Sunday

13th Place Finish For Vision Racing In Japan

MOTEGI, JAPAN (Sept. 19, 2009) - Vision Racing’s Ed Carpenter took the checkered flag at Twin Ring Motegi in 13th spot aboard the team’s No. 20 William Rast Dallara/Honda/Firestone machine at the Indy Japan 300 after a frustrating weekend of battling the car more than his Indycar Series competitors.

A notoriously challenging track, atypical of the other 1.5 mile ovals on the circuit, Ed Carpenter and the team struggled from the first practice to find the right balance and set-up to be able to take on the treacherous Turn 3 and 4 combination which would claim a handful of victims before the end of the weekend. Positive strides were made by the start of the qualifying session and the team felt they had finally made the adjustments they needed, enabling their driver to qualify 11th for the staring grid. However, as the green flag waved on Saturday afternoon in Japan, it was evident that the race and handling of the No.20 car was going to be more of a challenge than expected.

Carpenter did his best to counter understeer and lack of grip but fell back in the opening laps. He battled his way back in the second half of the race but having fallen two laps down was unable to crack the top-ten, but kept the car off the wall and crossed the finish with a hard earned but disappointing 13th place position finish for Vision Racing.

Carpenter’s result in Japan keeps him in 12th place in the IndyCar Series championship point standings with 303 total points (267 points behind the leader).

Winner of the Indy Japan 300 from the pole position, Scott Dixon of Target Chip Ganassi retakes the lead in the IndyCar Series championship battle with just one race remaining. Previously atop the points standings, Ryan Briscoe of Team Penske made an unforced error in the pits as race leader, making contact with the wall at the pit exit, necessitating another stop to replace damaged tires and a front wing, dropping him back for 18th place finish. Dixon’s teammate Dario Franchitti and Newman Haas Lanigan’s Graham Rahal joined him on the podium, with Oriol Servia and Mario Moraes completing the top-five.

With just five points now separating Dixon from Franchitti in the championship standings, and just eight points ahead of Briscoe, and Vision Racing still working to earn their first IndyCar series victory, the upcoming IndyCar Series finale will no doubt be a no-holds-barred flat out battle. Don’t miss the final chapter in the fight for the IndyCar Series Championship title at Homestead-Miami Speedway in Florida. The qualifying show will air Friday, September 9th, at 6 p.m. (ET) while the late afternoon race broadcast will air live on Saturday, October 10th, at 4 p.m. (ET) on VERSUS.

Ed Carpenter

Finishing Position: 13th

Qualifying Position: 11th

On race: “We thought after qualifying that we had made the car a lot better but we really didn’t. We were behind from the first practice and we thought we had gotten it better for qualifying but we obviously didn’t and fell behind. We struggled through the whole weekend really, falling behind and never getting caught up, just like we did in the race. It’s a long way to come to come for a butt kicking and it sure makes for a long flight home.”

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