Do you remember the pivotal moment in ‘Cars 3‘ when Lightning McQueen gives up his spot on the race track so his young protégé Cruz Ramirez will finally have her big shot? The entire plot of the movie is about old No. 95 trying to prove he still has it in him to compete with the best. Then he comes to the realization that he had his shot, and only by giving up that which he loves, racing, can another racer get their shot.
In a case of life imitating art that is exactly what IndyCar racer Ed Carpenter is doing this weekend. He is giving up his spot in the No. 20 IndyCar at this weekend’s Milwaukee Mile race so that rookie teammate Christian Rasmussen can race.
Ed Carpenter’s grey hair doesn’t help hide his age. He’s 43 years old and in his 20+ years in IndyCar he’s had 3 wins, 9 podiums and 4 glorious pole positions. But as the boss-man at the ECR IndyCar team (Ed Carpenter Racing) nobody can replace him. He signs the cheques.
Carpenter came from the old-school Indy Racing League, an oval-only series. Since road courses were added to the unified IndyCar series, Ed struggled. For many years, ECR would hire road-course specialist from Europe to share the No. 20 with Ed, who would only run the ovals. But as Carpenter’s results have diminished, he’s had to make the tough decision of what was best for his team, and his rookie teammate Rasmussen, not what’s best for himself.
By giving up his car, Carpenter gives this young racer the chance to compete on all of IndyCar’s tracks. Carpenter insists this is not a retirement announcement, and many expect him to race the Indy 500 next year. But Christian deserves the opportunity. With Ed himself in the pit-stand, he can share his knowledge with his team, and continue to strive for glory. Still, a very tough decision.
RACER-COM: The only crash of the day belonged to ECR’s Christian Rasmussen who got high and slid across tire marbles and met the Turn 2 wall with the right side of his car. The Danish rookie was uninjured, and the car, which had crumpled right-side suspension, will be ready to go on Saturday.
Inspiring story. And how great is it that you saw the connection with good old lightning mcqueen.
As soon as read the story of Ed Carpenter’s decision NOT to race, I thought of Lightning.
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Don’t ever let them tell you that cartoons lack life lessons.
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I just hope that Rasmussen fellow does well this weekend to justify the decision.
Me too. But as long as he does his best and races with good sportsmanship, I think he will be successful.