Carpenter Giving Thanks For Indy Breakthrough In 2003
By Dick Mittman
indy500.com
Wednesday, November 26, 2003

Ed Carpenter has much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving.

During the year, Carpenter graduated from Butler University, won the inaugural Freedom 100 Menards Infiniti Pro Series™ race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, finished third in the Pro Series standings and made his three-race debut in the Indy Racing League® IndyCar® Series.

And the best may be yet to come. As Carpenter celebrates Thanksgiving with his family in Colorado, he said he is close to getting a full-time IndyCar® Series ride for 2004 that would put him in the hunt for the Bank One Rookie of the Year Award next May in the Indianapolis 500.

"It's kind of like a lot of things have changed in my life," Carpenter said.

"A lot of big things happened with graduation, winning the Freedom 100 and being able to race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. That was a big dream come true. Then there was being able to start my IndyCar® Series career over at PDM (Racing) and have three pretty good races.

"That was a lot of things to have in one year. I was pretty blessed, and I'm just working hard to take all the things that happened to me this year and turn them into positives for next year."

Carpenter's biggest moment in the racing spotlight came in May at the Speedway when he scored a grand slam by winning the Freedom 100 pole and race in dominating fashion. It put his name in the record book as the first driver in May ever to win a race other than the Indianapolis 500 at the world-famed track.

Carpenter lives only a few blocks west of the track in Speedway, Ind.

And next May -- if all works out well for him -- he will become the first rookie candidate to already have won at Indy.

That's quite a burden for Carpenter, who'll be 23 next March 3, to carry. But at the same time, he said he has the experience of driving extremely well and winning at Indy.

"I definitely think getting some race experience at the Speedway will help me next May if I get the chance to compete in the month of May," he said.

"There's going to be a lot more jitters when you get in an Indy car, obviously, when you get that amount of people out there for the Indy 500. But I've made 100 miles around there so far in race conditions and really enjoyed it.

"So I'm really looking forward to going back in an Indy car."

Carpenter has two other advantages he thinks will benefit him as a newcomer on the IndyCar® Series circuit. On is that he has matured as a person and as a driver by spending a second year in the developmental Infiniti Pro Series, he said. The second is that he spent the 2003 season driving for legend A.J. Foyt.

Carpenter first talked with four-time Indianapolis 500 winner Foyt more than 10 years ago at Portland, Ore., when Carpenter's family went to the CART race there as part of a vacation to the Pacific Northwest. He was about 10 years old and remembers going into Foyt's transporter and talking with him. Foyt became Carpenter's hero.

Fast forward to 2003. Driving for A.J. was an awakening experience, Carpenter said.

"I think everyone who works with A.J. in his career comes away a different race car driver," he said. "He tests you in a lot of different ways, and you learn different things from him. He has a different approach than a lot of people do.

"You take it as a learning experience, and you walk away a better driver."

Carpenter finished third for the second straight season in the Infiniti Pro Series cars. It took a couple of races for him to become acclimated to Foyt and the team, he said, and his first two finishes were 15th and 13th, respectively. After winning at Indy, he had only one finish below seventh in the remaining nine races. He also finished second three times.

He also drove in five USAC Silver Crown races, challenging for the victory at Phoenix before a flat tire took him out and took third at Richmond. Toward the end of the season, he received a big break with Paul Diatlovich's PDM Racing team to drive in the final three races of the IndyCar® Series schedule. He placed 13th at both Chicago and California and 21st at Texas when an electrical problem sidelined him after completing 69 laps.

Carpenter said he is working hard to procure a ride for 2004. He is talking with several teams and is getting close with one team. He won't mention any possibility until the deal is completed.

"I'm feeling fairly confident anyway," he said.

Carpenter is looking forward to the family Thanksgiving get-together, telling stories, watching old family movies and videos and possibly snowboarding. His mother's family from Illinois joins the gathering.

"Hopefully, I'm not too stressed out waiting to hear back on some opportunities for rides," he said. "This time of the year, during 'Silly Season,' it's good for you to get out of town every once in a while and away from everything." ***

2004 tickets: Tickets are available for the 2004 Indianapolis 500. For information, log on to www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com, or call the IMS ticket office at (800) 822-INDY or (317) 492-6700.


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