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RACE PREVIEW: 106th Running of the Indianapolis 500

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SUNDAY, MAY 29, 2022

Starting Positions
3rd: RINUS VEEKAY
 
233.385 mph
4th: ED CARPENTER 233.080 mph
18th: CONOR DALY 230.999 mph

RACE BROADCAST: Sunday, May 29 – 11 a.m. ET (NBC)
TRACK: Indianapolis Motor Speedway
LOCATION: Speedway, Indiana, USA
TRACK LAYOUT: 2.5-mile oval

ED CARPENTER RACING

• The next time Ed Carpenter Racing’s three Chevrolet-powered NTT INDYCAR SERIES cars take to the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway Oval, it will be for the 106th Running of the Indianapolis 500. For the second year in a row, Rinus VeeKay claimed the 3rd starting position and will start from the front row again. Team owner Ed Carpenter also replicated his starting position from last year and will start his 19th Indy 500 from 4th position. Conor Daly qualified 18th, on the outside of Row 6. 

• ECR’s first season of NTT INDYCAR SERIES competition was 2012, making the 2022 Indianapolis 500 the team’s 11th. For 10 of those 11 years, ECR has had at least one car qualify in the first three rows. Excluding 2015, when the Firestone Fast Nine was canceled due to weather, ECR has been in every shootout for the pole position since 2013 (known this year as the Firestone Fast Six). For the 8th time in 10 years, an ECR Chevrolet will start on the front row of the Indianapolis 500. For the third year in a row, ECR was the only Chevrolet-powered team in the shootout for the pole-position. 

• For the first time since the pandemic began, the Indianapolis 500 will run in 2022 with no restrictions. The 106th Running of the Indianapolis 500 is expected to have 300,000 fans in attendance, making it the largest crowd in the last 20 years, excluding the 100th running of the race in 2016. The green flag for the 200-lap event is scheduled to wave at 12:45 p.m. ET. 

CONOR DALY, NO. 20 BITNILE CHEVROLET

CONOR DALY, No. 20 BitNile Chevrolet, Starting 18th: “We have the greatest event in the world coming up! I am very excited for it, our car is fantastic. We’ve done what we needed to do, we’ve got the right car. I feel very confident we’ll be able to move forward. We’re going to have a long day ahead of us, coming from mid-pack, but a lot of other really quick drivers are coming from mid-pack as well. Excited to get this No. 20 BitNile Chevy towards the front and join my teammates! Hopefully, we’re looking at an Ed Carpenter Racing 1-2-3 finish at the Indy 500. Who’s going to win? We don’t know, but I hope it’s me!”

OF NOTE: 

• Last Saturday, Conor Daly’s four-lap average of 230.999 mph had him 20th overall, but two cars who re-qualified did not improve their times and fell behind him. Daly was in line himself to make another attempt, but it began to rain for the second time, which ended the day’s on-track activities. Daly’s speed stood, and he will start Sunday’s Indianapolis 500 from 18th.

• Daly is a hometown favorite as he was born and raised in nearby Noblesville. Daly is ready for his 9th Indianapolis 500 and his 3rd with Ed Carpenter Racing. This is Daly’s first season as one of ECR’s full-time drivers. With Daly driving the No. 20, Ed Carpenter has shifted to the No. 33 this year.

• Earlier in the Month of May on the IMS Road Course, Daly had his most successful weekend with ECR todate in the 2022 GMR Grand Prix. For the second year in a row, he advanced to the Firestone Fast 6. He started 4th, and after battling both wet and dry track conditions, he earned his first Top 5 finish of the season with a 5th place.

• BitNile Holdings, Inc. is the primary partner of the No. 20 Chevrolet as part of a multi-year deal. BitNile is a diversified holding company that specializes in disruptive technologies, including cryptocurrency and innovations in the field of Decentralized Finance (“DeFi”). They focus on large-scale crypto mining with energy efficient, powerful operations located in North America and operate their own high-density data center. BitNile invests in technology platforms that provide crypto holders a vehicle to earn interest on their crypto assets. 

RINUS VEEKAY, NO. 21 BITCOIN RACING TEAM POWERED BY BITNILE CHEVROLET

RINUS VEEKAY, No. 21 Bitcoin Racing Team Powered By BitNile Chevrolet, Starting 3rd: “I am very, very excited for the Indy 500. It’s going to be a great race! I’m starting from the front row again, second year in a row. It’s pretty cool! I think we have a race-winning car. It’s going to be a long race and many things can happen, but we’ve done everything we can to be prepared. The ECR car is great and my Chevy power is amazing!”

OF NOTE: 

• Of the 32 cars that attempted a run last Saturday, Rinus VeeKay set the fastest four-lap average. In a new qualifying format, the Top 12 cars from Saturday moved on to Sunday, and of those 12, six would continue on to the Firestone Fast 6 shootout for the pole position. In the Top 12 session, VeeKay placed second overall, earning him a spot in the Fast 6. His final four-lap average of 233.385 mph earned him the 3rd starting position.

• VeeKay replicated his starting position from last yea and he will start on the outside of the front row for the second year in a row. By qualifying 3rd, VeeKay placed an ECR car on the front row for the 8th time in 10 years. He is also the fastest Chevy-powered driver in the field for the third consecutive year.

• In five races so far this season, the 21-year-old has three Top 10 finishes, including his first podium of the year four weeks ago at Barber Motorsports Park. After starting from the pole position, he took the checkered flag in third. 

• In 2021, Ed Carpenter Racing became known as the Bitcoin Racing Team. Through the generosity of BitNile Holdings, Inc. (BitNile), the Bitcoin Racing Team will continue to grow in 2022. VeeKay is competing in the No. 21 Bitcoin Racing Team Powered by BitNile Chevrolet, which he helped design. Also, any individual who scans the unique QR code on the side of the No. 21 car and completes the registration will receive free Bitcoin from Earnity, a community-based crypto platform of which BitNile is a significant investor. 

ED CARPENTER, NO. 33 ALZAMEND NEURO CHEVROLET

ED CARPENTER, No. 33 Alzamend Neuro Chevrolet, Starting 4th: “It is Indy 500 time! It has been a great week and a half of preparation for ECR. I know that myself and the No. 33 Alzamend Chevrolet group are feeling very confident. We’ve done all the work needed to go out and have a great shot at this on Sunday. Hopefully, we can execute and be drinking milk at the end of the day!”

OF NOTE: 

• Sunday will mark the 7th time Ed Carpenter has had a Top 4 start at IMS in the past 10 years. The 41-year-old was one of the twelve quickest drivers in the 33-car field last Saturday and one of the six quickest drivers on Sunday, giving him an opportunity to make a run for pole position in the Firestone Fast 6. His four-lap average of 233.080 mph earned him the 4th starting position.

• Carpenter is one of the most experienced drivers in the field, now in his 20th season of NTT INDYCAR SERIES competition. He is the only team owner who also has the responsibility of driving in the series. An Indianapolis native, Carpenter solidified his status as a hometown hero by winning the pole position in 2013 and 2014. In recent years, he has had some of his strongest finishes, including a runner-up finish in 2018 and a 5th place finish last year. 

• Ed Carpenter competes tomorrow in the No. 33, which features the striking purple and aqua colors of Alzamend Neuro. Alzamend is focused on developing novel products for the treatment of psychiatric disorders and neurodegenerative diseases, with their primary target being Alzheimer’s disease. Alzamend is committed to “Making Alzheimer’s Just a Memory.”

• Though Carpenter’s car is an expansion to ECR’s usual two-car program, the No. 33 pit consists of many familiar faces. Most crew members are an annual part of ECR’s Indy 500 program, some having been with the team since its first time running three cars in 2015. Carpenter’s crew is also being supplemented with several of ECR’s shop-based employees who are trackside each Month of May. 

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