Carpenter in Victory Lane
Oak Park Journal photo by Dan Peters

Carpenter Makes Indy History Sunday by 
Winning Freedom 100
by Dan Peters

INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana Sunday, May 18, 2003 – Pole sitter Ed Carpenter joined elite company as a winner of an inaugural race at the Indianapolis Motor 
Speedway, dominating the restarted Freedom 100 IRL Infiniti Pro Series race 
May 18.

Carpenter, 22, who grew up only a few miles from the Brickyard, joined Ray 
Harroun (Indianapolis 500, 1911), Jeff Gordon (Brickyard 400, 1994), Mark 
Martin (IROC at Indy, 1998) and Michael Schumacher (United States Grand Prix, 2000) as winners of inaugural races at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

It was the first career Infiniti Pro Series victory for USAC short-track star 
Carpenter, driving the No. 14 Futaba/Delphi/A.J. Foyt Racing 
Dallara/Infiniti/Firestone owned by four-time Indianapolis 500 winner A.J. 
Foyt.

“A.J. knows this place,” Carpenter said of his legendary team owner. “We 
made a change last night after the rain delay, and A.J. (Foyt) hit it right 
on the head. I have to credit that for the win today. The car was perfect. It 
was fun to drive.”

The race resumed on Lap 13, as it was halted by rain Saturday at that point, 
and Carpenter wasted little time moving to the front of the field. Series 
points leader Mark Taylor passed Carpenter for the lead in Turn 1 on Lap 21, 
but Carpenter passed Taylor in Turn 3 on that lap and never trailed 
thereafter. He won by 13.9522 seconds.

“Taylor got a little jump on me on that last restart and got me a little 
worried,” Carpenter said. “I was just giving it everything I had to get in 
there and get a good run on him off (Turn) 2. Luckily, I got him back by Turn 
3, and there was no turning back from there.”

Foyt, who scored four wins at Indianapolis as a driver and owned Kenny 
Brack’s car when Brack won the1999 Indianapolis 500, was happy to score his 
sixth win at the Brickyard.

“He did a great job,” Foyt said. “He kept his head clear all day. The car 
performed perfectly.”

“It makes me thrilled that we bring the car from Houston, Texas, have it sit 
on the pole and lead the whole race with Ed Carpenter. We've had a rough year 
starting off, and we've been having trouble even running mid-pack, but come 
here to the biggest racetrack in the world and sit on the pole and win the 
race means an awful lot to A.J. Foyt and our whole team. I know it meant a 
lot to Ed's mother, Laura (George). Probably it meant as much to her as to 
me. But one things for sure, we're all proud of Ed.”

Cory Witherill finished second in the No. 92 WSA Healthcare 
Dallara/Infiniti/Firestone, .1247 of a second ahead of third-place Taylor in 
the No. 4 Fulmar Panther Dallara/Infiniti/Firestone.

“It was awesome,” Witherill said. “There were a whole bunch of us out there. 
The Hemelgarn Johnson WSA team did a great job. Once we got the green, it was just a matter of getting up front as fast as we can. Obviously, everyone 
wants to win this first race. Carpenter was just gone, but it was a good race 
for second on back. Mark (Taylor) is a great driver, as is Jeff Simmons.”

Witherill, Simmons and Taylor put on an impressive show from Laps 22-40, with 
all three drivers swapping second through fourth place regularly, driving 
side by side through the tricky turns of the historic, 2.5-mile oval.

Taylor, driver of the No. 4 Fulmar Panther Dallara/Infiniti/Firestone, saw 
the end to his unbeaten streak in the Indy Racing League development series. 
He won the first two races of the season, at Homestead-Miami and Phoenix. But 
Taylor kept the series points lead, leading Thiago Medeiros, 139-91.

“It was a very tough race,” Taylor said. “I just wasn’t able to tow past 
and stay in front of people. It is just one of those things. It is something 
I knew I had to learn when I came into the series.

“It feels strange to be third, but it is a good result. It would have been 
nice to win another race, but you can’t win them all. I try my best. The car 
finished the race, and third was the best we could do today.”

Simmons, driver of the No. 20 Western Union Speed Team/Duesenberg 
Dallara/Infiniti/Firestone, finished fourth. Jonathan Urlin, driver of the 
No. 3 Budget Rent A Car Dallara/Infiniti/Firestone, finished fifth.

Gary Peterson, driver of the No. 27 Automatic Fires Sprinklers 
Dallara/Infiniti/Firestone, was involved in the only accident during the 
restarted race.

On Lap 16, shortly after the field had received the green flag to restart the 
race, Peterson made contact with the SAFER Barrier on the outside retaining 
wall in the middle of Turn 4 with the right side of the car. He was uninjured.

ARIE LUYENDYK JR. (No. 5 Grill 2 Go/Smith & Wesson 
Dallara/Infiniti/Firestone): “We weren’t planning on racing anybody. We were 
just planning on staying out there and trying to improve a few positions. We 
moved up from 17th, so we improved two positions. The car was good. We were 
just driving around. It was kind of like a Sunday drive for me, because we 
can’t really do anything when you’re eight laps behind. We came in with two 
laps to go because there wasn’t any more we could improve. The car was great, 
and the crew did a great job this weekend. We just had a little bit of 
misfortune.”

TONY GEORGE (President and CEO, Indianapolis Motor Speedway): “I think it was good to get this race, the Freedom 100, in after two days. I think everyone 
was a little concerned that the weather just wasn’t going to cooperate. It 
got off to a slow start, and I’m glad that everybody seems to be OK that were 
involved in accidents yesterday. I think they proved once they settle down 
and get into a rhythm, they are capable of using this as a learning 
opportunity. That’s what it was meant to be. I want to congratulate A.J. and 
Ed for doing a good job. I think he just drove a good race, and certainly 
A.J. Foyt Racing prepared him with a good car. He was very consistent and was 
able to keep out front and in the clean air, which is important. These cars 
are very close, and you’ve got to work very hard to get every advantage you 
can. The guys have done a great job of putting together a very clean car. 
That made the difference.” (About the result): “I’m glad that Ed had an 
opportunity to do well here. It was an important race for the series and for 
all the teams and drivers and sponsors that compete in it. He’s fortunate to 
have some good sponsorships backing and a good team behind him. I know he’s 
got the ability to drive and do well professionally. That’s what he wants to 
do, and I congratulate him and support him.”

Results Sunday of the Freedom 100 IRL Infiniti Pro Series event at 
Indianapolis Motor Speedway, with order of finish, starting position in 
parentheses, driver, chassis-engine, laps completed and reason out (if any). 
Race was halted May 17 on lap 13 due to rain and resumed Sunday:

 
1. (1) Ed Carpenter, Dallara-Infiniti, 40
2. (7) Cory Witherill, Dallara-Infiniti, 40
3. (2) Mark Taylor, Dallara-Infiniti, 40
4. (3) Jeff Simmons, Dallara-Infiniti, 40
5. (12) Jonathan Urlin, Dallara-Infiniti, 40
6. (6) Aaron Fike, Dallara-Infiniti, 40
7. (10) Paul Dana, Dallara-Infiniti, 40
8. (9) Ronnie Johncox, Dallara-Infiniti, 40
9. (11) Marco Cioci, Dallara-Infiniti, 40
10. (13) Rolando Quintanilla, Dallara-Infiniti, 40
11. (19) Brandon Erwin, Dallara-Infiniti, 40
12. (17) Scott Harrington, Dallara-Infiniti, 40
13. (16) Tom Wood, Dallara-Infiniti, 36
14. (14) Billy Roe, Dallara-Infiniti, 32
15. (5) Arie Luyendyk Jr., Dallara-Infiniti, 29, in pit
16. (18) Gary Peterson, Dallara-Infiniti, 15, accident
17. (15) Craig Dollansky, Dallara-Infiniti, 10, accident
18. (4) Matt Beardsley, Dallara-Infiniti, 0, accident
19. (8) Thiago Medeiros, Dallara-Infiniti, 0, accident

    Race Statistics
    Winner's average speed: 109.019 mph.
    Time of race: 55:02.1661.
    Margin of victory: 13.9522 seconds.
    Cautions: 4 for 17 laps.
    Lead changes: 3.
    Lap leaders: Carpenter 1-19, Taylor 20, Carpenter 21-40.
    Point standings: Taylor 139, Medeiros 91, Erwin 86, Urlin 86, Carpenter 
    84, Witherill 80, Simmons 78, Dana 71, Luyendyk 67, Beardsley 62, 
    Johncox 62.
 

The next Infiniti Pro Series event is the Pikes Peak 100 on June 14 at Pikes  Peak International Raceway.