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IndyCar
INDYCAR: Kentucky Preview
Last year it was the Ed Carpenter show. Will we see a repeat this Saturday?
Robin Miller  |  Posted September 03, 2010  
Ed Carpenter was a rocket at Kentucky last year, and again last weekend at Chicago. Can he finally break into Victory Circle this weekend? (LAT)
Beating Team Penske, Target/Ganassi or Andretti Autosport on an oval is about as rare as a good start in the IndyCar series. It’s been five years and 52 races since someone besides the Big 3 pulled into victory lane and that was Scott Sharp five years ago here at Kentucky Speedway.

But last year Ed Carpenter damn near pulled off the biggest upset since Jim Guthrie beat Tony Stewart at Phoenix.

Carpenter staged a ferocious duel with Ryan Briscoe over the final 30 laps at Kentucky before losing to the Penske driver by inches.

“It was close enough to really piss you off,” chuckled Carpenter, who was driving the single car entry of step dad Tony George’s Vision Racing. “I led a bunch of laps and I was committed to the bottom and you can’t give it away when you’re leading.

“It was the only chance I had and I tried to run Ryan up the track a little bit to make it longer but he just managed to nip me on the high side.”

The 29-year-old veteran of six seasons is returning Saturday night with a different situation but the same mindset.

“We had a really good test here three weeks ago, we were as quick as anybody and I think we’ll be in the mix again,” said Carpenter, whose fulltime ride with Vision vanished this year and he’s only making his third start for Panther Racing.

“We were running up front last weekend at Chicago and making good mileage until we started losing spots in the pits so I know Dan (Wheldon) and I will have good cars.”

Asked what it takes to beat Penske or Ganassi (they’ve won all but one oval in the past four years), Carpenter replied: “They’ve obviously got fast cars and they win a lot of races in the pits and they don’t make very many mistakes.

“To beat them you’ve got to be 100 percent but I do think they’re beatable.”

Teammate Wheldon chased Dario Franchitti across the finish line in Chicago and is always tough on ovals, where 14 of his 15 career wins have come.

“We’ve got good engineers and Dan and I share information real well so I’m excited about our chances,” said Carpenter, who is sponsored by golfer Fuzzy Zoeller’s Vodka.

Asked how many times he’s watched last year’s race, he said: “I’ve only watched it once all the way through but I see the highlights of the finish every now and then. It never changes, I always lose by a few inches and it was almost a great story.”

The main storyline, of course, is the IZOD championship and it’s looking like a two man show with three races remaining between Will Power and Franchitti.

Power drove an impressive race at Chicago and was running second when he had to make a late, costly stop for fuel while Dario used smart strategy on the last pit top to steal the victory.

The Aussie leads by 23 points and only has one mindset.

“I loved racing in Chicago because I had a great car and I’m going to Kentucky to win it,” said Power, a five-time winner so far in 2010.

“I took some chances and made some wild moves but that’s how you’ve got to run some of these places.

“I imagine Kentucky will be more of the same.”


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