Carpenter turns most laps after celebrating birthday

Ed Carpenter was glued to the seat of the Nos. 20 and 2 Vision Racing cars during the second day of testing on the Sebring International Raceway course.

Carpenter recorded a field-high 171 laps on the 1.7-mile, 11-turn circuit in preparation for the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on April 6. Carpenter and teammate A.J. Foyt IV combined for 314 laps, and exchanged cars midway through the afternoon session.

"We had a lot of things to test today, so that was a reason for a lot of the laps," said Carpenter, who posted a quick lap of 54.1869 seconds (110.949 mph). "A.J. and I swapped cars, which was part of the plan, and I wasn't that tired so I just kept doing laps. I was happy to be in the car and can't wait for the season to start."

Carpenter spent the previous evening celebrating his 27th birthday.

"At the hotel, (wife) Heather got some ice cream cake and I had the joy of my entire crew – not only mine but A.J.'s too – sing 'Happy Birthday,''' Carpenter said. "It's funny to hear a group of guys sitting around a hotel lobby singing, but it shows the kind of team we have and that we all get along."