezer Services car and start off the Month of May strong!”