FRIDAY, MARCH 3 – SUNDAY, MARCH 5, 2023
TRACK: Streets of St. Petersburg
LOCATION: St. Petersburg, Florida, USA
TRACK LAYOUT: 1.8-mile, 14-turn street circuit
RACE LENGTH: 100 laps/180 miles
PRACTICE: Friday – 3-4:15 p.m. ET (Peacock Premium)
Saturday – 10-11 a.m. ET (Peacock Premium)
Sunday – 9-9:30 a.m. ET (Peacock Premium)
QUALIFYING: Saturday – 2:15-3:30 p.m. ET (Peacock Premium)
RACE: Sunday – 12:30 p.m. ET (NBC, 12 p.m. ET)
Unparalleled consistency remains the theme for Ed Carpenter Racing as the team enters its 12th season of NTT INDYCAR SERIES competition. For the fourth consecutive year, ECR will have the same driver lineup and feature nearly identical leadership across the organization. The team’s two full-time entries, the No. 20 of Conor Daly and the No. 21 of Rinus VeeKay, in addition to the ovals-only No. 33 of Ed Carpenter, will be fully supported by new digital marketplace BITNILE.COM.
ECR is led by Carpenter, the only individual in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES who handles both the responsibility of driving the racecar and owning his own team. As one of the most experienced drivers in the field, 2023 will be Carpenter’s 21st season of Indy car competition. He solidified his status as a hometown favorite when he scored back-to-back pole positions for the Indianapolis 500 in 2013 and 2014, then again in 2018.
Day-to-day operations at ECR remain under the direction of team president Tim Broyles. Matt Barnes leads as Chief Engineer while long-time team member Jeff Frederick has been promoted to Chief Mechanic. Pete Craik continues as lead engineer for the No. 20 with Jeff Grahn as crew chief. On the No. 21, Barnes serves as VeeKay’s lead engineer with Dave Arnold moving up to crew chief. Strategists will again be Brent “Woody” Harvey for VeeKay and Broyles for the No. 20 car, a position he has held since ECR’s first race in 2012. Nearly a dozen of the team’s 40 employees are original hires, including Broyles, Barnes and Harvey.
CONOR DALY, NO. 20 BITNILE.COM CHEVROLET
CONOR DALY, No. 20 BITNILE.COM Chevrolet: “Starting the new season with BITNILE.COM on both our team cars is super exciting. We have 17 races in front of us to do some incredible things together. I have always enjoyed St. Pete and have been close to some good results there several times. We’ve all worked hard over the winter and we are ready to start the season strong!”
BIRTHDAY: December 11, 1990
HOMETOWN: Noblesville, IN
RESIDENCE: Indianapolis, IN
ST. PETE STATS
BEST START: 14th (2020)
BEST FINISH: 13th (2016)
NUMBER OF STARTS: 5
CAREER STATS
SEASON: 10th
STARTS: 97
POLES: 1
BEST FINISH: 2nd, Detroit 2016
OF NOTE:
Conor Daly returns to ECR for a fourth season and his second as full-time driver of the No. 20 BITNILE.COM Chevrolet. In 2023, he will reach a career milestone as he makes his 100th NTT INDYCAR SERIES start early in the season and will compete in his 10th Indianapolis 500.
Second-generation racer Daly climbed into a kart for the first time at the age of 10; within five years, he was competing in both United States and international open-wheel ladder systems. He found success in each before concentrating solely on American motorsports in 2015. Born and raised in nearby Noblesville, Ind., Daly has grown to be a hometown favorite in the Indianapolis 500. The 2021 edition saw him lead the most laps of all drivers; in 2022, he finished a career-best 6th.
Daly has competed in the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg five times, leading the race for 16 laps during his first event in 2016. In 2022, Daly qualified 20th and finished 21st. Despite the challenges last year’s event presented, he was able to set the fastest lap of the race.
TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!
