Pancho Carter

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Duane "Pancho" Carter
Carter at the 2011 Indianapolis 500
BornDuane Claude Carter Jr.
(1950-06-11) June 11, 1950 (age 73)
Racine, Wisconsin, U.S.
Championship titles
USAC Midget (1972)
USAC Sprint Car (1974, 1976)
USAC Silver Crown (1978)
Major victories
Michigan 500 (1981)
Champ Car career
165 races run over 20 years
Best finish3rd (1981)
First race1974 Indianapolis 500 (Indianapolis)
Last race1992 Michigan 500 (Michigan)
First win1981 Michigan 500 (Michigan)
Wins Podiums Poles
1 14 1
NASCAR Cup Series career
14 races run over 6 years
Best finish38th (1986)
First race1985 Southern 500 (Darlington)
Last race1995 UAW-GM Teamwork 500 (Pocono)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 0 0

Duane Claude Carter Jr.[1] (born June 11, 1950), nicknamed "Pancho," is an American retired open-wheel racing driver. Best known for his participation in Championship car racing, he won the pole position for the 1985 Indianapolis 500, and won the Michigan 500 in 1981.

Racing career[edit]

Midget cars[edit]

Carter's national career began while racing in a midget car. He won the 1972 USAC midget car championship. He won the 1972 and 1975 Hut Hundred. He had 23 midget car feature wins by the time he left the series in 1978.[2]

Sprint cars[edit]

Carter won the 1974 and 1976 national USAC sprint car championships. He was the first driver to win the two USAC championships – midgets and sprint cars. He has wins in three USAC divisions – midgets, sprints and Silver Crown (formerly known as dirt cars).

On May 30, 1977, Carter won two USAC Midget features, one USAC sprint feature and finished second in the second USAC sprint feature at Salem Speedway on a day the temperatures were near 100 degrees. This was one day after he finished 15th in the Indianapolis 500.[2]

Carter ran well on dirt and pavement, but was exceptional on the paved high banks at Winchester and Salem, Indianapolis, and Dayton, Ohio. He won the Joe James/Pat O'Conner Memorial race at the half-mile at Salem, Indiana, on four consecutive occasions.

Carter was seriously injured during a testing crash at Phoenix International Speedway in November 1977. The injuries left him with a permanent disability in one of his legs that hampered his ability to perform well on road courses. He still ran very well on ovals. He made his return to racing at the end of March in 1978, winning a USAC Sprint race at the paved five-eighths mile Indianapolis Raceway Park on Saturday night and at the high-banked half-mile Winchester Speedway the next day – his first races back in the cockpit of a racecar.

Carter was inducted in the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame in 1990,[2] and the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in 1991.

Indianapolis cars[edit]

Carter qualifying for the 1987 Indianapolis 500

Carter drove his first Indianapolis 500 in 1974. He finished seventh, and was awarded the Rookie of the Year. In 1981 he finished third in the CART championship and captured his only Indy Car win at Michigan International Speedway. He finished third in the 1982 Indianapolis 500 behind the now-famous duel between Gordon Johncock and Rick Mears. In 1985, Carter drove the brand new Buick V6 engine to the pole position of the 1985 Indianapolis 500. He retired with mechanical problems after completing just six laps, becoming the first pole-sitter since Cliff Woodbury to finish dead-last. His last year as a full-time Indy Car driver was 1990 and his last appearance in an indy car was failing to qualify for the 1994 Indianapolis 500. In more recent years, Carter has served as a spotter for Sam Hornish Jr., Vítor Meira, Dillon Battistini, Dan Wheldon, Martin Plowman and Adrián Campos Jr. In 2019, he was the spotter for rookie Santino Ferrucci, who finished seventh, as the Rookie of the Year, at the Indianapolis 500. This was the same as Carter in his 500 debut.

NASCAR[edit]

Carter passes Eddie Bierschwale at Pocono in 1986

From 1985–1995 Carter ran 14 NASCAR Winston Cup Series races for multiple owners. His first start was at Darlington Raceway in 1985, which was the Southern 500. The race was best known for Bill Elliott locking up the Winston Million, Carter finished in 22nd. Carter began the 1986 season driving for Elmo Langley; at the 1986 Daytona 500, he and Kyle Petty were involved in a turn one accident, thus winding up in 34th place. After three races with Langley's team, he moved to driving for Roger Hamby,[3] competing in six more races that year; he posted his best career NASCAR finish with Hamby, a seventeenth-place finish at the Michigan International Speedway. In 1990, he competed at Atlanta Motor Speedway, driving for Paul Romine;[4] he drove for Donlavey Racing at Charlotte Motor Speedway in 1992,[5] and his final two races in Winston Cup competition came for Triad Motorsports at Atlanta Motor Speedway in 1994, where he tied his career-best finish, and Pocono Raceway in 1995.[6]

In 1995, Pancho also raced two Craftsman Truck Series races,[7] driving for Enerjetix Motorsports.[8]

Post-racing career[edit]

Carter currently acts as a spotter for Dale Coyne Racing.[9]

Personal life[edit]

He is the son of Indycar racer Duane Carter. He was born while his parents were on the way to a race at the Milwaukee Mile.[9] His father's nickname was "Pappy". Pappy referred to his wife's pregnancy as "little paunch," so they nicknamed the child Pancho.[2] Carter is the half-brother of Johnny Parsons. His full brother, Dana Carter, also raced in USAC midgets, sprints and Silver Crown. He died of a heart attack in the early 1980s.[10]

Carter is a graduate of California State University, Long Beach.[3] He is married, to Carla; they have two children, and their son Cole is an aspiring racer.[9]

Motorsports career results[edit]

American open-wheel racing[edit]

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)

USAC Champ Car/Gold Crown Series[edit]

USAC Champ Car/Gold Crown results
Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Rank Points
1974 Fletcher Racing ONT ONT ONT PHX TRE INDY
7 		MIL POC
15 		MCH
9 		MIL
12 		MCH
2 		TRE
9 		TRE
6 		PHX
9 		12th 1040
1975 Fletcher Racing ONT
2 		ONT ONT
19 		PHX
8 		TRE INDY
4 		MIL
6 		POC
24 		MCH
4 		MIL
14 		MCH
8 		TRE
DNS 		PHX
8 		9th 1345
1976 All American Racers PHX
2 		TRE
7 		INDY
5 		MIL
18 		POC
14 		MCH TWS TRE MIL ONT
29 		MCH
DNS 		TWS
10 		PHX 12th 920
1977 All American Racers ONT
3 		PHX
20 		TWS
11 		TRE
9 		INDY
15 		MIL
5 		POC
20 		MOS MCH
10 		TWS
3 		MIL
2 		ONT
14 		MCH 8th 1420
Alex Morales Motorsports PHX
3
1978 Fletcher Racing PHX ONT TWS TRE INDY
24 		MOS
15 		MIL
21 		POC
10 		MCH
DNS 		ATL
11 		TWS
11 		MIL ONT
2 		MCH
18 		TRE
7 		SIL BRH PHX
9 		10th 1206
1979 Alex Morales Motorsports ONT TWS INDY
20 		MIL POC TWS MIL NC 0
1980 Alex Morales Motorsports ONT
18 		INDY
6 		MIL
4 		POC
6 		MDO
7 		5th 1078
1981-82 Alex Morales Motorsports INDY
28 		POC ILL DUQ ISF INDY
3 		NC 0

PPG Indycar Series[edit]

CART IndyCar World Series results
Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Rank Points Ref
1979 Alex Morales Motorsports PHX
20 		ATL
9 		ATL
11 		INDY
20 		TRE
10 		TRE
8 		MCH
7 		MCH
14 		WGL
16 		TRE
DNS 		ONT
28 		MCH
8 		ATL
13 		PHX
7 		13th 452 [11]
1980 Alex Morales Motorsports ONT
18 		INDY
6 		MIL
4 		POC
6 		MDO
7 		MCH
3 		WGL
7 		MIL
22 		ONT
7 		MCH
7 		MEX
22 		PHX
19 		5th 1855 [12]
1981 Alex Morales Motorsports PHX
7 		MIL
20 		ATL
5 		ATL
5 		MCH
1 		RIV
10 		MIL
10 		MCH
18 		WGL
15 		MEX
6 		PHX
5 		3rd 166 [13]
1982 Alex Morales Motorsports PHX
6 		ATL
10 		MIL
13 		CLE
19 		MCH
18 		MIL
6 		POC
28 		RIV
19 		ROA
11 		MCH
12 		PHX
11 		17th 47 [14]
1983 Alex Morales Motorsports ATL
16 		INDY
7 		MIL
14 		CLE
8 		MCH
6 		ROA
7 		POC
6 		RIV
7 		MDO
10 		MCH
15 		CPL
6 		LAG
25 		PHX
10 		10th 53 [15]
1984 Galles Racing LBH PHX INDY
19 		MIL POR MEA CLE MCH
6 		ROA POC
7 		MDO SAN MCH PHX
7 		LAG CPL
11 		21st 22 [16]
1985 Galles Racing LBH
13 		INDY
33 		MIL
5 		POR
13 		MEA CLE
16 		MCH
16 		ROA POC
12 		MDO SAN
2 		MCH
10 		LAG PHX
7 		MIA 18th 33 [17]
1986 Galles Racing PHX LBH INDY
16 		MIL POR MEA CLE TOR MCH
3 		POC
3 		MDO SAN
15 		MCH ROA LAG PHX MIA 19th 28 [18]
1987 Machinists Union Racing LBH PHX INDY
27 		MIL POR MEA CLE TOR MCH
20 		POC
6 		ROA
14 		MDO
14 		NAZ
17 		LAG
12 		MIA
14 		25th 9 [19]
1988 Machinists Union Racing PHX LBH INDY
DNQ 		MIL POR CLE TOR MEA MCH POC MDO ROA NAZ LAG MIA NC - [20]
1989 Leader Card Racing PHX
7 		LBH
17 		INDY
22 		MIL
9 		DET
10 		POR
9 		CLE
14 		MEA
13 		TOR
27 		MCH
26 		POC
12 		MDO
28 		ROA
19 		NAZ
18 		LAG
24 		13th 18 [21]
1990 Leader Card Racing PHX
8 		LBH INDY
29 		MIL
15 		DET
9 		POR
15 		CLE
14 		MEA
18 		TOR
18 		MCH
18 		DEN VAN MDO ROA NAZ LAG 20th 9 [22]
1991 Arciero Racing SRF LBH PHX INDY
21 		MIL
14 		DET POR CLE MEA TOR 26th 3 [23]
Leader Card Racing MCH
10 		DEN VAN MDO ROA NAZ LAG
1992 Hemelgarn Racing SRF PHX LBH INDY
DNQ 		DET POR MIL 31st 2 [24]
Gilmore Racing NHA
11 		TOR MCH
17 		CLE ROA VAN MDO NAZ LAG
1994 McCormack Motorsports SRF PHX LBH INDY
DNQ 		MIL DET POR CLE TOR MCH MDO NHA VAN ROA NAZ LAG NC - [25]

Indianapolis 500[edit]

Year Chassis Engine Start Finish
1974 Eagle Offy 21st 7th
1975 Eagle Offy 18th 4th
1976 Eagle Offy 6th 5th
1977 Eagle Offy 8th 15th
1978 Lighning Cosworth 21st 24th
1979 Lighning Cosworth 17th 20th
1980 Penske Cosworth 8th 6th
1981 Penske Cosworth 10th 28th
1982 March Cosworth 10th 3rd
1983 March Cosworth 14th 7th
1984 March Cosworth 21st 19th
1985 March Buick 1st 33rd
1986 Lola Cosworth 14th 16th
1987 March Cosworth 29th 27th
1988 March Buick Qualifying Crash
1989 Lola Cosworth 32nd 22nd
1990 Lola Cosworth 22nd 29th
1991 Lola Buick 32nd 21st
1992 Lola Buick Failed to Qualify
1994 Lola Chevrolet Failed to Qualify

NASCAR[edit]

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Winston Cup Series[edit]

NASCAR Winston Cup Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 NWCC Pts Ref
1985 Ellington Racing 1 Chevy DAY RCH CAR ATL BRI DAR NWS MAR TAL DOV CLT RSD POC MCH DAY POC TAL MCH BRI DAR
22 		RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT CAR ATL RSD 88th 97 [26]
1986 Langley Racing 64 Ford DAY
34 		RCH CAR
23 		ATL
38 		BRI DAR NWS MAR 38th 706 [27]
Hamby Racing 17 Chevy TAL
18 		DOV CLT RSD POC
28 		MCH
17 		DAY
28 		POC TAL
40 		GLN
31 		MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT CAR ATL RSD
1990 Romine Racing 29 Ford DAY RCH CAR ATL DAR BRI NWS MAR TAL CLT DOV SON POC MCH DAY POC TAL GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT CAR PHO ATL
32 		90th 67 [28]
1992 Donlavey Racing 90 Ford DAY CAR RCH ATL DAR BRI NWS MAR TAL CLT DOV SON POC MCH DAY POC TAL GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT
32 		CAR PHO ATL 82nd 67 [29]
1994 Triad Motorsports 78 Ford DAY CAR RCH ATL DAR BRI NWS MAR TAL SON CLT DOV POC MCH DAY NHA POC TAL IND GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT
DNQ 		CAR PHO ATL
17 		60th 112 [30]
1995 DAY CAR RCH ATL
DNQ 		DAR BRI NWS MAR TAL SON CLT DOV POC
35 		MCH DAY NHA POC TAL 63rd 58 [31]
Cave Motorsports IND
DNQ 		GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT CAR PHO ATL

SuperTruck Series[edit]

NASCAR SuperTruck Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 NSTSC Pts Ref
1995 Enerjetix Motorsports 99 Chevy PHO TUS SGS
DNQ 		MMR
28 		POR
16 		EVG I70 LVL BRI MLW CNS HPT IRP FLM RCH MAR NWS SON MMR PHO 49th 349 [32]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Pancho Carter". www.champcarstats.com. Retrieved 2023-05-19.
  2. ^ a b c d His biography Archived 2007-09-29 at the Wayback Machine at the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame
  3. ^ a b "Pancho Carter Joins NASCAR Stock Car Circuit". Boca Raton News. May 25, 1986. p. 11. Retrieved 2013-09-16.
  4. ^ "Carter rejoins NASCAR circuit". The Telegraph-Herald. Dubuque, IA. October 4, 1990. p. 3B. Retrieved 2013-09-16.
  5. ^ "Driver By Driver". The Charlotte Observer. Charlotte, NC. October 12, 1993. p. 7B. Retrieved 2013-09-16.
  6. ^ "Pancho Carter - NASCAR Sprint Cup Results". Racing-Reference. USA Today Sports Media Group. Retrieved 2013-09-16.
  7. ^ NASCAR biography, racing-reference.info
  8. ^ "Carter will drive local NASCAR truck". The Spokesman-Review. Spokane, WA. March 9, 1995. p. C3. Retrieved 2013-08-25.
  9. ^ a b c Shaffer, Jan (May 24, 2013). "Where Are They Now? Pancho Carter". Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Archived from the original on September 16, 2013. Retrieved 2013-09-16.
  10. ^ Biography of Johnny Parsons, National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame, archived from the original on 2007-09-29
  11. ^ "Pancho Carter – 1979 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 16, 2023.
  12. ^ "Pancho Carter – 1980 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 16, 2023.
  13. ^ "Pancho Carter – 1981 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 16, 2023.
  14. ^ "Pancho Carter – 1982 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 16, 2023.
  15. ^ "Pancho Carter – 1983 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 16, 2023.
  16. ^ "Pancho Carter – 1984 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 16, 2023.
  17. ^ "Pancho Carter – 1985 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 16, 2023.
  18. ^ "Pancho Carter – 1986 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 16, 2023.
  19. ^ "Pancho Carter – 1987 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 16, 2023.
  20. ^ "Pancho Carter – 1988 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 16, 2023.
  21. ^ "Pancho Carter – 1989 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 16, 2023.
  22. ^ "Pancho Carter – 1990 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 16, 2023.
  23. ^ "Pancho Carter – 1991 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 16, 2023.
  24. ^ "Pancho Carter – 1992 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 16, 2023.
  25. ^ "Pancho Carter – 1994 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 16, 2023.
  26. ^ "Pancho Carter – 1985 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 17, 2023.
  27. ^ "Pancho Carter – 1986 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 17, 2023.
  28. ^ "Pancho Carter – 1990 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 17, 2023.
  29. ^ "Pancho Carter – 1992 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 17, 2023.
  30. ^ "Pancho Carter – 1994 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 17, 2023.
  31. ^ "Pancho Carter – 1995 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 17, 2023.
  32. ^ "Pancho Carter – 1995 NASCAR SuperTruck Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 17, 2023.

External links[edit]

Sporting positions
Preceded by Indianapolis 500
Rookie of the Year
1974 		Succeeded by
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