Spencer Pigot and Ed Jones Will Conclude 2019 Seasons in NTT IndyCar Series Return to Laguna Seca

(INDIANAPOLIS) September 17, 2019 – Preview Notes

– Only 90 laps remain in the 2019 NTT IndyCar Series season, which will come this Sunday afternoon in the form of the Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey. Spencer Pigot and Ed Jones will conclude their seasons at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca as the series returns for the first time since 2004. While this weekend’s event will mark the 23rd Indy car race at the Northern California road course, it will be the first for Pigot, Jones and Ed Carpenter Racing.

– As ECR entered the NTT IndyCar Series in 2012, the team has not yet competed at WeatherTech Raceway. However, both ECR drivers have raced at the historic venue to great success. Pigot was crowned the 2015 Indy Lights champion after winning both races during the WeatherTech Raceway weekend. The following year, it would be Jones who would capture the same championship at the same track. A one-day test served as the unofficial kickoff to the 2019 season back in February, giving Pigot and Jones the first opportunity to drive their ECR Chevrolets around the 2.238-mile circuit.

– The pair of Indy Lights champions were most recently on track for the Grand Prix of Portland over Labor Day weekend. Pigot was collected in a Lap 1, Turn 1 collision that cost him eight positions and damaged the bodywork of the No. 21 Autogeek Chevrolet. Not only did Pigot regain each spot he lost in less than 10 laps, he picked up additional and finished 6th. Jones ran a clean race, avoiding every on-track incident and gaining multiple positions. He finished 14th, having moved his No. 20 Ed Carpenter Racing Scuderia Corsa Chevrolet up nine spots over the course of the penultimate race of the season.

– Jones has served as road and street course driver of the No. 20 this season with team owner Ed Carpenter competing during the oval events. Of the five oval races in 2019, Carpenter finished in the top six on three occasions. He qualified on the front row of the Indianapolis 500 for the fifth time in the past seven years and started 2nd. The Indianapolis-native led the “500” before finishing 6th, then followed up with another 6th place at Pocono Raceway. In the conclusion of his 17th season of Indy car competition, Carpenter returned to the podium. The 38-year-old raced his way through the entire field at WTT Raceway, finishing 2nd by only .0399 of a second.

– This season, Pigot has earned career-best starting positions at each type of track the series races on – ovals, road courses and street circuits. He too earned a spot on the front row of the Indianapolis 500, qualifying third. Pigot has added two 5th place finishes to his credit this year, one at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course and one at Iowa Speedway. With his result, the 25-year-old extended ECR’s streak of Top 5 finishes at Iowa to seven consecutive years. He has now started over 50 races with Ed Carpenter Racing, making him the team’s longest-tenured driver aside from Carpenter. Pigot is one of many Indy car drivers with California roots. Before moving to his hometown of Orlando, Fla., Pigot was born in Pasadena.

– A road course is home to Jones’s best finish of the year to date, 6th place in the INDYCAR Grand Prix at IMS. Following that event, he moved from the No. 20 over to the No. 63 for the Indianapolis 500. He qualified a career-best fourth, making ECR the only multi-car team to have all their entire lineup in the Fast Nine Shootout for the pole position. Jones has reached the Firestone Fast 6 during qualifying on two occasions this year, the IMS road course and the streets of Toronto. Jones races under the United Arab Emirates flag, giving nod to the British driver’s birthplace, hometown and residence of Dubai. During the racing season, the 24-year-old is based in Miami.

– The Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey race weekend will begin one day earlier than usual with an open test for all drivers on Thursday, September 19. INDYCAR Pass on NBC Sports Gold will air Friday’s two practice sessions and Saturday’s third practice. Qualifying will be shown live on NBC Sports Network and NBC Sports Gold on Saturday, September 21 at 4:30 p.m. ET. The championship-deciding season finale will begin on NBC at 2:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, September 22.

ED JONES, No. 20 Ed Carpenter Racing Scuderia Corsa Chevrolet: “I am really looking to going back to Laguna Seca! Last time I raced there, I won the championship in Indy Lights so it has good history for me. Hopefully we can have a good run and finish the year on a high note. We’d like to make the most of the season finale and have something positive to look back on over the course of the off-season!”

SPENCER PIGOT, No. 21 Autogeek Chevrolet: “I only have great memories from Laguna Seca so it’s great to be going back. I won both races and the Indy Lights championship there in 2015, we’ll try to keep that streak of success going this weekend! It’s one of the most famous tracks in the world and driving it in an Indy car is such a thrill. We’ll be working as hard as we can to finish off the season on a positive note for everyone at Ed Carpenter Racing.”