IndyCar: 3 teams that still need drivers for the 2022 season
By Asher Fair
Teams that still need drivers for 2022: No. 2 – Ed Carpenter Racing
Much of Ed Carpenter Racing’s driver lineup for the 2022 IndyCar season is set. In fact, they are the only team on this list that don’t need to fill a seat for an entire season.
Rinus VeeKay is set to return for a third year behind the wheel of the #21 Chevrolet, and team owner Ed Carpenter is set to drive the #20 Chevrolet in just the oval races for the ninth year.
But there is no confirmed driver for the #20 Chevrolet in the 12 road and street course races on next year’s 17-race schedule. Conor Daly drove the car in these races in 2020 and 2021, but there is no guarantee that he will be back in 2022.
Additionally, U.S. Air Force will not be back as a primary sponsor of the car for what would have been a third year, leaving Daly’s future even more uncertain after two seasons without a top 10 finish (at Ed Carpenter Racing; he did record four top 10 finishes in oval races at Carlin in 2020).
Heavily linked to this ride is Ryan Hunter-Reay, whose 12-year run with Andretti Autosport came to an end following the 2021 season. Hunter-Reay tested for the team at Barber Motorsports Park in October, and Carpenter was happy with his test but unwilling to commit to a driver.
Kyle Kirkwood and Oliver Askew were said to be in the mix, but the former is set to drive the #14 Chevrolet for A.J. Foyt Enterprises and the latter is set to compete for Michael Andretti’s team in Formula E. So it appears to be down to Daly and Hunter-Reay.