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Patrick Carpentier glad to be back in stock car, exploring options for rest of '09
By Lee Montgomery - Associate Editor
Saturday, May 09, 2009
DARLINGTON, S.C. – Patrick Carpentier was back in a NASCAR stock car this weekend, and he hopes he can return for some more races.
Carpentier was a last-minute replacement for David Green in SK Motorsports’ No. 07 Nationwide Series Toyota at Darlington Raceway, making his first start of 2009.
He finished 17th in Friday night’s Diamond Hill Plywood 200 in what is a one-race deal, for now.
“They called me last Friday and said, ‘Well, we’re thinking down the road to make a change and see what happens,’” Carpentier said before the race. “I didn’t hear nothing, and then on Tuesday, they said, ‘Well, do you want to race this weekend?’”
Carpentier’s voice then rises: “Yeah, for sure.”
Carpentier was a rookie in the Sprint Cup Series last year, starting the season with the team now known as Richard Petty Motorsports. But he was let go before the end of the season and has been out of work since.
He’s been frustrated by sitting on the sidelines, knowing that seat time is the only way he can improve in stock cars after spending most of his career in open-wheel.
“It was a little bit because I know it takes a few years,” Carpentier said. “You don’t come here and start setting the world on fire when you come from open-wheel. You’ve got a lot to learn. It’s a tough sport, and there’s so many things to learn with the cars. We don’t have computers and data. You’ve got to go with the seat of your pants, and that’s what takes the longest, truly to know what you want in the race car.”
He wishes he would have gotten at least another year in Cup, and he cites Penske Racing’s Sam Hornish Jr. as an example of a driving who is improving from his rookie season.
“You look at Sam Hornish,” Carpentier said. “He was struggling last [year] and is starting to run pretty good now. It’s just time, and I wish I would’ve had more time.”
Could he get more in the Nationwide Series this year? He does have at least one more race scheduled, at Montreal for Michael Waltrip Racing. Carpentier said he’s talking to some other Nationwide teams, including the first-year SK Motorsports team.
“We’re talking, we’re pushing. And we’re talking to a couple more teams also," he said. "We’ll see, but just being here and being in a car – finally – always helps.”
Mentioned Drivers:
2009 Sprint Cup Race for the Chase Standings
Driver Standings after the Checker O'Reilly Auto Parts 500
| 1 | Jimmie Johnson | 6492 |
| 2 | Mark Martin | -108 |
| 3 | Jeff Gordon | -169 |
| 4 | Kurt Busch | -211 |
| 5 | Tony Stewart | -285 |
| 6 | Juan Pablo Montoya | -289 |
| 7 | Greg Biffle | -321 |
| 8 | Denny Hamlin | -352 |
| 9 | Ryan Newman | -411 |
| 10 | Kasey Kahne | -476 |
| 11 | Carl Edwards | -520 |
| 12 | Brian Vickers | -666 |
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Comments
6 responses to "Patrick Carpentier glad to be back in stock car, exploring options for rest of '09". Post a Comment.
Wade Barger said:
May 9, 2009 at 11:07 AMI was pleasantly surprised to see him in the race on Friday. Patrick didn't get a fair shot the first time around, let's hope someone gives him a second chance. He's a great racer and a nice dose of personality for NASCAR.
Report as AbuseReport Abuse
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» Confirm Abuse ReportMary Reeson said:
May 9, 2009 at 12:21 PMI want to say how glad I was to see you racing again last night.
Report as AbuseI hope we get to see a lot more of you soon!
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» Confirm Abuse ReportJ. L. Steele said:
May 9, 2009 at 1:18 PMSo help me figure something out. They thought a guy with just a few NASCAR starts can figure the car out better than a guy with a championship and several series wins?! I know it takes a lot of money to run a race team. I just didn't know it took so little brains. David Green has done a tremendous job with this team. I was upset about this move when I heard it yesterday. I think I'm even madder today!
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» Confirm Abuse ReportKate Butkowsky said:
May 9, 2009 at 3:12 PMIt seems there's nothing to not like about Carpentier, it was great to see him in the race last night...hope we'll be seeing much more of him!
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» Confirm Abuse Reportrandy hayes said:
May 10, 2009 at 3:11 AMGo back to ARCA.THAT'S WHERE YOU BELONG.
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» Confirm Abuse ReportAndrew Briscoe said:
May 10, 2009 at 12:21 PMHow does he belong in a series that he's never raced in? He's been successful in Champ Car which is certainly above ARCA, so how does he belong there? Go bash him somewhere else.
Report as AbuseAs for the race, I thought it was great to see him back in NASCAR. I don't like that SK just up and replaced David, but that's NASCAR. I think SK is just going through the struggles most upstart teams face, but will sort it all out eventually.
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