Sep 9, 2010 By Herald Standard Staff 5 min read

SPARTA, Ky. (AP) – Ed Carpenter spent most of his summer packing up boxes at Vision Racing’s headquarters in Indianapolis, the only home the veteran driver has known during his IndyCar career. It wasn’t fun watching the No. 20 car sit idle on a hauler while he worked the phones to find funding for the only ride he’d had since joining the operation run by stepfather and Indy Racing League founder Tony George in 2005.

Carpenter had little doubt his car was fast. He just needed a break. He found one at Panther Racing.

Thanks to a collaboration between Panther and Vision Racing – and a financial assist from professional golfer Fuzzy Zoeller – Carpenter is back where he feels he belongs. And now he’s driving like a guy who has no plans on leaving anytime soon.

The 29-year-old captured the first pole of his career last week in Kentucky, then backed it up by tying a career-best with a second-place finish behind Helio Castroneves.

Not bad for a driver who found himself out of a job when Vision shuttered its racing operation following the 2009 season. The down time, however, only made him more determined.

“When you have something like that taken away from you, when you get it back and get the chance to get back in a car, you know, I think you’re going to lay it all down every time you get in the car,” Carpenter said.

Carpenter got his chance when Zoeller, a fellow Indiana native, offered to pick up the tab to help Carpenter get in the Indy 500. Vision Racing provided the equipment, Panther Racing provided everything else.

It was supposed to be a one-shot deal. That changed when Carpenter qualified a respectable eighth and finished 17th at his hometown track, a performance that could have been better if not for pit road issues.

That was enough to pique Zoeller’s interest in making a bigger investment, and Panther was more than willing to step up and restart Carpenter’s career.

“We didn’t do this thing for a whim,” said Panther Racing owner John Barnes, a longtime family friend. “He drove a car for me when he was about 14 or 15 years old. I saw the talent in him.”

And Zoeller saw potential, offering to sponsor Carpenter for three of the season’s final four races. Carpenter rolled off the truck in Chicago two weeks ago and had little trouble running in the pack before late mechanical problems sent him to 20th.

Things were better at Kentucky, where Carpenter had nearly picked up the first victory of his career a year ago. Ryan Briscoe edged him by 0.0162 seconds in one of the closest finishes in series history.

Carpenter hoped that showing would be the start of something big. Instead, it was the last hurrah for Vision Racing. Funding dried up and George shuttered the team in January.

Could things have been different if Carpenter had found a way to keep his nose in front of Briscoe’s at Kentucky? Maybe. But Carpenter isn’t one to dwell.

“I try not to think about it like that,” he said. “We ran a great race.”

Saturday’s result wasn’t quite as dramatic, with Castroneves winning by stretching his fuel mileage over the last 53 laps to pick up his second victory of the season. Yet there was little doubt who was driving the fastest car at the end, a rarity for Carpenter during his days at Vision.

Even better for Panther, Dan Wheldon was nearly as quick. Wheldon finished right behind his new teammate in third, and it’s no coincidence that Wheldon’s three best finishes this season – Indy, Chicago and Kentucky – were in races where he’s had Carpenter alongside.

Wheldon said Carpenter’s presence has given the entire organization a lift.

“I think the teams really have jelled very well, and I think that their game has been raised because of that,” Wheldon said. “If you’ve got two (drivers), there’s of information coming in. It makes a huge difference, particularly with the limited testing.”

Carpenter has fit seamlessly into Panther’s program, and there’s already talk of finding a full-time ride for the No. 20 next year. Wheldon has no problem with sharing the spotlight in a series where one-car teams struggle to stay competitive against powers like Team Penske and Target-Chip Ganassi Racing.

“He’s obviously very good, he has a really good feel for the car,” Wheldon said of Carpenter. “We can bounce ideas off one another confidently.”

And it goes both ways.

When Carpenter’s car had a part fail before practice in Chicago he bent Wheldon’s ear on how to handle qualifying. He ended up starting 11th in just his second start of the season.

That’s just teammates being teammates, Wheldon said. They’ve both been around long enough to know it doesn’t work if egos get involved.

“I think we’re obviously not threatened by one another in terms of where we’re at in our careers,” Wheldon said.

Certainly not Carpenter. Though he jokes that there are days when he feels old when he sees tiny flecks of gray on the periphery of his blonde hair, he knows he’s not.

“I’m obviously not ready for my career to be over,” he said.

Neither is his new team. Though Carpenter admits in a “perfect world” Vision would find enough funding to unpack the boxes and reopen the shop, he’s happy and appreciative of his new gig.

So is Panther.

“I think he’s a top-six guy right now, I really do,” Barnes said. “He isn’t underappreciated by Panther, I can tell you that.”