Conway to return to Carpenter-Fisher Racing for non-ovals in 2015 (Update)
08/23/14
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| Mike Conway |
Mike Conway's driving plans for 2015 depend on series schedules that have not yet been announced, but he hopes to remain part of Carpenter's team in a part-time role.
Conway has won two races this season (Long Beach and the second in Toronto), sharing the No. 20 car with Carpenter.
For next year, Conway is committed to the new Formula E series (all-electric cars) with Dragon Racing and expects to return to the FIA's World Endurance Championship (a sports car series) with Toyota.
Conway, 31, was ready to quit the sport two years ago after announcing he didn't want to race on oval tracks. He asked his father, Michael, for a job in the family's road construction business.
"An office job," he said Friday. "He said, 'Don't give up so easy.' "
That's when Conway decided to try sports cars; he won four WEC races last year.
"I'm glad (my dad) didn't have a job for me," he said.
"I'm a lot more excited than I was a week ago, and it's just (about getting) answers," said SFHR general manager Andy O'Gara, whose wife is Sarah Fisher. "Twenty-four hours is a lot of time (in meetings)."
O'Gara said the two single-car teams almost literally will combine to make one organization in SFHR's still-new Speedway, Ind., shop. The employee positions of CFH Racing will remain mostly the same. So will most of the tasks.
O'Gara and ECR general manager Tim Broyles are expected to share shop responsibilities, and O'Gara will continue to lead the work behind the No. 67 car, including race-weekend strategies.
O'Gara said some of Fisher's behind-the-scenes responsibilities will be relieved through the combining of resources, but it "won't change her authority or ownership."
Ed Carpenter and Wink Hartman also will share ownership of the team.
Still to be resolved, O'Gara confirmed, is the driver of the No. 67 car. Current driver Josef Newgarden has a contract in hand, but he has not signed it.
Indy Star