Carpenter Overcomes Pit Stop Stall to Finish Fifth in Indy 500

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer

INDIANAPOLIS – Ed Carpenter Racing had quite an interesting day in the 105th Indianapolis 500, especially for the boss man.

On a day Rinus VeeKay and Conor Daly set the tone throughout the first half of the race, Carpenter had a different afternoon. While running with the leaders early on, Carpenter’s day went south during the first green flag stops.

His car stalled, costing him dearly and had to play recovery mode. As race’s end, Carpenter did found his way back towards the leading pack. Although the win was out of reach, he scored a fifth-place finish which was the highest finishing ECR driver. VeeKay got eighth and Daly ended up 13th after leading a race-high 40 laps.

Carpenter described Sunday’s race as crazy, admitting his pit stop woe was a rookie mistake.

“Stalled the car somehow. Haven’t done it in a while,” said Carpenter. “Dug myself in a hole but the ECR boys kicked ass in the pits with the strategy. I only passed a couple of cars to get to fifth. This one’s all of them.”

Certainly, a race where the team persevered, but Carpenter noted his No. 20 SONAX Chevrolet was good.

“It was really tough deep in the pack,” said Carpenter. “But it was great to be able get back to the fight at the end. Got back in the top-five. From how it looked early on to come out of here with the top-five isn’t a bad day at all.”

Like many drivers across the paddock, losing the Indy 500 stings. Carpenter is no exception, but a win by Helio Castroneves gave him some ecouragement.

“It’s always not a good feeling leaving here watching someone else celebrate. With that being said, I’m pretty happy for Helio,” said Carpenter. “He’s older than me, so it gives me hope still. I’ll keep coming back and keep chasing this thing.”

Carpenter’s next race is slated to be the oval finale at World Wide Technology Raceway. Daly will pilot the No. 20 Chevrolet between now and then.