Did Carpenter Get The Call?

[#27]

I posted this in the 'Other Single Seater' section but was told it was the wrong place. Maybe it fits better in the CART section.


This from Robin Miller on espn.com
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The only bigger farce than Bump Day was the inaugural Infiniti Pro Series race, in which George's stepson Ed Carpenter -- who is a good driver -- made a mockery of the competition and rules by running away to a 14-second victory.

"He was going five mph faster than anybody else down the straightaway," groused one Infiniti car owner. "What a joke."

Following Carpenter's win, the Speedway issued an insulting news release that said he joined the likes of Ray Harroun (first Indy winner, 1911), Jeff Gordon (first Brickyard 400 winner, 1994) and Michael Schumacher (first U.S. Grand Prix winner here, 2000). Most of the media room burst into laughter.
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So did Ed Carpenter get the call from the IRL/Tony George? He seems like a good enough driver but this will just ruin his reputation. I think he won by about 13 seconds, and this in a race where everybody else was bunched up, Talladega-style.

A buddy of mine who talked to an IPS team owner at the end of last year was told that Anthony Foyt also got special treatment because the series needed a familiar name to start off with. And Carpenter, like Anthony, was driving for A.J. Foyt Racing. By the Foyts' own admission, Anthony came into the series with absolutely no testing to suddenly put the car on the pole in the first race.

Anyways, the only reason I put this up was because I couldn't find anybody else talking about this. What do you think guys? Is this just a case of sour-grapes from a losing owner or is the IPS just as shambolic as its daddy, the IRL?

[Lee Janotta]

It belongs in the IRL forum, and you know it.

But yeah, pretty clear he had a better engine than the rest of the field.

[Jay]

This should definately be in single seaters or teh IRL forum. I'd say single seaters.

But, yeah, it just confirms what I already knew, that the Infinity Pro Series is an absolute joke and completely useless as a junior series. It doesn't even prepare guys for the IRL cars (Atlantic does a better job), nevertheless any other form of motorsport. And now it appears that it's completely fixed... I honestly feel bad for the 2 or 3 guys there with talent.

[#27]

Forget it. I posted it in the single-seater forum and it wasn't welcome there either, although that section is advertised as one for all single seater action except F1/CART/IRL.

Peace Out.

[Jay]

Actually, you had it right in single seaters (or IRL), the person who said you had it in the wrong forum just got it wrong.

[Tailwind]

It does sound a little fishy...

[flatlander_48]

Yes, I wondered about that finish and I wondered about AJF4 last season. There were other people in the series that had much more experience. There shouldn't have been such a disparity. However, in my opinion, the IPS shouldn't have been there in the first place. Joining the ranks of Harroun, Gordon, etc.!! What a joke!! Shame on you, Tony.