Patrick Carpentier

Patrick Carpentier (often informally known as Pat or Patrique) is a Canada racing driver from Quebec. He has spent 2005 driving for the Red Bull-sponsored team ran by Eddie Cheever in the Indy Racing League. Before this he spent a nearly a decade in the rival ChampCar series, with Bettenhausen as a rookie but subsequently always in the team ran by Gerry Forysthe. In his early years he was prone to missing races through injuries, some of which originated off-track.

Related Topics:
Canada - Quebec - Red Bull - Eddie Cheever - Indy Racing League - ChampCar - Bettenhausen - Gerry Forysthe

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

His first ChampCar victory came in 2001 at Michigan, taking third in the championship in 2002. A slightly disappointing 2003 compared to title-winning team-mate Paul Tracy weakened his position within the team, and he was briefly fired for 2004, being reinstated in a third car for the team, allegedly because of his marketing popularity in his homeland (team boss Gerry Forsythe was also a part-owner of the series).

Related Topics:
Michigan - Paul Tracy

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Despite beating Tracy to third in the championship, he left the team and the series for 2005. Due to his excellent record in oval races (which make up most of the IRL schedule but are now virtually extinct in Champ Car, he was expected to do well, but uncompetitive Toyota engines have prevented this. He lives in Quebec with his wife and daughter.

Related Topics:
IRL - Champ Car - Toyota

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~