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Butler Bulldogs Logo On Carpenter's Car For Indy 500

Topics: Ed Carpenter, Indianapolis 500

Butler Bulldogs Logo On Carpenter's Car For Indy 500

Tom Blattler
Ed Carpenter Racing
May 26, 2012

Butler Bulldogs Logo On Carpenter's Car For Indy 500

May 26th 2012 - INDIANAPOLIS – Ed Carpenter, the only team owner/driver in Sunday’s Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, will have his university’s support when he takes the green flag at world’s most famous racing facility in the 96th running of the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing.”

Butler University, just eight miles from the legendary Speedway, has announced the Butler Athletics logo will be proudly displayed on Carpenter’s No. 20 Fuzzy’s Ultra Premium Vodka Chevrolet IndyCar in Sunday’s 500-Mile Race.

Carpenter, a 2003 graduate from Butler’s College of Business in marketing, has gained verbal support from Butler and its many alumni over the past eight years in his racing in the famed Indy 500, but this year marks the first time the university will display a logo on his car.

This year’s race marks the first time Carpenter has entered the event as a team owner with Ed Carpenter Racing, based at 4035 Championship Dr., Indianapolis.

“I am so thrilled to have the Butler Athletics logo adorning our Fuzzy’s Vodka Chevrolet in Sunday’s Indy 500,” said Carpenter, who won at IMS in 2003 just a few days after graduation when he captured the Freedom 200 Indy Lights race. “We have had so much support over the years from the Butler alums, students, facility and fans that it will be an honor to carry the Butler colors this Sunday in the race. I want thank President Danko, Coach Stevens, Michael Kaltenmark and others for their participation with our team effort. We look forward to strong race Sunday.”

Carpenter is one of the few college graduates in the 33-driver starting field and Butler is within earshot of the school’s campus. Butler’s logo on Carpenter’s car marks the first time the school colors have been carried on a car in the race.

"Ed Carpenter is certainly one of Butler's most prominent alumni and we are honored that he will proudly display the Butler colors for the Indy 500,” said James Danko, president of Butler University. “Ed is not only a highly capable driver and IZOD IndyCar Series race winner, but off the track he conducts himself in a manner representative of the Butler Way. Seeing the recognizable Butler Bulldog logo take the green flag on the side of the No. 20 car this Sunday will be a proud moment for the entire Butler family. Needless to say, we're all pulling for Ed and Ed Carpenter Racing to represent Butler all the way to Victory Lane."

In addition to Carpenter, Butler is represented with the team’s primary sponsor, Fuzzy’s Ultra Premium Vodka, as Fuzzy’s CEO Eric Timmerman is a 1997 BU graduate. Fuzzy’s has been involved with the Indy 500 in previous years, but the 2012 racing tour is the first time the Indianapolis-based corporation has served as a primary sponsor for a racing team throughout the entire IZOD IndyCar Series.

Fuzzy’s Vodka was created by legendary Indiana professional golfer Fuzzy Zoeller and Fuzzy’s Vodka recently captured the Ultimate Beverage Challenge in New York City as the best unflavored vodka. Ed Carpenter Racing debuted in March at St. Petersburg, Fla., and the Indy 500 marks the team’s fifth start in the 2012 campaign. Information on Ed Carpenter Racing is available on the team’s new website at www.edcarpenterracing.com. Fuzzy’s Ultra Premium Vodka information can be obtained at www.fuzzyvodka.com.