For 2011, Carpenter moved to Sarah Fisher Racing, driving the No. 67 Dallara-Honda. The team competed in a partial season consisting of all the oval races andselect road course and street circuit races. Carpenter made his season début at the Indianapolis 500, where he qualified in 8th place and finished in 11th place after leading for 3 laps. In the Firestone Twin 275s at Texas Motor Speedway, Carpenter started the opening race in 5th place and finished in 18th place. For the second race, Carpenter drew a 10th place starting position – via a random draw – and finished in 16th place. Following the two Texas races, Carpenter and the team began to struggle in qualifying and Carpenter had a best start of 14th place at the Iowa Corn Indy 250 at Iowa. Carpenter further struggled on the non-oval races, which resulted in his best finishes being a trio of 11th-place finishes at Indianapolis, Iowa and the MoveThatBlock.com Indy 225 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. At the penultimate race of the season, the Kentucky Indy 300 at Kentucky, Carpenter started in 4th place and led for 8 laps. In the late stages of the race, Carpenter battled with Chip Ganassi Racing's Dario Franchitti, who was in a championship battle with Will Power. Carpenter beat Franchitti by 0.0098 seconds – the series' closest finish at the track – to record his first series victory.