* TAKING THE VISION TO MID-OHIO: The Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio
will be Vision Racing's third trip to the natural terrain road course.
The 2007 season was the Indy Car Series' first event there and the team
secured a top-10 finish in the inaugural race as team driver Tomas
Scheckter finished ninth after starting from the 12th spot. Fellow
teammates A.J. Foyt IV and Ed Carpenter also participated in that event
with Foyt starting 14th and finishing 13th while Carpenter started and
finished in the 16th position. Last year, Carpenter and Foyt returned to
Mid-Ohio for Vision Racing started 22nd and 23rd and finished 15th and
18th, respectively.
* WELLNESS TOUR IN MID-OHIO- The Vision Racing Wellness Tour,
supported by team sponsor Lilly USA, will make an important pit stop for
a second consecutive year at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course providing racing
fans with FREE diabetes screenings with A1c testing and risk factor
assessment, along with cholesterol and blood pressure testing. The
Wellness Tour mobile unit (bus) will be located in the infield in the
vendor area and will be open from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday, August 9th,
race day at Mid-Ohio.
* OH SO CLOSE: Last weekend at Kentucky Speedway, Carpenter
earned a career-best finish of second, led 34 laps, was the most improved
driver (started 14th) had the fastest lap of the race for the second
consecutive season and put on an impressive display that stole the show
as by crossing the finish line just 0.0162 of a second behind Ryan
Briscoe of Team Penske. Not only was it Carpenter's career-best finish in
93 starts over six seasons, it was also Vision Racing's best oval finish
and it also matched Ryan Hunter-Reay's second place finish for the team
earlier this season on the streets of St. Petersburg. Hunter-Reay was
runner-up to Briscoe in that race as well. It was the closest finish in
the history of Kentucky Speedway and the 11th closest finish in IndyCar
Series history.
* OUTPOURING OF SUPPORT: In response to Ed Carpenter's show
stopping second-place photo finish on Saturday night, fans put on an
impressive display of their own in the form of support and appreciation
by way of tweets, Facebook posts, e-mails, text messages, voice mails,
phone calls, and even some pats on the back. Following the Saturday night
race in Kentucky on Aug 1st, 2009, hundreds of messages from viewers and
fans began to come in via Twitter, Facebook and the team's website. All
were either congratulations for the team's efforts or messages reacting
to how exciting. nail-biting, and heart stopping the IndyCar race was
thanks to Ed Carpenter's drive to the front and his battle with
competitor Ryan Briscoe for Penske Racing. All the messages received
(pages and pages of them!) were posted on the team bulletin board this
week in the Vision race shop for all team members to read.
* HAPPY ANNIVERSARY: After forming and joining the Indy Racing
League in 2005, Vision Racing is celebrating its fifth season of
competition in 2009. Since the team embarked upon IndyCar Series
competition, eight drivers have piloted five (Nos. 2, 20, 21, 22, 90)
different team entries. Those drivers have combined for an additional 45
top-10 finishes, plus 10 top-five finishes, four more podium finishes and
76 laps led. Over the previous four years the quest for the team's first
victory has been top priority and Vision Racing is confident that year
five will be the season where that it happens. The team's best ever
finishes occurred in the 2009 as Ryan Hunter-Reay drove from 14th to
finish second in the season opener at St. Petersburg and Carpenter also
drove from 14th to second at Kentucky Speedway. Hunter-Reay's podium
finish also put Vision second in the championship point standings at the
time which was also its' the highest-ever ranking. The Honda Indy 200 at
Mid-Ohio will be the team's 79th IndyCar Series event since their first
season in 2005.
* FIRST-HAND FROM THE FAMILY: Since the beginning of the season,
Vision Racing team co-owner, Lauren George has been writing a blog, much
to the enjoyment of the fans, which has been featured both on the team's
Facebook fan page (www.facebook.com/VisionRacing) and on the team's new
website (www.VisionRacing.com/fans). Her highly anticipated blog post
that recaps the team's weekend at Kentucky is up and ready for reading.
And if that's not enough, her father and fellow team co-owner, Tony
George, got into the act in Edmonton by publishing his thoughts and
opinions in response to a recent announcement he made exclusively on the
team's website early in July. The latter George's post drew more than
16,000 hits to the site in less than one day. Both are planning to
continue submissions periodically throughout the remainder of the season,
exclusively at VisionRacing.com. Not to mention, Carpenter has begun
adding a video blog to the site now in addition to his updates on his
continued "tweets" at www.twitter.com/edcarpenter20.
* ON ROAD/STREET COURSES: The team's best finishes on a road or
street course is second, recently scored in the 2009 season-opener at St.
Petersburg by Ryan Hunter-Reay in his debut with the team. It is also the
team's highest finish overall. Prior to Hunter-Reay's podium finish, the
previous best road and street course drives include a fourth place finish
scored by Paul Tracy in 2008 at Edmonton, and a pair of sixth place
drives; one captured by Tomas Scheckter on the streets of St. Petersburg
in 2007 and the other by Ed Carpenter in 2006 at Watkins Glen
International. The team's best finish at Mid-Ohio came in 2007 when Tomas
Scheckter finished ninth.
* ON LOAN: Considered a win-win situation for all involved,
Vision Racing driver Ryan Hunter-Reay has taken over piloting duties of
A.J. Foyt's No. 14 ABC Supply entry for the remainder of the 2009 IndyCar
season in a deal that began at Iowa. Hunter-Reay, who drove the No. 21
Vision Honda Dallara to a second place podium finish in the 2009 season
opener at the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg in Florida, and has
transferred his driving services to A.J. Foyt Racing as a temporary
replacement for the injured Vitor Meira.
* AS SEEN ON TV: Patrick Dempsey joined Vision Racing prior to
the 2006 season, taking on a new role that has been making hearts race in
a literal way as a team co-owner. Known for his scene-stealing turns in
such '80s nostalgia classics such as Can't Buy Me Love and Loverboy,
Patrick Dempsey continues to please America with his explosive charisma
and versatile talent. Dempsey is the star of the ABC drama "Grey's
Anatomy." Dempsey's no stranger to the racetrack when he's not in front
of the camera. A true racer at heart, he's currently driving
professionally in Grand American Cup class sports car racing with Dempsey
Racing, formerly Hypersport. He raced a Ferrari F430 GT with Team Seattle
in this year's 24 Hours of Le Mans and also competed in the 2009 Rolex 24
at Daytona.
Ed Carpenter - No. 20 Menards/Vision Racing Dallara/Honda/Firestone:
* AT MID-OHIO: Carpenter has two starts at Mid-Ohio with his best
attempt coming in 2007 when he started 16th and finished 13th. Last year,
Carpenter started 22nd and finished 15th.
* MOST RECENTLY: Starting from the 14th spot (based on entrant
points) on the grid for the Meijer Indy 300, held at the Kentucky
Speedway, Carpenter's drive for Vision Racing no less than stole the show
in the No. 20 Menards machine Saturday night under the lights. After
passing seven cars in the first eight laps, Carpenter led a total of 34
laps and earned a career-best finish of second; finishing just behind
Team Penske's Ryan Briscoe by a margin of 0.0162 of a second in the
IndyCar Series' closest finish at Kentucky. As a result Carpenter jumped
to 12th in the IndyCar Series championship point standings from 16th and
now has 226 total points after 12 races (190 points behind the leader).
* BABY ON BOARD: Just as planned, Carpenter and wife Heather
(Pettigrew) welcomed their second child into the world on June 1st as the
8 lb. 1 oz., 20 inch long Ryder Carpenter arrived on his due date. Young
Ryder has been traveling the IndyCar Series circuit with his family at
just a few weeks old; joining the schedule back in June for the Iowa
event and tagging along ever since. Big sister, Makenna was born in
October 2007, while the couple was married November 8, 2005 on the Island
of St. Thomas.
* 2009 SEASON: This is the sixth full season in IndyCar Series
competition for Carpenter and the seventh season that he has participated
in overall. Carpenter is looking to build off of four top-ten finishes
and a career-best second place finish at Kentucky Speedway. His top-ten
finishes came on the ovals of Kansas, Indianapolis, Texas and Iowa. The
Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio will be Carpenter's 13th event of the 2009
IndyCar Series season.
* LEADER LAPS: In his fifth IndyCar Series start in at the
Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the 92nd running of the Indianapolis 500
in 2008, Carpenter recorded his first laps led in an IndyCar. He led the
field for three laps under caution and finished an Indianapolis 500
career-best, fifth. He led again this season for a lap at Texas Motor
Speedway and again last weekend for 34 laps at Kentucky Speedway. He has
a total of 38 career-leader laps.
* BACK WITH MENARDS: The No. 20 Vision Racing machine again
features the most recognizable car on track as it carries the day-glow
yellow color of Menards for the second consecutive season. Menards
returned as the primary sponsor of the No. 20 Vision Racing
Dallara/Honda/Firestone, driven by Ed Carpenter. The Menards sponsorship
also continues a long-lasting relationship between the home store
retailer with Carpenter. The 28-year-old driver carried the Menards
livery in 2002, with Sinden Racing in Firestone Indy Lights competition
and well before that his days of dirt track racing behind the wheel of
quarter midgets.
* NEW VIEW FROM THE COCKPIT: Carpenter still has the same view
from the cockpit that he's always had, but fans of the driver will notice
a different look coming from his cockpit this season as his helmet is
carrying the distinct colors and logos of the premium jean and clothing
retailer, William Rast, for the 2009 season.
* ED "CARPENTER": Carpenter and his arsenal of power tools were
busy again this past off-season as he was knee deep in a house flipping
project with a long time friend as well as occupied with rehab projects
around his own home. Of course, Menards has been an essential part of
Carpenter's home repair ventures. Prior to his current real estate
investment, Carpenter and his "do-it-yourself" mentality crafted his home
repair skills with his first home and family heirloom. The home is
located in Speedway, Ind. was purchased as new in 1955 by stepfather Tony
George's parents, Elmer and Mari George. Tony grew up in the home as a
boy and for a time, drivers A.J. Foyt and Roger McCluskey lived in the
basement.
* DOUBLE DUTY: Ed Carpenter made history in September 2003 at
Chicagoland Speedway when he became the first driver to compete in a
Firestone Indy Lights event and an IndyCar Series event on the same
weekend.
* INAUGURAL BRICKYARD WINNER: Carpenter won the inaugural
Firestone Indy Lights Firestone Freedom 100 in 2003 at the Indianapolis
Motor Speedway. Making him an inaugural winner at the famed Indianapolis
Motor Speedway along with Ray Haroun (Indianapolis 500), Jeff Gordon
(Brickyard 400), and Michael Schumacher (United States Grand Prix).
* BIG MAN ON CAMPUS: Carpenter graduated from 2009 NCAA Men's
Basketball Tournament qualifying Butler University, Indianapolis, Ind.,
with a marketing degree in May 2003.
* DID YOU KNOW? Carpenter enjoys water skiing, snowboarding,
hunting and cycling. His racing heroes include Al Unser Jr., A.J. Foyt,
and Lance Armstrong and he has two dogs; a Rottweiler named Bentley and a
Chihuahua named Rosco.
* ED AT-A-GLANCE: Carpenter is participating in his sixth season
in the IndyCar Series, and his fifth with his second team in Vision
Racing. The 28-year-old made his IndyCar debut at Chicagoland Speedway in
2003 for PDM Racing, which made him the first driver to compete in an IRL
Indy Pro Series event and an IndyCar Series event on the same weekend.
Carpenter, who has been with the team since it's inception in 2005, is
determined to make his sixth season overall, the best for both he and the
team. So far he's done that with a career-best second place finish at
Kentucky Speedway in August with 34 laps led.
-credit: vr
