Both Ed Carpenter Racing Cars To Start In The Top 10 at Pocono Raceway As Ed Carpenter Qualifies 10th

LONG POND, Penn. (August 20, 2016) – Qualifying Notes

– For the third time in 2016, Josef Newgarden will start on the front row of a Verizon IndyCar Series race. Newgarden qualified 2nd for tomorrow’s ABC Supply 500 at Pocono Raceway, while teammate and team owner Ed Carpenter qualified 10th.

– Both ECR cars finished the morning practice session inside the Top 10. Newgarden’s fast lap of 220.160 mph had him sitting third overall, while Carpenter was 10th with a lap of 218.389 mph.

– The draw had Carpenter 5th in line to qualify. His second of two laps in the No. 20 Fuzzy’s Ultra Premium Vodka Chevrolet was over a mile an hour faster than his first, giving him a two lap average of 218.424 mph. He sat second on the pylon after his run; by the end of qualifying, he was 10th. It is Carpenter’s 3rd top 10 start in his five races this year and best starting position at Pocono Raceway.

– Newgarden was the 21st of 22 cars to qualify. After his first lap, Newgarden sat 3rd. Like Carpenter, his second lap was faster, moving him up to second. His two lap average of 220.195 mph was only three-tenths of a mile an hour off of Mikael Aleshin’s pole run.

– Tomorrow’s 500-mile race will be the 8th time in Newgarden’s career that he has started second. Newgarden also qualified second for this year’s 100th Running of the Indianapolis 500 in May, the other 500-mile race on the schedule. He most recently started second at Iowa Speedway, taking the lead at the drop of the green flag and pacing the field for 282 of 300 laps. His victory at Iowa was the third of his career and first on an oval track.

– Carpenter has raced in each Indy car race at Pocono Raceway since it returned to the Verizon IndyCar Series calendar in 2013. He had worked his way into the into the top 10 during last year’s event before being hit and being forced to make an unscheduled pit stop for a new rear wing. A mechanical failure ended his race on Lap 156 of 200. Carpenter’s best finish at Pocono Raceway came in 2013 when he finished 9th.

– Newgarden has finished no worse than 8th at Pocono Raceway, including a second place in 2015. Last year, he started fourth and went four-wide into Turn 1 on the first lap, taking the lead of the race – the first of the 47 laps he led during the event. He was 6th at the last restart of the race on Lap 193, but powered his way up to second. He had eventual race winner Ryan Hunter-Reay in his sights when a caution came out again on Lap 197, causing the race to end under yellow.

– Newgarden currently sits 4th in the Verizon IndyCar Series point standings, just nine points of 3rd. Carpenter drives the No. 20 Fuzzy’s Ultra Premium Vodka Chevrolet during the oval events, while Spencer Pigot gets behind the wheel for the road and street course events.

– The 500-mile race ABC Supply 500 will be broadcast live on NBC Sports Network at 3 p.m. ET on Sunday, August 21.

ED CARPENTER, NO. 20 FUZZY’S ULTRA PREMIUM VODKA CHEVROLET, QUALIFIED 10TH: “It’s a tricky day. The conditions are a little different, especially with the wind, from when we practiced. That’s when it’s hard to be early in the line. I think teammates are going to help teammates as the qualifying line moves through, so we’ll see where we end up. It is tricky, there’s a lot of different downforce levels. I wish I could have got that first lap back! After I got the tools in the car adjusted to where I wanted them, that second lap was pretty good. I wish I could have had a couple of those!”

JOSEF NEWGARDEN, NO. 21 FUZZY’S ULTRA PREMIUM VODKA CHEVROLET, QUALIFIED 2ND: “We rolled out with one thing and I was pushing my guys to do something different. It’s a team decision, whether it’s their decision or mine, but I feel like I was pushing a little hard for something that wasn’t the right thing. But we were close, we just needed that little bit! I think where we rolled out with would have been enough. It’s my fault that we changed it. I’m disappointed about that; you always want the pole! We have a great chemistry and group with our people, but sometimes I mess up! Congrats to Mikael, great job by him! We didn’t have enough today but tomorrow is what counts.”