Carpenter Ready To Add His Name To Milwaukee Mile Record Book

WEST ALLIS, Wis. (June 11, 2013) – Ed Carpenter understands the history of
the famed Milwaukee Mile.

A.J. Foyt was one of Carpenter’s heroes as was Al Unser Jr. and both were
winners at the nation’s oldest auto racing oval. So Carpenter, this year’s
Indy 500 pole winner, appreciates the legacy left by the great drivers at
the Wisconsin State Fair Park.

Now Carpenter and the IZOD IndyCar Series come to the legendary fairgrounds
oval this Saturday for the Milwaukee IndyFest 250-mile race. And Carpenter
is hoping to add his name to the long list of racing greats in the Milwaukee
Mile victory lane.

Ironically, Carpenter is the only IZOD IndyCar Series driver to begin his
racing training in the USAC midgets, sprint cars and Silver Crown cars. But
the Butler University graduate never raced at Milwaukee during his younger
USAC years.

“I have always liked the Milwaukee Mile,” said Carpenter, who placed fourth
last Saturday at Texas Motor Speedway in the Firestone 550K. “What is funny
is that I never raced in USAC there, even with my USAC midget, sprint car
and Silver Crown experience. The schedule never went to Milwaukee. We
raced sprint cars at Angel Park in Sun Prairie near Madison. That was the
closest.”

Carpenter put on a stellar comeback performance last year at the Mile with
his No. 20 Fuzzy’s Ultra Premium Vodka Chevrolet. The 32-year-old father of
three came from a lap behind in the middle of the 225-lap feature and
challenged for a top-five position before claiming eighth.

“Last year, we didn’t qualify well at the Mile and I had to get a lap back
on a restart in the middle of the race,” said the only team owner/driver in
the IndyCar Series. “Then the Fuzzy’s Chevy was good and we drove up
through the field. We had a chance for a top-five but a late caution period
ended the race. We had to settle for eighth.”

This time around Carpenter believes his Ed Carpenter Racing contingent will
be in the mix from the start of the event.

“We have done a lot of off-track testing this winter with various
applications including the wind tunnel, the seven-post shaker rig, the
gearbox testing rig and even the Dallara Simulator in Italy,” said
Carpenter. “I think a lot of that information has helped us for Indy and
Texas already. I feel good about going to a great track like Milwaukee.”

Carpenter grew up around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and understands the
history of open-wheel racing. He also knows the importance of the Milwaukee
Mile’s legacy too.

“The Mile is so legendary with all of the great drivers battling there for
over 100 years,” he said. “That track is older than Indy. Like IMS, it has
tradition and the racing is usually good there. Coming off a fourth last
Saturday night at Texas, I think we have a good opportunity to challenge for
a win at Milwaukee.”

And Ed would like nothing more than to add his name to the Milwaukee Mile
record book and join his heroes Foyt and Unser Jr. in the winner’s list this
Saturday afternoon.

Qualifying is set for 4:15 p.m. CDT Friday with the IndyFest 250-lap race
schedule to get underway at 3:30 p.m. CDT. NBC Sports Network will begin
live coverage at 3 p.m. CDT.

RacingNation Crew

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