Derrick Walker is shaping up to have a busy 2012, as he was confirmed Friday as team manager for the newly formed Ed Carpenter Racing IZOD IndyCar Series team.
Walker, who will also continue to manage the Team Falken Tire squad in the American Le Mans Series as in 2011, joins ECR to oversee the team on race weekends and provide the team's working base. This will allow Carpenter to focus on driving and not team ownership while at the track.
“Personally, he won't be able to do it any other way,” Walker said. “The series is very competitive and you just can't cover both bases effectively. Hopefully we [Carpenter and team co-owner Tony George] are there to carry that load and help set it up.”
Walker's Indianapolis shop will house both the Falken ALMS and Fuzzy's Vodka-backed Carpenter IndyCar teams. The team has ordered two Dallara chassis and plans to announce its engine manufacturer shortly.
The IndyCar 2012 calendar has not been released in full, but there would only be minor conflicts where the series compete at different events on the same weekend. One potential conflict would be the weekend of July 6-8, when the ALMS races at Lime Rock Park and IndyCar is scheduled to run the streets of Toronto. IndyCar and ALMS have three scheduled joint weekends, at Long Beach in April, Mid-Ohio in August and Baltimore in September.