Catchfence

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – After securing an eighth place starting spot for the 2010 Indianapolis 500 in yesterday’s qualifying sessions, Vision Racing driver Ed Carpenter spent Bump Day honing in optimum race setups  for the No. 20 Fuzzy’s Ultra Premium Vodka special. Carpenter and his Panther Racing crew tested various setups and put in several laps in practice this afternoon under very warm conditions.

Carpenter is making his best start at Indianapolis in his seventh try and will also be making his 100^th IZOD IndyCar Series start. Last season Carpenter started 17^th and drove to eighth place finish. His best drive at Indianapolis came in 2008 when he started a previous best 10^th, drove his first career IndyCar Series leader laps (3) and finished fifth.

Team partner, Panther Racing and driver Dan Wheldon put the No. 4 National Guard Dallara/Honda/Firestone also put in a plethora of laps to prepare for next Sunday’s race. The 2005 Indianapolis 500 champion is making his eighth IZOD IndyCar Series start at the Brickyard and will take the green flag from the 18^th spot for the second-consecutive year. Last year Wheldon drove to a second place finish in the race.

Carpenter and Wheldon will be making a trek to Connecticut, Massachusetts and New York for a media tour on Monday and Tuesday along with the 31 other IZOD IndyCar Series drivers participating in the 2010 Indianapolis 500. They can be seen at the Speedway again on Wednesday for the Community Day fan activities, including an afternoon autograph session.

IZOD IndyCar Series action will resume Friday at 11:00 a.m. for a one hour practice during Carb Day festivities.

Want more Vision Racing news, photos and tidbits from the track? Find us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/visionracing; follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/visionracing and; read all about us on Charles West’s daily INDY 500 blog:www.visionracing.com/fans.

The Indianapolis 500 will air live on Sunday, May 30^th at noon ET on ABC, as well as IMS Radio Network, XM IndyCar Series Racing Channel 145, XM Sports Nation Channel 144 and on the web at www.IndyCar.com.

Practice Results and Quotes: (May 23, 2010)

Ed Carpenter – No. 20 Fuzzy’s Vodka/Vision Racing/Panther Racing Dallara/Honda/Firestone

Qualifying/Starting Position: 8^th

Four-Lap Qualifying Average: 224.507 mph

On practice:

On practicing race simulations:

“It was a really good day but tricky conditions, a lot like yesterday, and not the kind you really want to be running but at the same time if you can get your car working well in these conditions and be happy with it for the race, I feel like we’ll be pretty prepared for whatever the conditions may be. It was a really productive day and very happy with where we ended the day. I think the speed is good and the car has good grip. I’m excited.”

On Bump Day drama:

“After last year, going through it with (then teammate) Ryan (Hunter-Reay), it’s not fun. Obviously you have to feel for TK (Tony Kanaan) and the last couple of days he’s had. That guy has led a lot of laps around here and knows what he’s doing, so to see a professional like him struggle is hard to watch but when it came time he got it done. He’ll still be a factor in the race I am sure. It was good to see him get in. To see people going out, then pulling times to try to go on the offense to protect themselves was nuts. I kind of forgot about Saavedra and then all of a sudden he’s back in the show. You feel bad for Sarah Fisher Racing. You feel bad for PT (Paul Tracy). He still feels like he has unfinished business here and you would hate to be in his position but at the end of the day everyone had a shot at it and 33 got in and some didn’t. That is what Bump Day is about and today was by far the best Bump Day I’ve seen in a long time. It sucks to see a big name go home like that. It’s not like seeing a Penske go home but you kind of got the feeling that going in to today that there was probably going to be a big name go home. You even saw my former teammate Anthony Foyt IV go home even if he deserve to be in the race but at least his car didn’t get in.”

Dan Wheldon – No. 4 National Guard/Panther Racing Dallara/Honda/Firestone

Qualifying/Starting Position: 18^th

Four-Lap Qualifying Average: 224.464 mph

On practice:

“We definitely continue to work on the National Guard Panther Racing car and we certainly made it better and continue to learn a lot. I think it was a very positive day, and the conditions obviously – from what we know, but you never know in Indiana – are what we are expecting on raceday. So that made today a very important day for the Panther team and probably the most important day we’ve had so far this month. It’s one of those days we had to use the track time wisely and get a good data bank of knowledge so you can pick out what will work best come the race.”

Indianapolis 500 Bump Day Qualifying Results:

25. (33) Bruno Junqueira – Four Lap Avg.: 225.662 mph
26. (19) Alex Lloyd -  Four Lap Avg.: 224.783 mph
27. (34) Mario Romancini – Four Lap Avg.: 224.641 mph
28. (43) John Andretti – Four Lap Avg.: 224.518 mph
29. (67) Sarah Fisher – Four Lap Avg.: 224.434 mph
30. (14) Vitor Meira – Four Lap Avg.: 224.388 mph
31. (5) Takuma Sato – Four Lap Avg.: 224.178 mph
32. (11T) Tony Kanaan – Four Lap Avg.: 224.072 mph
33. (29) Sebastian Saavedra – Four Lap Avg.: 223.634 mph

Bumped from the field: Jay Howard- SFR; Paul Tracy- KVRacing; Milka Duno- Dale Coyne Racing; Jaques Lazier- AJ Foyt Racing.

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About the Indianapolis 500: The 200 lap/500 mile Indianapolis 500 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway will air live on Sunday, May 30^th at noon ET on ABC, as well as IMS Radio Network, XM IndyCar Series Racing Channel 145, XM Sports Nation Channel 144 and on the web at www.IndyCar.com.

About Fuzzy’s Ultra Premium Vodka: Fuzzy’s Ultra Premium Vodka is a grain-based vodka and is a product of Fuzzy’s Spirits, LLC located in Sellersburg, Indiana. Fuzzy’s Spirits, LLC is dedicated to providing responsible golfers and non-golfers with a refreshing vodka drink to enhance their enjoyment of the moment. Fuzzy’s Ultra Premium Vodka recently received the prestigious gold medal rating from the Beverage Testing Institute in Chicago, and is currently available in twelve states. www.fuz.com /www.fuzzyvodka.com

About DEEM: DEEM is a mechanical and electrical company centrally located in Indianapolis, Indiana with satellite offices throughout the Midwest down to the southeastern United States.  DEEM offers HVAC, Plumbing, Electrical, Refrigeration, Industrial Piping, Building Automation, and Sheet Metal Installation and Services.  Currently, DEEM is licensed to perform in many regions throughout the country. www.deemfirst.com

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. The team competed full-time in the IZOD IndyCar Series for five seasons from 2005-2009 and is entering its sixth season of IZOD IndyCar Series competition with an entry in the 2010 Indianapolis 500 as a collaboration with Panther Racing. In 2009 IZOD IndyCar competition, Vision Racing scored two hard-earned 2nd place podium finishes and posted their best career start (4th), seven top-10 results and their highest total of laps led, laps competed and races completed in a season. Driver Ed Carpenter has finished 5th and 8th in the previous two Indianapolis 500s. 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