MADISON, Ill — Ed Carpenter Racing started off rough with them rolling off P20-P23-P27. It got rougher when Ed Carpenter punted Benjamin Pedersen on the opening lap sparking an avoidable contact penalty. However, the other two drivers shined.

Rinus VeeKay gained 9 spots to finish 11th while Ryan Hunter-Reay was a season best in his time for ECR 14th.

“All in all, a good day for the points,” Hunter-Reay said. “Our pace in clear air was as fast as some of the leaders. I felt really good about the car in clean air, but in traffic we were just stuck all day. The guys did a great job in the pits cycling through that process, but most importantly we came away with some good points.”

Hunter-Reay rolled off from the 23rd position after this morning’s qualifying. Through solid strategy and quick stops by the No. 20 BITNILE.COM Chevrolet crew, he moved up through the field. 

Once final pit stops had been completed, Hunter-Reay had settled into the 14th position. He was able to hold off competitors on fresher tires and keep the position through the checkered flag.

For the second race in a row, Rinus VeeKay narrowly missed out on a Top 10 finish. He started 20th today, immediately moving up three positions before the first turn. 

When the early-race caution period ended, VeeKay gained two more positions on the ensuing restart. Once the pit cycles began, VeeKay continued to move forward. He stayed near the Top 10 for the rest of the event, cycling as high as 4th.

VeeKay came into the pit lane for the final time on Lap 204. As the rest of the field made their last stops, VeeKay had slotted into 11th. He remained there for the remainder of the race, finishing 11th for the second time in two races.

“Pretty good race,” he said. “Really good strategy by the team. It was a long one. I struggled a little bit to make passes happen in the train of cars. I wish I could’ve moved a bit through traffic, I struggled a little bit with that. I sat back most of the time and we made the right calls in strategy! For myself and Ryan (Hunter-Reay) to finish P11 and P14, it’s pretty good. I did not think this would happen after qualifying. Thanks to the BITNILE.COM No. 21 crew for great stops and strategy. Two back-to-back P11’s, we’re pretty pleased with that. On to the BITNILE.COM Grand Prix of Portland!”

This was a vast improvement from the other short oval on the schedule in Iowa. In that weekend, they went 17-23-24 on Saturday and 18-23-24 on Sunday.

VeeKay was 3 laps off pace on the Saturday race and -2 on Sunday. Carpenter was seven laps down on Saturday and six on Sunday. Hunter-Reay was -6 on Saturday and crashed out on Sunday.