By: Zach Catanzareti, Staff Writer
Indiana nearly saw one of their drivers take home Indianapolis 500 victory on Sunday, as Ed Carpenter was again a contender throughout 200 laps.
Following his third Indy pole run last weekend, Carpenter brought the speed to the race, jumping out to lead 67 laps, more than anyone on the day. Carpenter was the top man to beat until Team Penske’s Will Power rose to the top to take the eventual victory, snatching it from Carpenter’s grasp.
Carpenter, the part-time oval driver, was left with second place, his best ever at Indianapolis in his 15th race.
“I’ll feel pretty good about this in a couple days,” Carpenter said in disappointment. “The team really did a great job all month long. It was almost like being out front early probably hurt us a little bit just because guys started saving fuel a little earlier. We got behind on the fuel save.”
The importance of fuel strategy was met with critical track position, as the field struggled to make passes throughout the pack; with many crashing out of the event one-by-one.
“Track position was everything we thought it was going to be,” he said. “You heard the drivers talk all week. Just couldn’t quite get it back from him. We were saving fuel through the middle part of the race when everyone was essentially trying to cut out a stop.”
The race ended with an eight-lap run to the checkered. The top three were placed on fuel strategy, and when that trio dove to pit road, Will Power was pushed to the lead and Carpenter was second, too far back to make a run.
“You never know how these races are going to unfold,” he said. “When you start getting cautions down the stretch, desperation comes out from everyone, you get in the cycle of more cautions. We’ve seen quite a few races go that direction down the stretch.”
Together, himself and Power led 124 of 200 laps. So close on speed that Carpenter believes he would’ve had Power covered if the roles were reversed on the final restart.
“We were both pretty good. I think consistently we were probably the best two cars, it seemed like,” he said. “I think if the roles were reversed, he would have probably not been able to get by me either outside of a restart.
“At the end of the day, we had a chance to go fight one of the best teams and drivers for the 500. It’s something I’m proud of.”
The final result is one os positives for Carpenter, who earned his first pole, best finish and most laps led since 2014. Additionally, the run put his team, Ed Carpenter Racing, as the team to beat for the year’s biggest victory.
“When I look back on this month, we were strong just about every day, with all our cars,” he said. “We held that level of consistency and performance through the month.”
Despite struggling finishes by Spencer Pigot and Danica Patrick (20th and 30th, respectively) Carpenter hopes his result can boost the team to making Sunday more common across a full season.
“Hopefully this will be a springboard for the team to jump into the back half of the season,” he said. “Have Spencer finally break through with some results. Jordan [King] just needs to catch a break. He’s been in a good spot, too. Hopefully, this is going to be a springboard for the team to help the team make some strong finishes, win some races.
“All in all, we’ll be happy with that. Come back stronger next year.”