Carpentier committed to NASCAR, hopes to stay with Gillett Evernham
Patrick Carpentier says that he should know by Aug. 15 what his future with Gillett Evernham Motorsports holds, but the NASCAR rookie isn't obsessing over his contract status at this point. Instead, he's focusing on running in both the Sprint Cup and Nationwide series races on the road course at Watkins Glen International this weekend, a pair of events in which he expects to perform well.
Carpentier finished second in the Nationwide Series race on the road course in Montreal last weekend, so he's already primed for a winding track. He says that he and his team have been steadily improving over the course of the last five weeks and that could pay off for them this weekend.
As to his contract status, Carpentier's future with the team seems to hinge on sponsorship for his No. 10 car.
Asked what could be the largest factor in the process, the former open-wheel driver frankly assessed the situation.
"Money," he said. "You know how racing is, it's always guided by sponsorship. They've done an amazing job this year to get my car sponsored. I think they've found like $5 million in sponsorship during the year, so it's a lot. It's quite an achievement. … I think I'm going to stay there, but you never know in life and it's racing, so things change pretty quickly."
Carpentier says that he enjoys both working with the team and with his sponsors. And while he knows that his future is, in some ways, on the line, that doesn't add to the pressure to perform this weekend. He says that he plans to just focus on what he can help - his racing performance. Carpentier has qualified for 17 consecutive races despite being outside the top 35 in owners points. He has missed three races this season, but two of those were because of rained-out qualifying sessions that forced him to miss the field based on the team's points position from last season.
In recent weeks, he has clearly gained both a level of confidence and comfort in the car, two factors that could help his team continue to boost its performance.
And he's fallen in love with NASCAR. Carpentier admits that parts of the transition have been more wearing than he anticipated, but he cannot imagine leaving the series. Asked if he would consider a return to open-wheel racing, Carpentier was quite definitive in his answer.
"I'll never go back to open wheel," he said. "If I don't race NASCAR, I'm just not going to race. I'm going to race the Grand-Am Series or things like that, but for me I'm not going back to open wheel. When I stopped in '05 it was because I decided to stop. I like NASCAR and I like the ovals and that's what I want to do."
A couple of teams have approached people working for the driver about Carpentier's future, but he's told everyone he cannot talk until Aug. 15. Some appeared willing to wait past that date.
"So I think I'm going to race Sprint Cup and Nationwide next year," Carpentier said.
As to his current situation, Carpentier says it's nothing new.
This is just how racing is - a lot of waiting on sponsorship before one can solidify plans.
"I cannot sponsor myself, so you've just got to wait and see what decisions they make … I'm trying to give them everything I have," he said. " … I hope I can do it for many years to come. I think I can perform pretty well with them and for them, so we'll see what happens. It's in their hands and we'll know this month, I think."
He admits that there is a little stress involved, but Carpentier seems to thrive on it. Soon, he'll know where he stands for 2009. Until then, he just wants to run well and have a shot at the win in his Watkins Glen races.
"It's a little bit stressful, for sure, when you've got some of that uncertainty it's always stressful, but you know what, it keeps you awake and keeps you performing your best," he said. "For me, I'm always in favor of a year-by-year contract, because I think it's human nature to just perform better because you just always want to do well because you want to stay in it, so I don't really mind."
