Catchfence

TORONTO, Ontario, Canada (July 12, 2009) - Starting from the 19th spot on the grid in his debut on the streets of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Vision Racing’s Ed Carpenter held on and persevered through a wild and exciting Honda Indy Toronto behind the wheel of the No. 20 William Rast Dallara/Honda/Firestone.

After dropping to the 20th position just after the start of the race, Carpenter battled back on track and took advantage of other’s mistakes and utilized a solid strategy to move as high as the 12th position during the first of many full-course cautions on lap eight.

Upon the first race restart on lap 12, while running in the 12th spot, Carpenter experienced his first bit of excitement with a small spin while getting on the power in turn six. Carpenter was able to resume, but fell to the 23rd position. Track conditions made for slippery conditions, a scenario that Carpenter confirmed on the radio to his team before spinning for a second time on lap 26. Once again, he was able to carry on in the race and by lap 45 had made up three positions.

On lap 58 the adversity for Carpenter continued as competitor Graham Rahal put his car inside of the No. 20 William Rast machine while both cars were navigating a tight turn. The contact between the two drivers put Carpenter into the air and Rahal into the wall. Yet again, Carpenter managed to press on in the race in spite of the incident.

Working his way up to the 17th spot, Carpenter stopped for a pit stop to check for damage and change to red walled Firestone tires. From that point, Carpenter soldiered on to the finish while others experienced misfortunes and mishaps on the tricky street course. For his efforts and patience, Carpenter scored a 15th place result.

Unfortunately, Carpenter dropped one spot again in the IndyCar Series championship point standings to the 15th position with 172 total points (175 points behind the leader).

Dario Franchitti of Target Chip Ganassi won the wild race and resumes control of the championship points standings as a result with 247 total points. Rounding out the podium was Ryan Briscoe and Will Power of Team Penske.

Watch the IndyCar Series in action two weeks from today for the Series’ return to Edmonton Centre Airport for the Rexall Edmonton Indy. The race broadcast will air live from Edmonton on Sunday, July 26th at 5 p.m. (ET) on VERSUS.

Post Race Quotes: (July12, 2009)

Ed Carpenter - No. 20 William Rast/Vision Racing Dallara/Honda/Firestone

Finishing Position: 15th

Qualifying Position: 19th

On race:

“There sure was a lot of action but I’m just really disappointed in myself. Everything was looking good yesterday when we had a really good qualifying effort and we were trying to build on that in the race. Every street course this year I’ve manage to spoil our efforts.

These races turn into attrition races every time and instead of taking advantage, I’ve done something to set us back. I have to apologize to William Rast, Menards, Johns Manville and Lilly and especially all the guys that work hard on this team. We had something to be happy about yesterday and today I threw it all away trying to get my rear tires cleaned off before the restart and just lit them up and lost it. It was a stupid mistake.”

About Vision Racing:

Vision Racing is owned and operated by Tony and Laura George as well as actor Patrick Dempsey of ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy and is based in Indianapolis, Indiana in a 32,000 square foot facility. The team competes full-time in the IndyCar Series and is entering its fifth season of IndyCar Series competition. The team features returning IndyCar Series driver Ed Carpenter and welcomed veteran Ryan Hunter-Reay for the start of 2009. Also new for 2009 is a return to the Firestone Indy Lights Series with driver James Davison, as well as a technical partnership with new FIL team Bryan Herta Autosport and driver Daniel Herrington. Vision Racing continues to proudly perpetuate the legacy of the Hulman-George family through motorsports excellence, by demonstrating the traditions and heritage of the Indianapolis 500 and IndyCar Racing.

- Vision Racing Press Release