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CART Rookie Of The Year Released

Patrick Carpentier has been released from his contract to pursue a ride with another CART team. The announcement was made this week by Tony Bettenhausen, owner of Bettenhausen Motorsports which campaigned the Team Alumax entry driven by Carpentier in 1997.

Tony Bettenhausen

"We had an exciting season with Patrick," Bettenhausen said. "But I think everyone is in agreement that it (the season) did not come up to our expectations or Patrick's. So after the season ended, we sat down and discussed whether or not a change might be the best thing for everyone concerned.

"We came to the conclusion that releasing Patrick would be in order and he was in agreement. This is an amicable parting. We appreciate the effort he gave us in 1997 both on and off the track. We are proud that he won the ‘Rookie of the Year' award and he nearly won the St. Louis race for us, in addition to giving us some great runs in other races. He was very popular with our sponsors and their guests as well as the fans. So we thank him for everything and wish him all the best."

"I want to thank Tony and all of the people at Bettenhausen Motorsports and Alumax who made my first season in CART possible," added Carpentier. "It was an honor to be able to win the ‘Rookie of the Year' award and because it was my first season in CART, I will always have special memories of my time with Team Alumax and Bettenhausen Motorsports. They are a terrific team and I wish them well in the future."

Carpentier, who won the Player's/Toyota Atlantic Championship in 1996, was chosen over three other rookie drivers and named as driver of the Team Alumax entry in November of last year. He started the first 14 CART/PPG Cup races this past season, but was forced to miss the last three events after being injured in a pair of accidents.

His best result came in the Motorola 300 near St. Louis, where he finished a close second to fellow Canadian Paul Tracy after leading 25 laps. He scored points-paying finishes in four other races and led 13 laps in the U.S. 500 before retiring with mechanical problems. He also qualified in the top 10 on four occasions, including Nazareth, where he started third to equal a team record for best starting position. Carpentier finished 17th in the PPG Cup standings with 27 points, enabling him to win the aforementioned "Rookie of the Year" award.

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