Alexander Rossi joins Ed Carpenter Racing; Carpenter only doing Indy 500

The final significant IndyCar Silly Season domino has fallen: Alexander Rossi is joining Ed Carpenter Racing , the team announced Wednesday.

The news comes a day after Rinus VeeKay announced he and ECR had failed to agree on a new contract after five seasons and four podium finishes. Christian Rasmussen will become a full-time driver for the team. Rossi and Rasmussen\ were signed to multiple-year deals, according to the news release, though no details were provided. Team co-owner Ed Carpenter will only drive in the Indianapolis 500.

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Rossi, who will pilot the No. 20 car, finished 10th in the IndyCar standings this season in his second year with Arrow McLaren, with 10 top 10 finishes and one podium. He only finished outside the top 10 in 2024 due to fluke crashes or mechanical failures largely outside his own doing. Rossi is an eight-time race winner, most famously winning the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500.

“We are very excited about our lineup, and other partnership announcements that will be forthcoming,": Carpenter said in a news release. "As excited as I am about these additions, I also want to thank Rinus (VeeKay) for his five years with the team. It is always hard to say goodbye to a teammate and a friend, but I am confident that Rinus' career will continue to blossom. As we look ahead to 2025 and beyond, I am fully focused on getting ECR back to new heights, winning races and contending for championships.”

Carpenter put Rasmussen in the No. 20 car for the season finale to secure one of the final Leaders Circle positions, finishing 21st to land approximately $1 million. VeeKay finished 13th in the standings.

Rossi previously told IndyStar leaving McLaren was a mutual decision.

“This team has their own responsibilities, and I have my own, too, and that’s where it ends," Rossi said . "No one’s going to make massive sacrifices to get to a place. That’s just not the way things work. We just have to look at all of this as a pretty cool experience, for me, to have been part of this team’s growth and witness individuals come into the sport from having never seen an Indy car and go through quite a challenging up-and-down learning year in 2023 to having one of the stronger seasons I’ve had in quite some time in the championship and continuing that and maximizing everything. I take a lot of pride in how I was able to help get us to that point.”

Rossi was the most established free agent driver available but his options were limited. Joining Ganassi likely meant competing as its fourth driver, not having a charter and having to qualify for each race; the team decided to trim back from 5 full-time entries to 3.

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With Ganassi dropping to 3 full-time drivers, Marcus Armstrong moved to Meyer Shank Racing, filling its open position. MSR has a technical alliance with Ganassi and Armstrong brings funding and promise, making him a good fit. Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing has made its preference for younger drivers clear and PREMA would be a new team without charters and, despite an excellent track record in other series, likely take time to become competitive in IndyCar.

"I’m honored that Ed (Carpenter) and the entire ECR ownership group recognize the value I can bring to the team,” said Rossi in the news release. “Their commitment to excellence, along with the power of Chevrolet and the ambitious plans they have for the future made this opportunity impossible to pass up.”

Ted Gelov, the owner of Carmel-based Heartland Food Products Group , has joined Ed Carpenter Racing as co-owner of the IndyCar Series team. Heartland produces Splenda sweetener and Java House coffee.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Alexander Rossi joins Ed Carpenter Racing; Carpenter only doing Indy 500