In 2009, Carpenter returned with Vision Racing in the No. 20 Dallara-Honda and started off with poor performances in the first two races – both street circuits – at the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg and the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. Carpenter then achieved back-to-back top 10 finishes on the ovals at the RoadRunner Turbo Indy 300 at Kansas Speedway with a 9th-place finish, and at the Indianapolis 500, Carpenter qualified in 17th place and finished in 8th place. The day after the ABC Supply Company A. J. Foyt 225 at the Milwaukee Mile – where Carpenter finished in 16th place, 6 laps down – Carpenter's wife Heather gave birth to their second child, Ryder. Carpenter got his best finish of the season at the Meijer Indy 300 at Kentucky, leading 34 laps before finishing 0.0162 seconds behind Ryan Briscoe following a pitched side-by-side battle. Carpenter finished out the season ranked in 12th place, with 321 points.