Jordan King Unable To Make Up Positions; Spencer Pigot Bumped Into Wall On Lap 1

(DETROIT) June 3, 2018 – Race 2 Notes

– For the third time in eight days and second time in 24 hours, it was race day for Ed Carpenter Racing. Though Jordan King greatly improved his starting position over Race 1 of the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix, it was another long race for the No. 20 as he ran alone most of the day finished 18th in Race 2. It was a frustrating and early exit from the race for Spencer Pigot, who yesterday scored his first Top 10 finish of the year in Race 1. Today in Race 2, Pigot was sent into the wall by a rookie, eventually leading to retirement from the event and a 23rd place result.

– Heavy rains descended upon the 2.35-mile, 13-turn street circuit in the morning, but abated prior to the start of qualifying. However, the track remained wet and all competitors qualified on Firestone’s wet tire. The field was split into the same groups as yesterday; today, Group 1 was the second to go out, including King and Pigot. Their 12-minute session was interrupted by a red flag, but with the five minutes of guaranteed green time satisfied, qualifying came to a close. Alexander Rossi, the pole sitter, came from Group 1, giving King and Pigot odd-numbered starting positions. King would start today’s race from the 11th position, nine spots higher than yesterday. Pigot earned the 15th position on today’s starting grid.

– An accident with the pace car on the opening parade lap brought all the field into the pit lane for a lengthy period. Treated as a red flag condition, crews were not allowed to make any changes to the cars. Once a back up pace car was prepared, the parade laps resumed and the green flag flew the second time by.

– However, the race did not stay green for long. In Turn 3 of the first lap, Pigot was hit by Santino Ferrucci, a rookie competing in his first Verizon IndyCar Series event weekend. Two turns later, Ferruci hit Pigot once again, this time spinning Pigot into the Turn 5 wall. The AMR INDYCAR Safety Team re-fired Pigot and he brought the No. 21 Fuzzy’s Vodka Chevrolet in with rear suspension damage. The repairs required three laps to be completed and Pigot fell to 23rd, the last car running.

– King struggled with the red tires during the opening laps, falling three positions. He gained them back, eventually working his way up to 9th, but fell four positions on Lap 13 as he lost all grip. The decision was made to go to a three-stop strategy and to pit King for a switch from red to black Firestone Firehawks tires the next lap. It was an extended stop as there was an issue securing one of his wheels and King fell to 21st.

– Ferrucci spun on his own on Lap 21, creating a debris field as he drug his broken front wing along the track. King, who was directly behind, ran through the debris, causing concern that a tire may be punctured. Ultimately, it was Pigot that suffered from a puncture and his right front tire lost pressure. Another unscheduled pit stop meant Pigot would fall an additional lap behind the field. With no more points to gain, the No. 21 was retired from Race 2 on Lap 22.

– Off sequence, King spent his next two stints virtually by himself on track with few cars around to challenge for position. He made his second and third stops on Lap 34 and Lap 50, respectively. Though he was 14th at the time of his last stop, the leader was only six seconds behind. As King came in for service, the leader went by. King then found himself in between Alexander Rossi, running first, and eventual race winner Ryan Hunter-Reay, running second. As Hunter-Reay closed, King moved over to let him by as to not impede the race between the Andretti Autosport teammates.

– King would finish the 70-lap race one lap behind the field in the 18th position. Fortunately, it was another clean race for the No. 20 Allegiant International Chevrolet. King’s next race will be the KOHLER Grand Prix at Road America on June 24.

– Ed Carpenter Racing will return to work at their Indianapolis-based race shop tomorrow to prepare a pair of Fuzzy’s Vodka Chevrolets for next Saturday’s DXC Technology 600 at the high-speed oval of Texas Motor Speedway. The 248-lap race will take place under the lights on Saturday, June 9 with an NBC Sports Network broadcast beginning at 8 p.m. ET. Pigot will contest his first race at the 1.5-mile oval while team owner Ed Carpenter will step back into the No. 20. Carpenter, the 2018 Indianapolis 500 pole sitter, finished second in last weekend’s 500-mile race and won at Texas Motor Speedway in 2014.

JORDAN KING, No. 20 Allegiant International Chevrolet: “It was a long, long race. The only thing keeping me motivated was my lap time delta, I was just trying to beat my lap time delta every lap! Our speed was alright, we maybe could have had a Top 10 but the first stint did not allow for that. We struggled a bit with the reds and probably stayed out a bit long. By the time the pit sequence was through, we were a big chunk of time behind people. After that, on the blacks, we were alright. Pace seemed pretty good, but I had no one behind and no one in front – it was just a long race!”

SPENCER PIGOT, No. 21 Fuzzy’s Vodka Chevrolet: “It wasn’t just a spin, I got hit from behind by (Santino) Ferrucci. First, we banged wheels, then he just kind of punted me in Turn 5. It is very disappointing to end the race this way. The Fuzzy’s Vodka was strong yesterday and we were hoping to move forward in today’s race. It’s unfortunate when drivers come into the series and do silly things like that when they don’t respect that all of us are out here racing every weekend for championship points.”