IndyCar 2021 Preview: Ed Carpenter Racing
No changes for this season's lineup, but an uptick in performance from last season is definitely needed
Ed Carpenter Racing returns with the same lineup from last season. Photo: Joe Skibinski/IndyCar.
By Michael Eubanks
This is the seventh of a 10-part weekly series of previews of each full-time team slated to compete in the 2021 NTT IndyCar Series. Each preview will give an overview of all drivers currently signed to drive for the team, recap the team’s 2020 results, describe what’s new for the team in 2021 and provide an outlook for the team’s performance this season.
Today’s preview features Ed Carpenter Racing. The season-opening Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama takes place on April 18.
2021 Drivers (name, car number, all Chevy-powered): Conor Daly- No. 20 (road and street courses only), Ed Carpenter - No. 20 (ovals only), Rinus VeeKay - No. 21
2020 recap: ECR finished primarily in the middle of the pack last season, with the team’s lone podium coming from VeeKay in the Harvest Grand Prix. VeeKay finished within the top ten five times in 2020, finishing 14th in the final point standings and earning Rookie of the Year honors in the process. Daly’s best finish with ECR was 12th two times, while Carpenter’s best finish was 15th at Iowa.
What's new for 2021: No major changes are in store for ECR this season, as the team has retained the same lineup as last year.
Season Outlook: ECR has not won a race since Iowa in 2016, but the team is still hopeful for a good result this season. Both VeeKay and Daly have proven to have talent and should be able to produce more top-10 and possibly even a few top-5 finishes this season. While Carpenter’s oval-only schedule will be down to just four races this year, it still includes the Indianapolis 500 - a race he’s won the pole position for three times.
Driver Quotes: “I think we can be a frontrunner regularly, like we can be one of the favorites every race. I'm thinking about top-5. Once you're in that position, there will be an opportunity where you can go for that race win where everything goes your way. We just have to make sure we have the pace. I know we've got the strategies, and just me being the driver I am that got a podium in Indy, and yeah, well, the driver I was last year.
“I think if I just keep doing what I'm doing and have the team keep putting in the work that they did in the off-season, I think we can really run at the front and hopefully go for podiums.” - Rinus VeeKay
Rinus VeeKay will run the entire season once again for Ed Carpenter Racing. Photo: Chris Owens/IndyCar
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“We believe in both guys (Rinus and Conor). They're both highly talented and have a lot of untapped potential still.
“It's hard when you're changing even just one driver because it takes time to get them integrated with the team, for us to understand them, them to understand us, because every driver is different, they like different things, communicate different ways.
“Having had that learning, I think we can do a better job for them as a team versus having to reset and kind of establish that relationship with someone else again. It allows the two drivers to work closer together just because they've had a year together and know what each other is good at. They know what the other is working on to be better. It's all positives.” - Ed Carpenter
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“Honestly, I think everything's looking great. We knew where we had to improve I think from last year with our group. So far, we have been quite a lot more competitive, which has been nice. The car has definitely felt better for me. The operating window where my driving style works I think is smaller, but I'm broadening that out a little bit. It definitely feels better.
“I'm proud of the team for the work we've done over the off-season; put a lot of effort in. It's going to be nice to get out on the racetrack when everyone is finally together. It's weird not having an open test like at COTA we did last year, because that's kind of like the first taste of where everyone is at.
“(Next Sunday’s season opener at) Barber is going to be a lot of fun. It's going to be a tough place physically to start, for sure.” - Conor Daly