CHEVROLET RACING IN THE VERIZON INDYCAR SERIES
102ND RUNNING OF THE INDIANAPOLIS 500
INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY POLE DAY QUALIFICATIONS
MAY 20, 2018
ED CARPENTER, NO. 20 FUZZY’S VODKA ED CARPENTER RACING CHEVROLET – POLE WINNER
YOU ARE ON THE POLE POSITION AGAIN HERE AT INDY. WHAT IS IT ABOUT THIS PLACE? DO YOU JUST GO HOME AT NIGHT AND DREAM ABOUT THIS PLACE BECAUSE YOU HAVE GOT IT COMPLETELY WIRED
“Most nights (laughs) to be honest. But, I’ve just got to thank my team. That first lap blew my mind. I figured we could run a 229 (mph) based on last night. My run last night actually wasn’t very good. The car wasn’t near as good as we’ve been. So, I knew had more left but I wasn’t expecting a 230 (mph), but the whole ECR team, especially the guys on my No. 20 car, they’ve put so much love into this car and it means everything to me to put us in a position like this. And to be able to share the top nine in this whole thing with Spencer (Pigot), his first time in the top nine with Preferred Freezer, and Danica (Patrick) with GoDaddy, we’re super happy to be here and obviously it couldn’t be possible without Fuzzy’s Vodka. Hopefully we can keep doing this a long time.”
A LOT OF FOLKS ARE TALKING ABOUT WHAT THIS PACKAGE IS GOING TO BE LIKE THIS YEAR. AND THEY WERE SAYING THE ONE PLACE YOU WANT TO BE WITH THIS CAR IS UP FRONT. HOW CRITICAL IS IT GOING TO BE TO HAVE THAT FRONT ROW STARTING POSITION?
“More so than my previous two poles, I think it’s beneficial. I mean it’s always nice to start up front just because you can control things a little bit. But, unless we all figure out a lot with race set-ups over the next couple of days, it certainly feels good knowing that I’ve got clean air in front of me, at least as long as I get a good start. I’m excited to get back in the car tomorrow and keep working on the race set-up to hopefully make it as perfect as this qualifying car was; because of all the pole runs I’ve had here, this one, believe it or not, came the easiest. So, thank you.”
YOU ARE A DRIVER AND A TEAM OWNER. WHAT DOES THAT MEAN TO YOU TO HAVE THAT KIND OF SUCCESS HERE AT INDY?
“The beauty of it is that I don’t have to worry about it. The team behind me, they put a sign up at the beginning of May that said you’re not the boss anymore. And I adhere to the rules. So, I’m here to drive race cars.”