Ed Carpenter Racing’s number 20 car will have two familiar faces this season. With Ed once again driving the car on the oval races for 2017, the team was in search for a driver to pilot the car on all of the road and street races. That driver is Spencer Pigot, who returns to the team after filling the same role last season.

Pigot began his Verizon IndyCar Series career last year with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, competing in three events. He then ran the remaining seven road/street course races for Carpenter’s team, with a best finish of 7th at Mid-Ohio. Although it isn’t a full-time ride, he will race in 11 of the 17 events this season.

“I’m very excited to be staying with Ed Carpenter Racing for the 2017 season,” Pigot stated. “It’s a great feeling to know that I have a secure ride for all of the road and street course races so we can start preparing for the season now. I can’t thank everyone at ECR, P1 Management and Rising Star Racing enough for their help getting this deal done.”

The 23-year old from California has demonstrated his talent behind the wheel. He won the Indy Lights championship in 2015, and the Pro Mazda title in 2014 with Juncos Racing. Before that, he won 11 races in two seasons in USF2000, where he was runner up in the championship each year.

“We are happy to have Spencer back. It was a challenging situation for him to step into the team last year mid-season as a rookie. We believe that Spencer has the potential to be a contender in this sport and we will continue to focus on maximizing that potential. We are anticipating a strong sophomore campaign from Spencer.”

Pigot will join teammate JR Hildebrand in St Petersburg, where the season officially begins with practice on March 10.

With the expected departure of KVSH Racing, and the unlikely return of a talented driver like Mikhail Aleshin, it is nice to see a young driver like Pigot stick with a great organization like Ed Carpenter Racing.