Ed Carpenter Racing made its debut in the IndyCar Series in 2012, and it was immediately successful. Ed Carpenter, the driver and team owner, won the season finale at Auto Club Speedway. In 2013, the team’s best result was a second place, but in 2014, they won three races: two by Mike Conway and one by Ed Carpenter himself.
Collaboration with Sarah Fisher and Success with Newgarden
In 2015, Ed Carpenter and Sarah Fisher joined forces, resulting in a successful partnership. With Josef Newgarden behind the wheel, the team secured two race wins. Starting in 2016, the team continued under the name Ed Carpenter Racing after Sarah Fisher and Wink Hartman decided to step back. That year, the team managed another victory with Newgarden. In 2017, a win eluded them, although J.R. Hildebrand came close with a third place in Phoenix and a second place in Iowa.
An Inconsistent Season for VeeKay and Daly (2022)
In 2022, the team once again fielded two full-time entries. Rinus VeeKay completed his third season in the NTT IndyCar Series, which was also his third year with Carpenter’s team. After scoring his first IndyCar win in 2021, the Dutchman was eager to improve even further in 2022, especially after failing to score a single top ten finish following the race weekend at Belle Isle Park in June 2021.
Alongside VeeKay, Conor Daly returned to Ed Carpenter Racing in 2022 for his third consecutive year. This time, he competed in a full season for the first time in a Carpenter car. During the oval races, the team fielded an additional car for Carpenter himself. While VeeKay managed six top ten finishes that season, Daly only achieved it twice, and Carpenter not at all.
Challenging Season in 2023
Despite retaining the same driver lineup with VeeKay and Daly for 2023, the season proved to be a struggle. After just seven races, Daly was replaced by former IndyCar champion Ryan Hunter-Reay. His arrival was intended to assist the team primarily with car setup, which led to improved performances for VeeKay towards the end of the season. He finished sixth in Portland. However, with only four top ten finishes, it remained a disappointing season.
Fresh Start with Christian Rasmussen in 2024
In 2024, VeeKay began his fifth season with Ed Carpenter Racing. This time, he was joined by Indy NXT champion Christian Rasmussen as his teammate. Despite frequent errors by the team during the season, VeeKay managed to turn things around and brought the team back into the top ten more often. VeeKay ultimately finished the year in thirteenth place in the championship, while Rasmussen ended the year in 22nd.
Partnership with businessman Ted Gelov
At the conclusion of the 2024 season, Ed Carpenter Racing announced that the team had found a new co-owner in businessman Ted Gelov. Gelov, a native of Indianapolis, is also the owner of Heartland Food Products Group, a food manufacturing company. With the arrival of Gelov, the team also changed its driver lineup for 2025: after five seasons, Rinus VeeKay made way for Alexander Rossi, while Christian Rasmussen secured a full-time seat. Carpenter himself decided to take a step back and will only compete in the Indy 500 in 2025.
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