Ed Carpenter Racing PR

Race Preview – PPG 375 at Texas Motor Speedway

Posted on by Steve Wittich

Source: Team PR

SATURDAY, APRIL 1 – SUNDAY, APRIL 2, 2023

TRACK: Texas Motor Speedway
LOCATION: Fort Worth, Texas, USA
TRACK LAYOUT: 1.5-Mile Oval
RACE LENGTH: 250 Laps/375 Miles

PRACTICE: Saturday – 8-9 a.m. CT (Peacock Premium),
12:45-2:30 p.m. CT (Peacock Premium)
QUALIFYING: Saturday – 11:15 a.m.-12:15 p.m. CT (Peacock Premium)
RACE: Sunday – 11:15 a.m. CT (NBC, 11 a.m. CT)

Ed Carpenter Racing will bring a trio of BITNILE.COM cars to Texas Motor Speedway this weekend as the team expands to a three car lineup for the first oval race of the year. Team owner Ed Carpenter, who competes exclusively in the oval events, will begin his 21st season of NTT INDYCAR SERIES competition as he gets behind the wheel of the No. 33 BITNILE.COM Chevrolet. He will race alongside ECR’s two full-time drivers, Conor Daly in the No. 20 BITNILE.COM Chevrolet and Rinus VeeKay in the No. 21 BITNILE.COM Chevrolet.

CONOR DALY, No. 20 BITNILE.COM Chevrolet: “I can’t wait to head to Texas Motor Speedway and get back to work! Texas is a track where I have had some decent runs in the past and we, as a team, are strong on superspeedways. We understand our issue from last year that kept us from a good result and it will be resolved for this year, which is nice. I am excited to get back to it and back up to the high speeds of Texas. Hopefully, all three of our BITNILE.COM cars will bring home a great result!” (INDYCAR Photo)

OF NOTE:

  • Conor Daly is now in his fourth season with ECR and his second as full-time driver of the No. 20 BITNILE.COM Chevrolet. In a few weeks, he will reach a career milestone at the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach as he competes in his 100th NTT INDYCAR SERIES race. He will also make his 10th Indianapolis 500 start this year.
  • Second-generation racer Daly climbed into a kart for the first time at the age of 10; within five years, he was competing in both United States and international open-wheel ladder systems. He found success in each before concentrating solely on American motorsports in 2015. Born and raised in nearby Noblesville, Ind., Daly has grown to be a hometown favorite in the Indianapolis 500. The 2021 edition saw him lead the most laps of all drivers; in 2022, he finished a career-best 6th.
  • Daly has competed in seven NTT INDYCAR SERIES races at Texas Motor Speedway, earning a best finish of 6th in 2020.

BIRTHDAY: December 11, 1990
HOMETOWN: Noblesville, IN
RESIDENCE: Indianapolis, IN

TEXAS STATS
BEST START: 16th (2022)
BEST FINISH: 6th (2020)
NUMBER OF STARTS: 7

CAREER STATS
SEASON: 10th
STARTS: 98
POLES: 1
BEST FINISH: 2nd, Detroit 2016

RINUS VEEKAY, No. 21 BITNILE.COM Chevrolet: “Cowboy hat and boots are ready! I am very excited for Texas and I think it’s going to be a really good weekend for us. We showed really good speed last year and thought we had tamed Texas, but things did not really go our way at the end. We looked at everything, learned from it as a team and now I feel we are more prepared than ever. It’s going to be tough and it’s going to be hard, but it’s also going to be exciting. I am confident we are going to contend for a Top 5!” (INDYCAR Photo)

OF NOTE:

  • Rinus VeeKay remains ECR’s longest-tenured full-time driver, now in his fourth season behind the wheel the No. 21 BITNILE.COM Chevrolet. The 22-year-old has spent his entire NTT INDYCAR SERIES career with ECR and will make his 50th start at the end of April at Barber Motorsports Park. 
  • Raised in Hoofddorp, Netherlands, VeeKay began karting in 2009 at the age of 8. Just four years into his career in the United States, he not only reached the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, but earned 2020 Rookie of the Year honors. He became an NTT INDYCAR SERIES race winner in May of 2021 with a victory at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course and earned his most recent pole position at Barber this past season. 
  • Texas Motor Speedway is the home of VeeKay’s NTT INDYCAR SERIES debut, which took place in June of 2020. He has competed at Texas four times and earned his second Top 10 finish at the 1.5-mile oval last year. In 2022, VeeKay matched his best starting position of 8th, led five laps and finished 10th.

BIRTHDAY: September 11, 2000

HOMETOWN: Hoofddorp, Netherlands

RESIDENCE: Fort Lauderdale, FL

TEXAS STATS

BEST START: 8th (2021, 2022)
BEST FINISH: 9th (2021)
NUMBER OF STARTS: 4

CAREER STATS
SEASON: 4th
STARTS: 47
WINS: 1
POLES: 2

ED CARPENTER, No. 33 BITNILE.COM Chevrolet: “I am extremely motivated to get back to Texas Motor Speedway and get my season started! Texas has always been a track that I have enjoyed racing at. While the past few years haven’t gone to plan, as a team we feel like we have a good strategy this year to get our three cars back to the front and in contention for the win. It is the only oval before we get to the Indianapolis 500, so it will be a big boost to leave there with confidence in our oval off-season development!”

OF NOTE:

  • As his team enters its 12th season in 2023, Ed Carpenter will remain behind the wheel of the No. 33 BITNILE.COM during the oval events. One of the most experienced drivers in the field, this weekend’s race at Texas Motor Speedway marks the beginning of his 21st year as an NTT INDYCAR SERIES driver. Later this season, he will make his 20th Indianapolis 500 start and compete in his 200th NTT INDYCAR SERIES race.
  • Carpenter has led his own team since ECR was formed prior to the 2012 season and is the only active owner/driver in the field. Since 2014, he has focused exclusively on driving the oval events. The 42-year-old has 24 Top 10 finishes since starting his own team and led at least one race for 14 of the past 15 seasons. 
  • With the exception of 2010, Carpenter has competed in every NTT INDYCAR SERIES race at Texas Motor Speedway since the fall of 2003. Sunday’s PPG 375 will add to his tally of 22 starts at the 1.5-mile oval. Carpenter is also the 2014 Texas race winner, taking the victory after leading 66 of the final 67 laps. 

BIRTHDAY: March 3, 1981
HOMETOWN: Indianapolis, IN
RESIDENCE: Indianapolis, IN

TEXAS STATS
BEST START: 5th (2011, 2014)
BEST FINISH: 1st (2014)
NUMBER OF STARTS: 22

CAREER STATS
SEASON: 21st
STARTS: 196
WINS: 3
Race Preview – PPG 375 at Texas Motor SpeedwayPOLES: 4