2016 IndyCar Preseason Power Rankings

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Jul 12, 2015; West Allis, WI, USA; Verizon IndyCar Series driver Ed Carpenter during qualifying for the ABC Supply Wisconsin 250 at Milwaukee Mile Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports /

22. Ed Carpenter

Carpenter’s inclusion on this list at all is predicated on the assumption that he’s going to find another driver to pilot the No. 20 car on the street and road courses – if he doesn’t, then there’s automatically no way he can contend for a title. But even if he does, who is that person going to be and will they be good enough to get the car into the contending conversation? We just don’t have enough information to know whether or not the 20 will have anything for the other teams in 2016.

Even in the half-dozen races with Carpenter behind the wheel, the No. 20 struggled in 2015. His best finish was sixth at Iowa (which admittedly might have been better if he hadn’t tangled with Sage Karam, leading to their now infamous post-race spat that IndyCar used for promotional material in their #IndyRivals ad campaign). In four of the six oval races, Carpenter finished outside the Top 15, including one race where he and CFH Racing teammate Josef Newgarden were both involved in the same incident. It was just a bad year all around, and it’s too early to say if the off-season shift of CFH Racing dissolving and re-forming back into Ed Carpenter Racing will help or hurt the organization.

There’s no denying that Carpenter is a talented driver and a shrewd owner. But by virtue of recognizing that he’s best at oval racing, he’s also tying his success in IndyCar to whomever he can get to drive the road and street courses. Unless he happens to find someone who’s very talented on those tracks and also willing to only take a part-time drive, he’s not going to be a championship threat simply by the nature of his game plan.

Next: 21. Alexander Rossi