Carpenter teams confirms Newgarden leaving for Penske

Newgarden has real reason to smile now – he will be driving an unbeatable Penske Shocks car

SPEEDWAY, Ind. (September 29, 2016) – Ed Carpenter Racing was informed today that Josef Newgarden will not be returning to the team for the 2017 Verizon IndyCar Series season. ECR will now begin evaluating all options for next season's driver lineup.

"While it's disappointing that Josef will not be returning, it's also not a total surprise after all of the speculation the past few weeks," stated team owner Ed Carpenter. "I wish Josef the best in his future endeavors, but also remain focused on ECR's continued success. We are positioned well moving into 2017 and I have total confidence that we will continue to deliver the high level of performance we expect as a team."

Since entering the Verizon IndyCar Series in 2012, ECR has scored seven victories with three different drivers, including a 1-2 finish last year in the streets of Toronto. The first three wins of Newgarden’s career came after joining forces with ECR in 2015. When 2016 season concluded two weeks ago in Sonoma, Calif., Newgarden earned a career-best fourth place finish in the championship standings.

Carpenter will continue to pilot the No. 20 Fuzzy’s Ultra Premium Vodka Chevrolet during the oval events in 2017. ECR’s remaining lineup will be announced at a later date.