Spencer Pigot, Ed Jones and Ed Carpenter Racing All Former Winners at Alabama Road Course

INDIANAPOLIS (April 2, 2019) – Race Preview

– Ed Carpenter Racing and its drivers are heading back to a circuit where each is familiar with the top step of the podium. With Spencer Pigot and Ed Jones collecting wins on their way to the NTT IndyCar Series and ECR taking the victory in the marquee event in 2015, expectations are high for this weekend’s Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama. The third event of the 2019 season will take place this upcoming Sunday, April 7.

– Pigot has an impressive history at Barber Motorsports Park. On his way to becoming the winningest driver in the history of the Road to Indy, Pigot swept both Indy Pro 2000 (formerly Pro Mazda) races at Barber in 2014. The following year, Pigot repeated his performance by scoring back-to-back victories in the two Indy Lights races on his way to winning the 2015 Indy Lights championship. Though Pigot is now in his fourth year with ECR, this year’s Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama will be his third as he did not join the team until midway through the 2016 season.

– Also in 2015, Ed Carpenter Racing was victorious at the road course outside of Birmingham, Alabama. The team won the main event of the weekend, the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama, with Josef Newgarden behind the wheel. It was Newgarden’s first career victory after leading a field-high 46 of 90 laps. The next year, ECR netted another podium finish at Barber with Newgarden’s 3rd place finish.

– Jones is also acquainted with success at the 2.38-mile permanent road course. Jones, the successor to Pigot’s Indy Light’s title, competed in the two Indy Lights races at Barber Motorsports Park in 2016. He led all 35 laps to take the victory in Race 1, which he followed up with a second place finish the next day in Race 2. Jones, like Pigot, will be racing in his third Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama this weekend.

– Last year’s NTT IndyCar Series race at Barber Motorsports Park turned into a two-day affair. With driver visibility too compromised by pouring rain on Sunday, the race was red flagged on Lap 19. Despite the impossible conditions, Jones was up two positions to 10th and Pigot was up five to 12th. The race resumed on Monday morning with approximately 75 minutes remaining. With 20 minutes left, a mechanical issue sidelined Jones; not long after, heavy rains returned for the second day in a row. Hoping for a late race caution that would have the event end under yellow, Pigot stayed on slicks as long as possible. With only five minutes left in the race, Pigot had to pit for wet condition tires and would finish 15th.

– Two weeks ago, Circuit of the Americas hosted the most recent Indy car race. An unlucky qualifying session saw both Jones and Pigot start near the back of the field after identical red flag situations in both of their groups invalidated their fast laps. Pigot had raced his way into the Top 10 prior to his final pit stop, but the day’s progress was erased when another competitor was sent out in front of his No. 21 Autogeek Chevrolet in the pit lane. The timing of the only yellow flag of the day cycled Jones and Pigot forward as both had already made their last stops. Jones, on a black tire compound that would have been beneficial had the race had stayed green, lost several positions on the ensuing restart to drivers on red tires. Pigot finished 11th for the second race in a row while Jones brought the No. 20 Ed Carpenter Racing Scuderia Corsa Chevrolet home in 14th.

– All practice and qualifying sessions from Barber Motorsports Park will be streamed through the new INDYCAR Pass program, available through NBC Sports Gold. Saturday’s qualifications will also be broadcast live on NBC Sports Network, beginning at 4 p.m. ET. Coverage of Sunday’s 90-lap Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama will begin at 4 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

ED JONES, No. 20 Ed Carpenter Racing Scuderia Corsa Chevrolet: “I’m really looking forward to driving at Barber Motorsports Park this weekend. It’s been a tough start to the season for us, but we have showed a lot of potential at certain points during the first two race weekends. We just have to optimize that and put everything together, then I’m very confident we can have a really strong result. Though Barber has been a difficult track for me the past two years in Indy car, I won there in Indy Lights. I’m just excited to get going and see what we can achieve.”

SPENCER PIGOT, No. 21 Autogeek Chevrolet: “I always enjoying going to Barber Motorsports Park, it’s been one of my favorite tracks since I first raced there. It has a unique challenge of high speed sections that are very difficult to get right. I think the gains we’ve been making will be effective this weekend and allow us to fight at the front of the field.”