IndyCar: 5 possible landing spots for Marcus Ericsson in 2024
By Asher Fair
Marcus Ericsson IndyCar landing spots: No. 5 – Ed Carpenter Racing
Ed Carpenter Racing know they haven’t been where they want to be over the last few years, and their decision to drop Conor Daly for the veteran Ryan Hunter-Reay not even halfway through the 2023 season shows that they are willing to take chances to make a long-awaited step forward.
Depending on how this team progresses throughout the remainder of the 2023 season with an IndyCar champion and Indy 500 winner behind the wheel of the No. 20 Chevrolet, Ed Carpenter Racing could be an attractive option for Marcus Ericsson next year.
Even as things stand right now with the team’s recent struggles across the calendar, what Ericsson would know for a fact that he can do with Ed Carpenter Racing is win the Indy 500 for a second time.
Rinus VeeKay just turned the second fastest four-lap front row average in Indy 500 history this past year and led laps for the third straight year. He has never qualified worse than fourth place in four Indy 500 starts, and he has now started on the front row for three straight years.
Team owner Ed Carpenter takes exception to the suggestion that his cars don’t race as well as they qualify at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and while the team’s results haven’t matched their qualifying performance, he is right to feel that way.
VeeKay would have been in contention for the win this year not for a pit road mishap, and Conor Daly, who recorded just three total top 10 finishes in three-plus seasons with the team, scored Indy 500 finishes of sixth and eighth place in 2022 and 2023.
Next. All-time IndyCar wins list. dark
Even joining an improved Ed Carpenter Racing might be a step down for Ericsson, but it might be his best bet to having another glass of milk.