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The buildup hasn't reached Danica Patrick status yet, but Ed Carpenter is fast becoming the next Indy Racing League driver being asked: When are you going to win?

Carpenter, driver of the No. 20 Menards/Vision Racing machine, he welcomes the inquiry.

"It's starting to get asked more and more, which is a good sign," said Carpenter, who enters this weekend's Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course with 76 career starts. "I think if people start asking you about it then they're starting to expect you to win or have the chance to win."

Carpenter and Vision Racing are trying to speed up the process, at least on road courses. The team hired former CART and American Le Mans Series driver Bryan Herta to coach Carpenter and teammate A.J. Foyt IV. The tips could come in handy this weekend as the IRL visits Mid-Ohio for the second consecutive year (1:30 p.m. Sunday; ABC). Carpenter started and finished 16th at Mid-Ohio last year.

The 27-year-old from Indiana acknowledges, though, if win No. 1 is to come this season it'll likely be at Kentucky Speedway or Chicagoland Speedway. Those are the only two remaining round tracks on the schedule this season.

And there's reason to root for him to get there. Carpenter has connections to the Miami Valley, excluding those trips to Wright State University's Nutter Center to watch his Butler Bulldogs (he's a 2003 Butler grad) take on the Raiders.

Carpenter won a quarter-midget title at Kil-Kare Speedway in 1996 and raced at Eldora Speedway a handful of times when running sprints with the United States Auto Club (USAC).

He enters Mid-Ohio 10th in points and needs a solid run at the 2.25-mile course (85 laps; 191.93 miles) to stay there.

"For sure there's more pressure right now," said Carpenter, who is in position for his best points finish. "I definitely don't want to drop out of the top 10 in points. ... It's a physical track. It's not a super-long track so you don't get much of a break. It's a pretty up-tempo race track."

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2400, ext. 6991 or gbilling@DaytonDailyNews.com.