Last year, Ed Carpenter did it all as he drove all the races while running the race team. This year, however, Carpenter is taking a slightly different approach as he will be running the race team – while only racing the ovals this year.
“We started the team two years ago. I want to be able to race as long as I can and do it well,” he said on media day. “At the same time the race team is something that I see as my future beyond driving, whenever that day comes. It’s certainly a business that I want to be successful for long after I’m driving.
“That’s kind of where the decision came from, just to make sure that we’re doing everything we possibly could to position the team well and in a strong place to deliver for all our current partners, Fuzzy’s, Chevrolet, and hopefully to grow the team in the near future.”
Carpenter has hired Mike Conway to drive the car on the road and street courses, with the success that he had last year. Conway got the chance to test out the car at Sonoma, while Carpenter participated in the Team Chevy test at Fontana. Carpenter said it made for a busy month, but it was good to get back on track.
“It’s always fun to work with Chevrolet, developing some new things, it’s fun to be part of that process. To go back to Fontana, run there, continue working on that track is fun,” Carpenter said. “A lot of what we’ve been doing is really getting Mike comfortable with our team and at the same time us getting comfortable with Mike. It’s gone well. He’s been in the car four days now since he joined us, which other than Juan is I think as much as anyone has tested.
“I feel like he’s made a lot of progress. He came to Fontana with us when I was in the car. I think that was a good exercise for him as well, just to see me not as a half driver/half owner standing on the timing stand, but to see me interact with the guys. I think it made him feel more comfortable seeing me in that element rather than seeing me as kind of an owner and a driver. I think it’s been different for both of us figuring out that role, but it’s been a fun process.”
With the new arrangement, Carpenter is looking for success this year. He feels that Conway can deliver on the road courses while he delivers on the ovals, possibly bringing home the entrant’s championship.
“I feel really strongly about the capabilities of our team. I feel like we should be in the mix everywhere we go,” Carpenter said. “With that being said, the strength of the series, teams and drivers right now, is at a really high level. It’s no easy feat, but we’re definitely going to give it our best shot.”
Last year, he finished second in the season finale at Fontana while sitting on the pole for the Indianapolis 500. Carpenter says he enjoys the longer oval races because of the simple factor – there’s more that goes into winning.
“You have more opportunities to figure out how to win the race and you also have more opportunities to mess it up,” he commented. “It definitely has a higher degree of difficulty. Really happy to see Pocono being a 500-miler. I needed an extra 100 miles there last year. Looking forward to having the extra mileage. Hopefully we can reclaim that one for Chevy after Honda kind of put it to us with Ganassi last year.”
