The third IndyCar Wrap-Up brings us to Ed Carpenter Racing, which came to a fork in the road in 2024. Entering its fifth season with with Rinus VeeKay, the team was looking to break out of the middle of the pack. The team also made a change and returned to splitting the #20 Chevrolet between Ed Carpenter on ovals and another driver for road and street courses. That other driver ended up being Christian Rasmussen fresh off of his Indy Lights championship. Unfortunately, a return to an old way did not lead to better results, and more changes are coming for the ECR organization.
Rinus VeeKay
This was the fifth season for VeeKay in IndyCar, all with Ed Carpenter Racing. He had established a pattern in his career with championship finishes of 14th, 12th, 12th and 14th in his first four seasons. This felt like a pivotal season for VeeKay to break above the middle, especially after not having a top five finish in 2023. Not much changed from his previous seasons, though some positives could be found.
What objectively was his best race?
Based on pit strategy and keeping his nose clean, VeeKay ended up finishing fifth in the first Iowa race after starting 13th. Just based on the nature of the race and the lack of passing, this wasn't VeeKay doing anything brilliant but mostly having better pit stops and making up spots on restarts.
What subjectively was his best race?
Managing his tires in the second Milwaukee race netted VeeKay a seventh-place finish. He was in the running for a top ten finish the entire race, but deciding to save his tires over the penultimate stint before stopping early in the final stint helped get a few more positions. VeeKay was able to keep the car in the top ten with this strategy and finish better than if he had not been on this strategy.
What objectively was his worst race?
Twice did VeeKay finish 26th this season. At the Grand Prix of Indianapolis, VeeKay had a slow pit stop and a drive-through penalty for an improper pit exit. This caused VeeKay to finish a lap down and the last car to finish the race. At Laguna Seca, the Dutchman spun on his own and an mechanical issue ended his race after 23 laps.
What subjectively was his worst race?
Twice did VeeKay finish 26th this season. At the Grand Prix of Indianapolis, VeeKay had a slow pit stop and a drive-through penalty for an improper pit exit. This caused VeeKay to finish a lap down and the last car to finish the race. At Laguna Seca, the Dutchman spun on his own and an mechanical issue ended his race after 23 laps.
What subjectively was his worst race?
The Grand Prix of Indianapolis was a bit of a disappointment because VeeKay had qualified 12th and that was an advantageous position to start in.
Rinus VeeKay's 2024 Statistics
Championship Position: 13th (300 points)
Wins: 0
Podiums: 0
Top Fives: 1
Top Tens: 7
Laps Led: 8
Poles: 0
Fast Sixes: 0
Fast Twelves: 3
Average Start: 15.294
Average Finish: 13.706
Wins: 0
Podiums: 0
Top Fives: 1
Top Tens: 7
Laps Led: 8
Poles: 0
Fast Sixes: 0
Fast Twelves: 3
Average Start: 15.294
Average Finish: 13.706
Christian Rasmussen
It was not a full season, but Rasmussen got a healthy slate of IndyCar races after winning the Indy Lights championship. Along with the road and street course races, he was also given the Indianapolis 500 with ECR. An unexpected change ended up giving Rasmussen more races than originally thought. It definitely looked like a rookie season. There were some good days, but there is much to improve upon.
What objectively was his best race?
Rasmussen's only top ten finish of the season was ninth at Mid-Ohio. The Dane spent the entire race in the top ten and did come back after losing a few spots on the first pit cycle. It was a clean day for him.
What subjectively was his best race?
It was the Indianapolis 500 where Rasmussen drove from 24th to 12th. Rasmussen made a number of notable passes and spent a good number of laps in the top ten. He was holding his own in the biggest race of his career. He looked like he was going to finish in the top ten but 12th was still good enough for best finishing rookie in the race.
What objectively was his worst race?
In three races did Rasmussen finish in last, 27th position. Those races were Long Beach after he brushed the barrier and spun in turn four, Detroit after an engine failure 25 laps into the race, and Toronto after he was checked into the barrier exiting turn one and th contact ended his race before he could even get to turn two.
What subjectively was his worst race?
In three races did Rasmussen finish in last, 27th position. Those races were Long Beach after he brushed the barrier and spun in turn four, Detroit after an engine failure 25 laps into the race, and Toronto after he was checked into the barrier exiting turn one and th contact ended his race before he could even get to turn two.
What subjectively was his worst race?
It is tough to separate these events from one another. When you cannot even complete a lap, that is a rough race. He started 13th as well at Detroit, a good position to get a good result. Toronto or Detroit. You decide which was worse.
Christian Rasmussen's 2024 Statistics
Championship Position: 22nd (163 points)
Wins: 0
Podiums: 0
Top Fives: 0
Top Tens: 1
Laps Led: 0
Poles: 0
Fast Sixes: 0
Fast Twelves: 2
Average Start: 18.357
Average Finish: 18.929
Wins: 0
Podiums: 0
Top Fives: 0
Top Tens: 1
Laps Led: 0
Poles: 0
Fast Sixes: 0
Fast Twelves: 2
Average Start: 18.357
Average Finish: 18.929
Ed Carpenter
After a few seasons running a third car on the ovals, Carpenter went back to his familiar #20 Chevrolet for the ovals in 2024. He had not had a top ten finish in either of the previous two seasons, both in a third entry, but a move back to the #20 Chevrolet did not boost his results. Carpenter struggled to keep pace, and he ended up making a difficult decision before this season was even over.
What objectively was his best race?
In two races, Carpenter finished 17th, the Indianapolis 500 and at Gateway.
What subjectively was his best race?
None of Carpenter's races were all that good. Indianapolis was a little more work because Carpenter had to overcome Callum Ilott being punted into Carpenter's pit box, causing a significant delay for Carpenter to make his pit stop in the middle of the race. It was a recovery drive to 17th that day.
What objectively was his worst race?
Carpenter was collected in the final lap accident in the second Iowa race after Sting Ray Robb ran over the back of Alexander Rossi's car out of fuel, which also collected Kyle Kirkwood. This accident knocked Carpenter down to 22nd in the final results.
What subjectively was his worst race?
Carpenter was collected in the final lap accident in the second Iowa race after Sting Ray Robb ran over the back of Alexander Rossi's car out of fuel, which also collected Kyle Kirkwood. This accident knocked Carpenter down to 22nd in the final results.
What subjectively was his worst race?
Gateway was also a recovery drive to 17th, but Carpenter being slammed into by Katherine Legge eight laps into the race did not lead to an easy day for him. He lost time and ended up climbing to 17th as others had trouble, but it was a rough weekend prior to that incident. This ended up being the race where Carpenter decided to step out of the car for the remaining three oval races and let Rasmussen finish out the season.
Ed Carpenter's 2024 Statistics
Championship Position: 32nd (45 points)
Wins: 0
Podiums: 0
Top Fives: 0
Top Tens: 0
Laps Led: 3
Poles: 0
Fast Sixes: 0
Fast Twelves: 0
Average Start: 22.25
Average Finish: 19
Wins: 0
Podiums: 0
Top Fives: 0
Top Tens: 0
Laps Led: 3
Poles: 0
Fast Sixes: 0
Fast Twelves: 0
Average Start: 22.25
Average Finish: 19
An Early Look Ahead
We already know the 2025 lineup for Ed Carpenter Racing. Alexander Rossi will take over the #20 Chevrolet and Rasmussen will be full-time in the #21 Chevrolet. Carpenter will only run the Indianapolis 500.
We also know the team has added a new partner in Ted Gevlov, owner of Heartland Food Products Group, which is famous for its Splenda and Java House brands.
Considering less than two years ago Rossi was saying he wanted to win a championship and that played into his decision to leave Andretti Autosport for Arrow McLaren, nobody joins Ed Carpenter Racing hoping to win a championship.
The team hasn't had a top ten championship finisher in eight seasons. The team has one victory in eight seasons. It has only nine podium finishes during that time. It doesn't help that Rossi has one victory in the last five seasons in his own right and beggars cannot be choosers, but for a driver that has contended for a championship and believes he still has that ability, ECR isn't the team to choose if hoping to win a title.
This move could come down solely to the Indianapolis 500, and ECR has had competitive cars in that race, but that speed has not regularly translated to cars being there at the end of the race. The cars look great in qualifying, but four-lap success does not equal 200-lap triumph. The team has only three top five finishes in the Indianapolis 500 in its 13-year history. It really is a case of this was the best Rossi could do at this point in his career and with the current IndyCar climate.
For the last five seasons, Rossi has been either ninth or tenth in the championship. For the last five seasons, VeeKay was 12th, 13th or 14th in the championship. We know who Rossi is as a driver and we know what ECR is capable of. Something will have to break in 2025.
Rasmussen will need to make a stride forward and clean up some of the mistakes. He at least knows he will have a full season.
As much as we talk about the drivers, engineering plays a crucial role. The drivers are only as good as the cars they are given. Outside of Indianapolis, ECR hasn't really been good anywhere. This year ended on a positive note with VeeKay scoring five top ten finishes in the final eight races, but there needs to be more than that, and for the last few seasons ECR has not been consistently good anywhere.
ECR hasn't had a top five finisher on a road/street course since Mid-Ohio in July 2022. The team didn't have a car make the Fast Six on a road or street course this past season. These are two areas the team must improve upon if it wants to break into that higher level.
